Ten 10" Albums I still play (occasionally). 1: June Christy - Something Cool

After my early years collecting, some might say hoarding, 78 rpms my attention turned to the newfangled 10" long players many of which, even to this very day, still occupy a place of pride on my shelves.

I've picked out ten and it wasn't easy, each one seemed to hold a special memory some of which I'll reveal and some of which I won't. I've listed them in alphabetical order which means that number one isn't better, or worse than number ten.

1. June Christy - Something Cool. My parents and I had been invited to my cousin Sheila's wedding way down south in Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire. My folks travelled down by train whilst I, then a precocious teenager, decided I would cycle the 250 miles or so, albeit not in one day.

The bridegroom turned out to be a jazz fan and after the reception he introduced me to the above album. This was a very appropriate choice as this wasn't a beer-swilling do but Pyms and Pernods were the order of the day. Before the Pyms took over my brain I realised that Miss (Ms had yet to be invented) Christy was something special. The fact that she sang marginally off key, strange as it may seem, only added to her appeal.

Cycling back to Tyneside I recall singing the title track with every turn of the pedal. Not long after, I was in Wallsend and there it was, in the window of a small record shop and in their sale. Needless to say, I splashed the cash!

Many years later, circa 1982/3, I heard June live at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Her best years had gone and, instead of being the moment I'd longed for, it left me feeling very sad.
Lance