{{Short description|American jazz singer and actor}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = June Richmond | image = June Richmond on Swedish National Radio.jpg | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = June Richmond on Swedish National Radio | birth_date = {{birth date|1915|07|09}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1962|08|14|1915|07|09}} | death_place = Gothenburg, Sweden | genre = Jazz | occupation = Singer, actress }}
'''June Richmond''' (July 9, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois – August 14, 1962 in Gothenburg, Sweden) was an American jazz singer and actor.
June Richmond is considered the first African-American jazz singer who sang regularly in a white band when she appeared in 1938, with Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra, with whom she recorded several sides for Decca Records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/4ROWNEW/AreYouWithIt.htm|title = The Vocal Group Harmony Web Site - Record of the Week|accessdate=November 23, 2022}}</ref> After she left Andy Kirk, she launched a successful career as a soloist; in 1946, she had a featured role in the Broadway musical ''Are You With It?''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/are-you-with-it-1739#OpeningNightCast |title=Are You with It? – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB |access-date=2021-03-12 |archive-date=2021-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307091738/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/are-you-with-it-1739#OpeningNightCast |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Her first recordings under her own name originated in 1945 when she signed with Mercury Records, releasing several singles, including two songs from her Broadway musical "Are You With It?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/4ROWNEW/AreYouWithIt.htm|title = The Vocal Group Harmony Web Site - Record of the Week}}</ref> She also recorded a series of 45 EP albums for the Odeon, Barclay and Varga labels and a 10" LP of eight songs from ''Porgy and Bess'' sung in French.<ref>[https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/june_richmond/porgy_and_bess/ June Richmond sings from 'Porgy and Bess'], rateyourmusic.com. Accessed November 23, 2022.</ref>
==Films== She appeared in several films in the 1940s and 1950s, including ''Murder in Swingtime'' (1937), ''Carolina Blues'' (1944), ''Reet, Petite, and Gone'' (1947), ''The Dreamer'' (1948), ''Tour of the Grand Dukes'' (France, 1953), and ''Liebe, Jazz und Übermut'' (Germany, 1957).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725121/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1 | title=June Richmond | website=IMDb }}</ref> June Richmond died in 1962 at the age of 47.<ref name="jasmine" /> A comprehensive two-disc CD collection, ''Hey, Lawdy Mama!'' was released in 2022 by Jasmine Records.<ref name="jasmine">{{cite web | url=https://jasmine-records.co.uk/shop/richmond/june-richmond-hey-lawdy-mama-rare-recordings-1938-1961/ | title=June RICHMOND - Hey, Lawdy Mama! - Rare Recordings, 1938-1961|accessdate=May 4, 2025}}</ref>
== Discography == * Cab Calloway, ''1938-1939'' (Classics) * Andy Kirk, ''1939-1940'', ''1943-1949'' (Classics) * Harold Nicholas, June Richmond, Andy Bey, ''Jazz in Paris'' (Gitanes/Universal, 2000) * ''June Richmond--Hey Lawdy Mama! Rare Recordings 1938-1961'' (Jasmine) * ''June Richmond Chante en Francais'' (Ild) * ''June Richmond Chante en Anglais'' (Ild) * ''June Richmond Chante Porgy and Bess en Francais'' (Odeon) * Andy Kirk and June Richmond, ''New Orleans Jump'' (Sounds of Yesteryear)
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{AllMusic|Rubrik=artist|ID=mn0000308035|NurURL=ja}} Biography by Scott Yanow for Allmusic * {{IMDb name|id=0725121|name=June Richmond}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, June}} Category:1915 births Category:1962 deaths Category:African-American jazz musicians Category:American women jazz singers Category:American jazz singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American women singers