June Hutton (born June Marvel Cowan; August 11, 1919 – May 2, 1973) was an American actress and vocalist, popular with big bands during the 1940s. She was the younger sister of vocalist

Ina Ray Hutton Ina Ray Hutton (born Odessa Cowan; March 13, 1916 – February 19, 1984) was an American singer, bandleader, and the elder sister of June Hutton. She led one of the first all-female big bands. Biography A native of Chicago, Hutton began da ...

Early years

Hutton was born in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, Illinois, Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomingto ...

. Her parents were Marvel Svea Williams and Odie Daniel Cowan. June and her older sister,

, both grew up to be entertainers and performers during the Big Band era. When she was 15, she left home to join her sister in pursuit of a singing career.

Career

In her early days, she sang at the Astor Roof in New York City. After singing with her sister's orchestra in 1938, she was part of the Winston Trio, the Quintones, and the Sande Williams Band. She appeared with the Quintones in ''Hi Ya, Gentlemen'', a failed musical with boxer Max Baer. In 1941, she became the female vocalist for the

Stardusters The Stardusters were American jazz vocalists. History The Stardusters were founded as a male trio in the mid 1930s. Glen Galyon, Curt Purnell, and Dick Wylder had already established themselves in 1936 as the Stardusters, and in 1939, were fe ...

, the singing group of Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra. After

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

left

The Pied Pipers The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra. Origins Original ...

in 1944, Hutton replaced her, joining the group in May. She performed with the Pied Pipers for six years, recording several hit records including the song "

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, al ...

." In 1950, Hutton left the Pied Pipers, going solo on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. (However, the trade publication

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

reported in its December 10, 1949, issue that Hutton had already left the Pied Pipers and signed with Decca Records.) Hutton's post-Pipers solo career included her debut in New York at the Copacabana nightclub November 16, 1950. In 1951, Hutton married

Axel Stordahl Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophistica ...

, a musical arranger for

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

. In 1952, she went to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, backed by an orchestra led by her husband. She recorded three hit records at Capitol: "

Say You're Mine Again "Say You're Mine Again" is a song written by Charles Nathan and Dave Heisler and performed by Perry Como featuring The Ramblers. It reached number 3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1953. The song ranked at number 21 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End top 30 ...

", "No Stone Unturned", and "For the First Time". They also recorded a well-regarded 1955 album, ''Afterglow'', featuring lush arrangements and the vocal group Boys Next Door.

Later years

Stordahl died in 1963, and Hutton married actor

Kenneth Tobey Kenneth Jesse Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an extremely prolific American actor who performed in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, including his role as the star of the 1957-1 ...

in 1968. Hutton died in

Encino, Los Angeles Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda P ...

, on May 2, 1973, at the age of 53. She is buried beside Stordahl at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Partial discography

*''

If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time "If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" is a debut song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Lefty Frizzell, released on September 14, 1950. The song is the second song recorded by Lefty Frizzell during his first session ...

''/''Tear Drops From My Eyes'' (1950, Decca #27329 with the Lee Gordon Singers.) *''My Sweetie Went Away''/''More Than I Should'' (1950, Decca 27061) *''All the Bees Are Buzzin' Round My Honey''/''For You, My Love'' (1950, Decca 24056) *''Nothing''/''Bye, Honey, Bye-Bye'' (1951 Decca 27833) *'' Keep It a Secret''/''I Miss You So'' (1952, Capitol 2268) *''For the First Time''/''If It's the Last Thing I Do'' (1953, Capitol 2667) *'' By the Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953 Capitol with

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who pl ...

) *''Full Dimensional Sound -- A Study in High Fidelity'' (1953 Capitol) Hutton was one of several artists included on a long-playing album to "demonstrate to audiophiles the full range and capabilities of sound reproducing systems." *''The Lights of Home''/''You Are My Love'' (1953 Capitol 2369) *''I Had a Little Too Much to Dream Last Night''/''Song of the Sleigh Bells'' (1953 Capitol 2318) *''Coney Island Boat''/''Open Your Arms'' (1954 Capitol 2784) *''Gee''/''Too Little Time'' (1954 Capitol 2727)

References

External links

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Solid!
page on June Hutton

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, June 1919 births 1973 deaths Singers from Chicago Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers The Pied Pipers members Traditional pop music singers Hyde Park Academy High School alumni