June Tyson

June Tyson
Born (1936-02-05)February 5, 1936
Albemarle, North Carolina, United States
Died November 24, 1992(1992-11-24) (aged 56)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation(s) Singer, dancer
Instruments Violin
Years active 1968-1992
Associated acts Sun Ra

June Tyson (born February 5, 1936, Albemarle, North Carolina - d. November 24, 1992, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a singer and dancer who achieved prominence performing with keyboardist and bandleader Sun Ra.

When she joined Sun Ra's Arkestra around 1968, she became the first female member of his band. (Sun Ra had previously recorded with a few female vocalists, but they were not members of his band.) She became a close and trusted friend of Ra, and helped him with costume design. Tyson continued to perform and record with Ra up to her death.[1]

Tyson was diagnosed with cancer and grew increasingly ill. When she was unable to sing because of her illness, she played the violin.

References

  1. Szwed, John (1997). Space is the Place. Payback Press. pp. 249–250. ISBN 9780679435891.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.