June Tyson

This tribute to June Tyson, longtime singer & dancer with Sun Ra's Arkestra, was first published in 50 Miles of Elbow Room issue #2 in 2002. In conjunction with this effort, jazz historian & DJ Phil Schaap (RIP) graciously permitted us to reprint selections from an interview he conducted with Tyson & her husband Richard Wilkinson (who stage managed the Arkestra for many years) during WKCR's Sun Ra festival in 1987. Several affectionate & moving reminiscences from some of her Arkestra bandmates & friends, gathered by Adam Lore in January 2002, fill out the picture.

June Tyson in 1973, photo by Jim Newman

June Tyson & Richard Wilkinson interviewed by Phil Schaap on WKCR, April 20, 1987:

What were your first meetings and working associations with Sun Ra?
Well, our first encounter was through [Lem] Roebuck ... who brought us to Sun Ra and from there we continued up until today.

About when would that have been do you think? And were you put into sort of a rehearsal kind of scene? How did you get involved with the music? How were you presented with a way to present yourself with Sun Ra?
Well, you see when Roebuck saw us we were in Jackie Robinson's Park, doing Broadway showcase every Wednesday evening. This was during the summer and we were there when Roebuck saw us and said, "Wouldn't you like to meet Sun Ra?" And he said that Sun Ra was very knowledgeable and we would be able to learn a lot. So we said, "Yeah, OK," and he took us to where Sun Ra was living on Third Street ... and introduced us to Sun Ra. And we kept coming back.

So what were some of the activities like on Third Street? Could you describe them?
Rehearsals!

Could you describe a Sun Ra rehearsal?
Well, for me as a vocalist, I have to sit and listen very carefully, and I never knew when my turn would be, that I would have to go through what he wanted. So it didn't matter whether it was the beginning or the middle or the end, you had to be alert and be there. That was part of the discipline, and so there you were. And it was always informative. You could never ever say you didn't learn, because you do, continuously, up 'til today.

Do you remember the first song you rehearsed with the Sun Ra Arkestra?
The first one? No. "Somebody Else's Idea!" I think it was "Somebody Else's Idea," but I'm not sure. 'What do you think?

Richard Wilkinson: "Space Cha-Cha" or something like that.

"Space Cha-Cha?" Oohh. (laughs) Well, I really can't say. I don't know.

RW: "Space Cha-Cha," I don't think it was ever recorded.

Right, this is true. "Space Cha-Cha" was never recorded. But I'm doing it anyway. (laughs)

Do you have any idea why he picks the songs he does?
No, not from the point of wanting to pick them myself. Sun Ra presents a story and we are merely the players, so you try to be as adaptable as possible.

Have you ever suggested any of these standards that have been used?
Well, if I wanted to I could.

But you haven't.
No, because there's no reason. Everything has been flowing and onward. I imagine if ... my expertise was needed I certainty would try to rise to the occasion. But it's been very good for me, and I want to be accommodating and present the story intact. So you're in a disciplined ship. You do as you're told.

Has there been an occasion where the songs were unfamiliar to you...or were you familiar with all the material outside of his compositions?
Oh no, I haven't been familiar with anything! (laughs) I was just always trying to keep up! (laughs)

And how does he present the music to you? Does he give you just the lyrics?...Does he give you sheet music?
Oh, it's different.

Well, could you pick one and elaborate — one song you learned from Sun Ra and how you went about learning it?
Once we were in California and the waves came up to greet Sun Ra and then he asked them to come and greet me. And he tried to cover us. And we were there at the beach and he wrote this song about "They'll Come Back." And I learned the lyrics and everything and it's very beautiful, and that's one of our so,. And then another song I was learning in Mexico, "Sometimes I'm Happy," was the first time he presented that song to me, and I don't think I got to do it until I got to Germany, which was years later. (laughs)

But it's hard for me to pinpoint things like that, because when Sun Ra puts us on stage to perform, we just do. And we usually do it ongoing ... and you try to do your best, of course. And it's sincere.

What happens to the mail that is sent to the El Saturn address in Chicago now?
Good question! (laughs)

Any interesting performances in your mind that stand out with Sun Ra, Any stories, any gigs, any memories?
Well, every gig was a story. I can't compare it to other groups or bands because I really wasn't in other groups, but there was always something unusual going on with the Sun Ra band that made it very exciting and very to the edge or point of whatever was or is still going on. And it's always changing; everything is always changing. It may appear to be similar or something to that effect, but there's such a tremendous undercurrent of change that you have to be up to be a part of it.

I like to think of the first time I went to Egypt. We lived in ... Giza, which is where the main pyramids in Egypt is. We arrived there at night and we were fortunate enough to get rooms with a balcony and you could see the silhouette of the pyramids in the moonlight, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. And my pleasure was to rush to my room every night (laughs) and sit on the balcony and just look at the silhouette until I got tired, you know, and went to bed. I'll never forget.

Do you recall any of Sun Ra's reactions to the pyramids?
Well, Sun Ra was busy. From the time we hit Egypt to the time we left, he was on a mission! And he was gone. He had things to do. I don't know what was going on. But of course I was in place to do what I was supposed to and necessary, but Sun Ra had his things and we had our little things. It was just fabulous. Wonderful. We marched on the pyramids and we rode on the camels and we had our own photographer who took pictures of us with the wind blowing and our costumes were like wings billowing in the breeze. Because see the pyramids is on a plateau and it's always windy so you've got this wind action going and you've got this thin material and it was just beautiful. I've never experienced anything before in all my life and I was transported.

June Tyson, Albuquerque Tribune, 1981, photographer uncredited

Art Jenkins: (1934-2012) vocalist & percussionist with Sun Ra's Arkestra since 1962

She was always the kind of person who was ready to learn and quick to grasp what Sun Ra was trying to do. She was a beautiful spirit, always willing to lend a hand. ... June's house was always open. When you went by June's house, whatever there was, she would offer you. I remember when she came into the band, she was a tall, skinny young lady. But also, whenever it was that Sun Ra brought some dancers, [he'd say,] "Well June, you go and practice with the dancers." The nut thing you knew, June would be out-dancing the dancers! (laughs) Seriously. Sun Ra might say, "Well, we need some new costumes." June would sit down and put something together that would just fit.

I can tell you about an experience that I had at June's house once, which was very strange. At that particular time, I was married. We were going to play at the Olatunji Center, which was up in Harlem. I went by June's house, and June lived in the projects on the 13th floor. Well, before I left home, me and my wife were joking around and as I walked out the door, my wife kicked at me, kicked me on my right knee. I got a little cramp in there, but I went on toward the subway, went on up to Harlem to June's house.

When I went up to June's house and I sat down, my leg started to hurt. And I'm sitting there, and I said, "June, you know one thing? My leg is bothering me." So she said, "Well, see if you can stand up." I stood up but I couldn't stand up. So June said, "Well, wait a minute. I got an old pair of crutches in the closet." So she goes in the closet, gets the crutches, and I was able to hobble around using one crutch. So Sun Ra and them came and they, called upstairs to say, "Well, y'all can come on dowm." So as soon as I got up, we discovered the elevator had went out. We were on the 13th floor. I got one crutch and I gotta walk down 13 flights of stairs. Well, I walked down these 13 flights of stairs with one crutch. When I finally reached the street, the guys in the band were all around, they said, "Well, what happened to your leg, man?" I said, "It's very strange." And I said, "If it wasn't for June, I wouldn't have made it. But she had these crutches in the closet, and that's the only way I could get downstairs."

Strangely enough, we went to the Center and Sun Ra told me, he said, "When I want you to sing, you sit on that chair near the piano, and when I get ready for you to sing, I'll just give you a nudge." The crutch that June gave me — this was strange — when Sun Ra finally called me up to sing and I hopped up to the microphone with this one crutch and I sang. While I'm singing, all of a sudden something went through me. I finished singing, and I passed the crutch back to one of the guys in the band and I walked off!

Marshall Allen: alto saxophonist, flautist, oboist, & more with Sun Ra's Arkestra since 1957 and current leader of the band

A very strong woman. Sun Ra had all men and she was the only woman. Everybody respected her. I loved her voice, her personality, the person. She was like my sister. She was the only woman with all these men, and all the hardships, she went through 'em, too, along us.

Do you think it was ever awkward for anybody, with her being the only woman around?
No, because some people can come together and they'll just gel. There was no problems about being a woman. She was like all the rest of my buddies. ... The main thing about her is that she was a very beautiful person. She was sincere. ... No problems.

Everybody I know reacts very positively to June. That smile she had, and singing Sun Ra's lyrics, which I think were part of it too, because Sun Ra's lyrics were so optimistic.
Right, and she enjoyed all that. She loved to do that. No complaints. She did what she was told to do, like the rest of us. ... Just like family, like a sister, you could go talk to her about anything. ... She was a beautiful person, with a warm heart, adventurous, always ready to help and talk to you.

Tyrone Hill: (1948-2007) trombonist & vocalist with Sun Ra's Arkestra since 1979, and leader of the Deep Space Posse

Sun Ra didn't consider her a woman. She was something else. Very — man, she's just so special ... She was an angel, man. She was the most positive person that I ever met, always positive. I remember she was real sick — this was right before she passed — I was upset, I was like crying. She said, "Tyrone! What's the matter with you? What you cryin' for? Don't cry for me! I'm alright, it's cool." Very spiritual, man, very positive. Always smiling. No matter what the situation is, June would always make you feel good. And hung tough with the band, and hung with Sunny, because Sun Ra could be kind of rough on women. But she said, "I'm not a woman — I'm an angel."

I think that's interesting, because people say that Sun Ra was rough on women, but yet you would have June who was such a focal point, a mouthpiece for the band. I think June a good foil for that, singing all the hopeful lyrics that Sun Ra had.
Yeah, and the whole concept. June could just come on the stage and don't say nothing and you'd be fascinated. A beautiful spirit. I miss her, man. I miss everybody, but besides for Sunny, I really miss June. A wonderful person. A natural musician. I remember Sun Ra bought a violin, gave June a violin, said, "Here — play this." June was playing the violin, without no lessons. She was playin', man! We did a gig in France with a symphony orchestra, with these straitlaced classical violins. She sat right M the violin section. As a matter of fact, sat in the first chair. She was playin' and played some stuff.

She was special, man. It's hard — words can't describe her. ... She reminded me of an Egyptian queen, very regal. And like I said, positive, man. I've been with the band over 20 years, and I can't remember June ever having an argument or any trouble with anybody in the band. She looked out for everybody. I remember one time Sun Ra said, "I'm gonna make June the paymaster! June's gonna pay everybody!" June would go get everybody's money.

She was very knowledgeable of Sun Ra's concepts. She really understood what Sun Ra was doing. A lot of musicians came through this band but really didn't understand what Sun Ra was saying, what he was really doing ... but June understood the concepts and the philosophy. Like I said, she could just come on the stage, sometimes she wouldn't even have to sing. As long as she was there, she had a certain vibe, a certain aura.

A wonderful person. It broke my heart when she passed on. She was a very important part of the band. She kept everybody's morale up. She was kind to everybody. She treated everybody with respect and warmth. ... And she was always very encouraging: "Well, hang in there, Tyrone!" ... For like the 110th time, special, man.

Some people you just can't say it enough about.
Yeah. ... She was one of the elements that drew me to the band. When I first got into the band it was her and this other woman [probably Vertamae Grosvenor], they drew me to the band. I said, "These are different kinds of people." Loved the music, loved jazz. She had a real understanding and the feeling of the music, and spiritually. Just wonder., man, a wonderful vocalist. She was almost like a horn player more than a singer. She could really interpret Sun Ra's concepts. She had a grasp of it. She was great. ... She understood the concepts of the band and understood Sun Ra ... who could be kinda deep.

Sun Ra said she was another order of being. She was somethin' else. Kind of childlike, you know what I mean? Kind of innocent. She had this innocence that was really wonderful. I miss her a lot.

illustration by Fitz Gitler, 2002

Susan Pearlstine: friend of June Tyson & the Arkestra

June was a fabulous dancer. Her posturing and the positions she could hold, the way she could put her hands, the way her shoulders would go back was very Egyptian and really exciting, like nothing I'd ever seen.

She just had this air about her that was phenomenal. She could carry the whole room ... She didn't know what she was going to sing, what was going to go on, and she could just find it and follow it. She had that kind of special way.

Off the stage, she was just the most special being we've ever known. She's the kind of person who could literally walk into the room and light everybody up. ... And she didn't say a lot of words, just "How are you today?" with this huge grin.

She once told me that she had a dream that if we could ever do it, she would love to have a hotel in an exotic tropical place where it was really warm where the band could play and all rel. and have all this great environment. Which is just typical her — that she would just want to make everything right for everybody. And Sun Ra always had a mission; he always had something for somebody to do. (laughs) If you met him, he was like, "OK, you — I want you to go get me this and this..." He always had a lot of needs, and so many people to take care of, of course. So I always used to say, "Oh God, June, he's gonna give me a mission..." (laughs) We always had a mission. "OK, go in there and ask Sun Ra what the mission is so we can get going.... She was always so calm: "We gotta take care of Sun Ra, whatever Sun Ra's needs are.. Like I said, when he managed 20 people, there's a million needs. ... She was a great mom to her own family as well as like a mom to the band — in a real fun way, not in a nagging way.

Do you have any idea of why June was so loyal to Sun Ra?
She knew that he had some special information and creative energy. Sun Ra had a way for each of his musicians of enhancing their most creative spirit. He'd write a piece through them or give them a sentence or give them a moment, but it was at the right time.... He would bring that out of you, such a wonderful feeling, that it was just like, "Hey — that was the greatest!" She tried one time to do a singing career without Sun Ra, but I don't think that was something she would have pursued without his energy. I think that was something she did with the whole thing — with the traveling and the band and him and everything.

I remember great times at June's apartment in Harlem where we would go, [John] Gilmore would be there, like a Sunday afternoon dinner where she'd cook, and she was a great cook. Sun Ra playin', John playin', and everybody just hangin' out. And Sun Ra goin' through the record collection and puttin' on cut after cut after cut of great stuff. "Remember this, June? Have you heard this?" It'd be Art Tatum, the old guys ... and they'd be listening and learning from that. So when you were in Sun Ra's presence, it was always a lesson.

The first time we took June to the house, they were staying at this horrible place in North Beach. Rats, rodents...it was just horrible. We went by and we just looked at June, and I said to Sun Ra, "Do you need a hand?" He said, "Yeah. You take June!" He just kind of pushed her. "And while you're at it, take Tyrone [Hill] too!" (laughs) So he kind of pushed Tyrone and June. "Here — you go with them! Wherever they live, you stay there." And then June would stay in our house. It was great. ... Her favorite thing to do would be to sleep in the sun, so we kind of set her up a bed where the sun would come in, so she would be totally happy for a couple days. Then we got so used to it that we'd be like, "Oh great! June's comin'...Party! We're gonna have a great time!" Then Sun Ra would yell, "June! You're not on vacation!" (laughs)

She always was hoarse. I think I was forever making her an herbal blend to try to cure her hoarseness. And then Sunny gave her the violin — I think that kind of went in with the hoarseness. ... I think she played it really well and I happen to hate the violin. ... Space violin — it truly came from another place. But it was cool for her at that age in her life to learn another instrument. And an actual instrument, because for years as the singer and the dancer, the band considered it different. We joked, [now] she had a seat: "Did you get June the seat?" And everyone would laugh.

I was blessed enough that wherever she was in the world, I would get a postcard or a letter, a little note. And she'd bring me just the teeniest little thing...it might just be a little pin. It wasn't what it was — it was just a token. They always did that. Lots of people in the band always had a little something for each other. They always saw such joy. They saw true space joy. They literally lived on a plane where everything was positive. Even when negative stuff came in, they made it positive. It was real simple, but it was beautiful. That's what I learned so much from her.

Rudy Collins: friend of June Tyson & the Arkestra

A lot of times people think of artists or jazz musicians living whatever lifestyle it is and that's what you're totally immersed in, but the thing that was impressive about June is that when she wasn't touring with the band, she was working at an elderly center in Harlem or somewhere uptown, doing arts and crafts there. It's not always about rehearsing and touring, but she found time to say, "What else can I do?" She gave so much to us in terms of her music and gave so much to the band in terms of doing work with them, but she also had the idea of, "But I've still got to do service to my home community." That was a really beautiful thing to see about her.

Just a guiding spirit. The things you saw that she did to keep the band and the leader of the band on track were amazing. I don't want to say that they were unsung, but a lot of times people think of Sun Ra and he was the leader of the band, which he was, but there were a lot of things that other people did. June was one of those people that had a special role, particularly as Sun Ra got older in years. ... [When] he was a little unsteady, June would always make sure she would get up and kind of assist him so he could still get up and dance and he could still get across the stage. She'd just put one of her long arms around him and they'd kind of stroll together across the stage and do a few steps.

Sometimes Billy Bang, the great violinist, would sit in with the band. June would be out there with Billy Bang, with her violin, which is such a confident and bold thing to do. Other people might say, "Well, Billy Bang's out here, so I'm not gonna play." June wasn't a really well trained violinist, but she could play. I have this image of her onstage at this club in the East Village playing her violin with Billy Bang and just kind of smiling, totally unintimidated at all by it.

June Tyson c.1987, photo by Mark Miller

Wisteria el Moondew, a.k.a. Judith Holten: dancer & vocalist who has performed with the Arkestra on a regular basis since 1971

She was my best friend in the world. She never judged me, so whatever I may have done or may have not done, I was able to speak to her. It was a rare experience to speak to someone and they're not holding their own boundaries against you, because we do that unconsciously. She was a beautiful soul. ... Closer than any sister. I have great friends, but to not be judged — it's so hard not to have your little judges. Not that you're condemning the person, but there's just a resistance in the air. With her there was none of that. She just received me — unconditional love. She was so wonderful.

Once I was at the center for older people that she worked at. This street person came to the door begging for money. It's so easy to turn your back or even just give him some money and dismiss him, but she recognized the person. So she spoke to them as though they were not a person in distress. She gave them the dignity of speaking to them as a human being. She said, "I don't have any money, but if you go across the street to this church they can give you some money. They can provide you with some employment." It was really such a lesson for me in terms of being a really good human being. I don't think I would've done anything mean to him; I may have ignored him. Whatever it was, it showed me what one should do.

She was a living example of such a kind soul, just humble. And she could sing and she was a true friend. And when she needed to be a warrior, she was that. And she was a survivor. She called herself a song stylist rather than a singer. With the band you lived in the worst and you lived in the best, and she made the best of everything she did and everywhere she went.

She and I went on vacation once to Costa Rica [in the early '90s] ... and it was the first time we'd had a vacation like that. The receptionist at the hotel offered to be our guide and to take us on a tour. He took us wherever we wanted to go, so he took us to [a] Cathedral ... in San Jose. We went in there and he said there are a lot of black saints in here. He was from Jamaica and he told us this whole story about how the Jamaicans became Latins and how they ended up in Costa Rica and all of that, so he was informing us. So we go to this cathedral and there are a lot of black saints in there, and I'm walking around and I'm like, 'Where is June?" I didn't see her and she came in and she was kind of like in awe. She said, "I just fell in front of the cathedral, prostrate." And we spoke always of the Creator. And I said, 'Well, that's interesting." But we're people, and being in the band too, we learn to look deeper than the surface of things. So when something like that strikes you as significant, it's something else.

So we talked about that and being there, and I didn't know until I got off the plane that her daughters were concerned with her breasts, and that she hadn't been to the doctor. And so she promised to go when we got back. June and Richard were very fast walkers and I noticed when we would take these walks, she never complained of anything but she had slowed down.

The Jamaican guy had taken us to his brother's restaurant, and the brother was telling us this story of how the cathedral was known for miracles. They told us about the black Madonna that was supposed to have appeared to this Indian girl ... three times she appeared on this rock and then this water came out of it. And then she realized that they were supposed to build a church on the water. So the church was built there and in the basement was the rock. ... So we took some water and we took it back to the hotel. The brother who was the restaurateur, he shared that when his son had tuberculosis, though he was not a God-fearing man, he took his son. And what we saw when we were there is people lining up at the back of this cathedral and crawling on their knees to the front, and there were nuns and there were just regular people who came to do this.

So we went back to the cathedral a second time and we stood in the doorway and we both looked at each other and we both got on our knees and we crawled to the front of the cathedral. I was asking for her to be spared and she was praying for others. And I had had a dream before I even thought of going on vacation with her, that she and I was somewhere in some room and there was a pure silver statue of Jesus crying these tears of blood. I didn't know what it meant. And He got off His cross and He patted me on the head and He told me, "Thank you for understanding." I thought I knew what that meant, because I had just read the Bible, but when I got to Costa Rica I knew what it meant. It was excruciating pain because ... we both had on shorts and there were little pieces of gravel on these very small tiles, so when we crawled from the back to the front, the pain was like white hot. But that's what one did for love, and that's how I felt about her. She was a pure, pure soul.

She had called me up when she finally decided to go to the doctor ... and she said, 'Why don't you come out for November?" And I said, "No, I'll come in December when I have two weeks." And then she said, "No, I think you should come in November." So I said, "No, I'll be there in December." And then I got off the phone and I said, "Maybe she knows something I don't know," so I made arrangements to come in November. I was packed and ready to go and I got the call from Michael Ray that she had died that morning. ... I wrote a poem to her and ... I went out to the funeral and it was good because it was closure. Richard did a wonderful thing — he orchestrated the funeral. So the band played and then everyone was sad. At this sad moment he had them play a space chord, and you could literally see the sadness — it was like a wall of glass — break up. And then there was joy in the room because she'd gone to a better place.

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** More from the conversation with June Tyson, Richard Wilkinson, & Phil Schaap, excerpted above:

** See also this rich & beautiful conversation with June, courtesy of Sun Ra Research. It must have been such a delight to be in her company: