Welcome to Afterglow, I’m your host, Mark Chilla.

Bold, brash, and intellectual… a few words that describe the Stan Kenton Orchestra. The band emerged in the 1940s and 50s as a daring and sometimes controversial voice in the swing band genre, with a penchant for innovative arrangements over good old fashioned swing. But what often kept the progressive Kenton orchestra grounded was the cool, brainy singer out in front of the stage. This week, I’ll focus on those singers, under the baton of Kenton, highlighting the work of the most notable names: Anita O’Day, June Christy, and Chris Connor 

It’s the Stan Kenton Singers, coming up next on Afterglow

MUSIC - JUNE CHRISTY AND STAN KENTON, "JUST THE WAY I AM"

Backannounce: The inimitable June Christy, with Stan Kenton on piano, performing the Bobby Troup tune “Just the Way I Am.” That’s off of their 1955 Capitol record Duet. Christy was the second big singer to come out of Kenton’s orchestra, having joined at age 19 in 1945. In this recording, Christy’s not simply being accompanied by her former bandleader it’s a true duet, just like the album title. The two musicians are standing on equal footing. The album came after Christy embarked on a successful solo career. Her first album, the 10” Something Cool from 1954, featured arrangements by Kenton arranger Pete Rugolo, as well as former Kenton band member saxophonist Bob “Coop” Cooper (who also happened to be Christy’s husband at the time)

MUSIC CLIP - JUNE CHRISTY, "THE NIGHT WE CALLED IT A DAY"

Mark Chilla here on Afterglow. On this show, I’m highlighting the singers from the innovative and sometimes controversial Stan Kenton Orchestra. And I’ll begin with Anita O’Day. 

Anita O’Day, born Anita Colton, had her first big break as the singer in Gene Krupa’s Orchestra back in 1941, where she immediately became a star. But as her rising fame began to conflict with the other star in Krupa’s band, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, she left Krupa to join Stan Kenton’s up-and-coming Artistry in Rhythm orchestra. O’Day’s cool, unglamorous style and her excellent musicianship made her a perfect match for Kenton’s progressive group, and O’Day gave Kenton’s group their first bonafide hit, the Joe Greene tune “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine.” 

Let’s hear that song now. This is Anita O’Day and Stan Kenton’s Orchestra from May 1944 with “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND ANITA O'DAY, "AND HER TEARS FLOWED LIKE WINE"

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND ANITA O'DAY, "GOTTA BE GETTIN'"

Anita O’Day and the Stan Kenton Orchestra performing the song “Gotta Be Gettin.” Before that, O’Day’s biggest hit with Kenton, “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine.” Both of those recordings come from 1944. For Anita O’Day’s third commercial release with Kenton’s Orchestra, she was offered the Lord Invader calypso song “Rum and Coca Cola,” but she turned it down for the tune “Gotta Be Gettin’,” an upbeat number that never quite took off. “Rum and Coca Cola,” on the other hand, was a number one hit for the Andrews Sisters the following year. 

Despite being named the best singer of 1944 by Down Beat magazine, Anita O’day never had another commercial success with Kenton before the end of her brief, 11-month tenure with the band. Here now is one of her last releases with the band, a tune written for all those early 1940s “hepsters,” who were fans of intellectual acts like O’Day and Kenton. 

This is Anita O’Day and Stan Kenton at the end of 1944 with “Are You Livin’ Old Man,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND ANITA O'DAY, "ARE YOU LIVIN' OLD MAN"

Anita O’Day and Stan Kenton performing “Are You Livin Old Man” in 1944.

We’re highlighting singers from the Stan Kenton Orchestra this week on the show. The female singers weren’t the only ones who sang with the orchestra. A few different gentlemen sang on the bandstand with Kenton as well in the 1940s, including Red Dorris and Gene Howard. Dorris was the saxophone player and occasional singer, before leaving for the army in 1944. That’s when Howard took over that role of singer, which he held for the next two years. Gene Howard was actually a big hit during Kenton’s live performances, but Capitol records executives never paid as much attention to him (or Dorris) as they did to someone like Anita O’Day.

Let’s hear a song from each of these male singers now. First up, here is Red Dorris in 1943 with “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND RED DORRIS, "DO NOTHIN' TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME"

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND GENE HOWARD, "HOW MANY HEARTS HAVE YOU BROKEN"

Singer Gene Howard with the Stan Kenton Orchestra in 1944 with “How Many Hearts Have You Broken,” by the Stan Kenton Orchestra. That was actually a minor hit for the band, likely because it was the B-side of the even bigger hit we heard earlier, “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine” sung by Anita O’Day. Before that, one of Kenton’s first recordings with Capitol records after the recording ban was lifted in 1943. That was “Do Nothin’ Til You Hear from Me” sung by Red Dorris.

Although Anita O’Day’s vocal style mixed well with Kenton’s brash and heady arrangements, personally, they were like oil and water. O’Day once said that the band was so cerebral, you couldn’t dance to it, and that Kentonians spent too much of their free time reading books, rather than getting into other activities musicians in the 1940s were supposed to be getting into. She missed the laid-back attitude of Gene Krupa’s orchestra, and by the summer of 1945, she was back singing with Krupa. 

Her replacement came in March of 1945, a 19-year-old from Illinois by the name of Shirley Luster. Kenton remarked once that the name “Shirley Luster,” sounded more like hair shampoo, than a jazz singer, so Luster became “June Christy.” 

I’ll play two of Christy’s early hits for the band, beginning with one of her first recordings. This is June Christy and Stan Kenton in 1945 with the novelty song “Tampico,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND JUNE CHRISTY, "TAMPICO"

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND JUNE CHRISTY, "SHOO FLY PIE AND APPLE PAN DOWDY"

Two novelty records by the Stan Kenton Orchestra, both sung by June Christy. First up, we heard “Tampico” from 1945 followed by “Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy” from 1946. These two records were both top 10 billboard hits, and established Christy as a genuine star in Kenton’s orchestra.

MUSIC CLIP - STAN KENTON, "I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN"

We’ll hear more from Christy and other singers from Stan Kenton’s group in just a bit, stay with us. I’m Mark Chilla, and you’re listening to Afterglow

MUSIC CLIP - STAN KENTON, "INTERLUDE"

MUSIC CLIP - STAN KENTON, "FASCINATIN' RHYTHM"

Welcome back to Afterglow, I’m Mark Chilla. This week, we’re looking at the singers from the Stan Kenton Orchestra. And we’ll continue with June Christy, the singer probably most associated with Kenton. 

Let’s hear a great recording now from October 1945, the Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn song “Just a-Sittin’ and a-Rockin’.” The laid-back tune is the perfect vehicle for Christy’s cool, confident delivery, mixed with Kenton’s famous kaleidoscope of orchestration. 

Here is June Christy and Stan Kenton with “Just a-Sittin’ and a-Rockin,” here on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND JUNE CHRISTY, "JUST A-SITTIN' AND A ROCKIN'"

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND JUNE CHRISTY, "WILLOW WEEP FOR ME"

Two of June Christy’s signature tunes with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. We just heard “Willow Weep For Me,” arranged by Pete Rugolo in 1946, and before that the Ellington/Strayhorn blues number “Just a-Sittin’ and a-Rockin” recorded in 1945. 

June Christy was perfectly suited to Stan Kenton’s orchestra because she was so different. Whereas Kenton’s band was brash, audacious, loud, Christy could be level-headed, unassuming, and tender. Take this next recording: the song “Soothe Me” from 1947. It’s one of their final recordings together for Capitol records, and it highlights the classic contrast of Christy and Kenton. Down Beat magazine said the trumpets in it were the “loudest ever,” but listen to how marvelously they’re mellowed out by Christy’s vocals. 

This is June Christy and Stan Kenton with “Soothe Me,” here on Afterglow.

“Soothe Me” by Joe Greene, sung there by June Christy and the Stan Kenton Orchestra in 1947. 

“Soothe Me” was a tune that later became associated with our next Stan Kenton vocalist: Chris Connor. By the early 1950s, June Christy was ready to embark on a solo career. It was Christy who suggested to Kenton that Connor become her permanent replacement. Christy had recently heard Connor sing on the radio, and it just so happened that Chris Connor was another smokey-voiced, blonde, midwesterner like herself.

Chris Connor got her start as one of the “Snowflakes,” the vocal group with Claude Thornhill’s band, and performed with Thornhill on a number of radio broadcasts. In January of 1953, she joined Kenton’s band, and ended up recording a number of hits with them in the following months. 

Here are two songs from Chris Connor and Stan Kenton now, beginning with Cole Porter’s classic “I Get a Kick Out of You,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND CHRIS CONNOR, "I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU"

MUSIC - STAN KENTON AND CHRIS CONNOR, "ALL ABOUT RONNIE"

Chris Connor and the Stan Kenton Orchestra in 1953 performing the work she became known for, Joe Greene’s “All About Ronnie.” Before that, we heard Connor and Kenton with Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You.”

When Chris Connor left Stan Kenton’s group just a few months later, she was replaced with Ann Richards, one of the last great singers to come out of that orchestra. Richards worked with Kenton for most of the mid-1950s—they were married in 1955—and she’s featured on Kenton’s 1957 Capitol record “Kenton with Voices.” This record also features the vocal ensemble The Modern Men, four gentlemen that Kenton discovered. Kenton was known for featuring a number of vocal groups in his recordings including The Pastels and the Indianapolis-based group the Four Freshmen.

Here’s singer Ann Richards, the Modern Men, and Stan Kenton performing the Eddie Beale tune “Softly,” on Afterglow.

Ann Richards and Stan Kenton performing Eddie Beale’s “Softly.” That’s from the 1957 album Kenton With Voices. Richards, Kenton’s wife, was one of the last great singers to come out of Kenton’s orchestra, and her career ended far too soon. She tragically committed suicide at the age of 46, in 1982.

To close off this hour, I’ll play one of Kenton’s grandest experiments. His 1950 “Innovations Orchestra” was a 40-piece ensemble featuring strings and some of the best players that ever sat on Kenton’s bandstand. The arrangements are peak Kenton, if you will—complex, audacious, and loud. Kenton featured some of his finest soloists in songs named after them, including alto saxophonist Art Pepper, drummer Shelly Manne, trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, and vocalist June Christy. 

Here now is Kenton’s Innovations Orchestra with singer June Christy vocalizing her way through the song titled “June Christy,” on Afterglow. 

Singer June Christy in 1950 performing a tune called “June Christy.” That comes from LP Stan Kenton Presents, featuring Kenton’s “Innovations Orchestra.”

Thanks for tuning in to this Stan Kenton singers edition of Afterglow.

MUSIC CLIP - STAN KENTON, "THE END OF A LOVE AFFAIR"

Afterglow is part of the educational mission of Indiana University and produced by WFIU Public Radio in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. The executive producer is John Bailey.

Playlists for this and other Afterglow programs are available on our website. That’s at indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow.

I’m Mark Chilla, and join me next week for our mix of Vocal Jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook, here on Afterglow.