Born June Robinson in Edinburgh on June 9, 1930 to a pianist-singer mother and saxophonist father, she began her career as a trumpeter and vocalist with Blanch Coleman’s all-girl band at 16. Three years later, she was recruited by the Ivy Benson Orchestra, with whom she toured UK music halls and did several overseas tours to entertain the forces. She met sax and clarinet player Lew Smith during a Butlin’s holiday camp season in Yorkshire in the summer of 1951 and they were married the following year. In 1955, the couple joined the Denny Boyce Orchestra at Orchid Ballroom, Purley.
In 1961 they migrated to Melbourne where their music careers included the rock band Maximum Load, which had a local hit record ''Riding Through the Dandenong Ranges''. In 1974 they moved to Perth and June became active as a singer on stage, radio and prom performances with the WA Symphony Orchestra. She was invited to join Jazz Divas by Helen Matthews and later formed June Smith and the Apple Band with Lew, which performed regularly around Perth. She helped to found Jazz Fremantle in 1992 and became a patron of the club. In 2005 she received a lifetime achievement award from Perth Jazz Society and continued to perform until 2013. She died peacefully in 2016 with her husband of 63 years by her side.
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