June Christy's big break came when she took Anita O'Day's place as the female vocalists with the Stan Kenton Orchestra in 1945. Her biggest hit with the band, "Tampico," sold over a million copies. As a solo artist she recorded 18 albums and was a regular sight on television specials, frequently working with her husband, saxophonist Bob Cooper. In 1957, she appeared with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa and Carmen McRae on the first sponsored, televised jazz concert, The Timex All-Star Jazz Show. Struggles with stage fright and alcoholism caused her to semi-retire in 1969, and she only performed in public sparingly until her death in 1990.