June Richmond
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. 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? 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?" 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. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America), Died August 14, 1962 (Gothenburg (second-largest city in Sweden and capital of the Västra Götaland County) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1943
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | 63431 | 10-in. | 3/16/1938 | Joseph! Joseph! | Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 63436 | 10-in. | 3/16/1938 | The weekend of a private secretary | Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 63691 | 10-in. | 4/29/1938 | The Darktown Strutters' Ball | Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 63718 | 10-in. | 5/6/1938 | If you were in my place | Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 63719 | 10-in. | 5/6/1938 | I let a song go out of my heart | Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 65249 | 10-in. | 3/23/1939 | (I wanna go where you go) Then I'll be happy | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 66879 | 10-in. | 11/15/1939 | Please don't talk about me when I'm gone | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67010 | 10-in. | 1/2/1940 | Wham (Wham-re-bop-boom-bam) | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67013 | 10-in. | 1/2/1940 | It always will be you | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67893 | 10-in. | 6/25/1940 | Fine and mellow | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67895 | 10-in. | 6/25/1940 | Fifteen minute intermission | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67896 | 10-in. | 6/25/1940 | Take those blues away | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 67919 | 10-in. | 7/8/1940 | Midnight stroll | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 68546 | 10-in. | 1/3/1941 | Cuban boogie woogie | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 69520 | 10-in. | 7/17/1941 | 47th Street jive | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71050 | 10-in. | 7/14/1942 | Hey lawdy Mama | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71052 | 10-in. | 7/14/1942 | Ride on, ride on | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71241 | 10-in. | 7/31/1942 | Hip hip hooray | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71242 | 10-in. | 7/31/1942 | Unlucky blues | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71536 | 10-in. | 12/3/1943 | Fare Thee well honey | Andy Kirk Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Decca | 71537 | 10-in. | 12/3/1943 | Baby don't you tell me no lie | Andy Kirk Orchestra | vocalist | ||
| Master | M910 | 10-in. | 11/2/1938 | Tee-um tee-um tee-i, Tahiti | Cab Calloway Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Master | M911 | 10-in. | 11/2/1938 | Angels with dirty faces | Cab Calloway Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Richmond, June," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116263.
Richmond, June. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116263.
"Richmond, June." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: June Richmond
Discogs: June Richmond
Allmusic: June Richmond
Grove: June Richmond
IMDb: June Richmond
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Richmond, June, 1915-1962 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no97067676
Wikidata: June Richmond - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1263824
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24792681
MusicBrainz: June Richmond - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fbeebee5-ee7f-40af-958f-1b4807832557
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1970936 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1970936
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