June Smith

June Smith (9 June 1930 in Edinburgh – 6 May 2016) was a British-born Australian jazz singer, trumpeter and music teacher who performed in her later years in the region around Perth, Western Australia. Life June Robinson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 9 June 1930. Her mother was a singer and pianist and her father was a saxophonist. At 16, she officially began her performing career as a singer and trumpeter with the girls' band of Blanche Coleman. Three years later she became a member of "Britain’s most famous all female swing band, Ivy Benson and Her All Girl Orchestra," performing in British music halls and during several overseas tours, including North Africa, to entertain the armed forces. Bands like Benson's were formed during World War II when most male musicians were called up for combat duty. In 1951, she met the saxophone and clarinet player Lew Smith at Butlin’s Holiday Camp in Filey, North Yorkshire. They married on December 8, 1952, and she changed her name to June Smith. In 1955, the couple were both playing in the Denny Boyce Orchestra, at the Orchid Ballroom, Purley, in London. Emigration In 1961 she emigrated with her husband to Australia. In Melbourne, June and Lew were performing in the rock band Maximum Load, which had a local hit with Riding Through the Dandenong Ranges.