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Jo Stafford (born Jo Elizabeth Stafford November 12, 1917, in Coalinga, California) is an American pop singer whose career spanned the late 1930s through the early 1960s. Stafford is greatly admired for the purity of her voice and is considered one of the most versatile vocalists of the era. She is also viewed as a pioneer of modern musical parody, having won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1961 (with husband Paul Weston) for their album Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris. American singer Source: http://www2. ...
is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...
Coalinga is a city located in Fresno County, California. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Traditional pop or Classic pop music denotes, in general, Western (and particularly American) popular music that either wholly predates the eruption of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of...
This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the...
Dot Records was an American record label which was active between 1950 and 1977. ...
is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...
Coalinga is a city located in Fresno County, California. ...
Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...
A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ...
The human voice consists of sound made by a human using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying and screaming. ...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album was awarded from yearly 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to present day. ...
Paul Weston (real name Wetstein) (March 12, 1912 - September 20, 1996) was a US pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. ...
Early years
Stafford was born to Grover Cleveland Stafford and Anna York Stafford, a distant cousin of Sergeant Alvin York. Originally, she wanted to become an opera singer and studied voice as a child. However, because of the economic Great Depression, she abandoned that idea and joined her sisters Christine and Pauline in a popular vocal group, "The Stafford Sisters," which performed on Los Angeles radio station KHJ. Alvin York, and his army registration card Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 â September 2, 1964) was a United States soldier, famous for both his being a conscientious objector and hero in World War I. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine...
The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ...
The Great Depression was the result of the economic downturn that started with the Stock Market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ...
Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...
Abba Crosby Stills & Nash Danny & The Juniors Dion & the Belmonts Dixie Hummingbirds Earth Wind & Fire Fifth Dimension Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers Gladys Knight & The Pips Hank Ballard & the Midnighters Jay & the Americans Little Anthony & the Imperials Martha & the Vandellas Peter, Paul and Mary Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Sonny Til and...
d Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ...
The Pied Pipers When her sisters married, the group broke up and Stafford joined a new vocal group, The Pied Pipers. This group consisted of eight members: John Huddleston (who was Stafford's husband at the time), Hal Hooper, Chuck Lowry, Bud Hervey, George Tait, Woody Newbury, and Dick Whittinghill, besides Stafford. The group became very popular, working on local radio and movie soundtracks, and caught the attention of two of Tommy Dorsey's arrangers, Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston. The Pied Pipers were a popular singing group in the late 1930s and 1940s. ...
Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ...
In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ...
Tommy Dorsey, in a publicity shot for The Big Apple Tommy Dorsey (November 19, 1905 â November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist and bandleader in the Big Band era. ...
In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ...
Stordahl and Frank Sinatra at the first Capitol recording session in 1953 Axel Stordahl (8 August 1913-August 30, 1963) was an arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. ...
Paul Weston (real name Wetstein) (March 12, 1912 - September 20, 1996) was a US pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. ...
In 1938, Weston persuaded Dorsey to sign The Pied Pipers for his radio show, and they went to New York for a broadcast date. Dorsey liked them enough to sign them for ten weeks, but after the second broadcast the sponsor heard them and disliked them, firing the group. They stayed in New York for three months, but landed only a single job that paid them just $3.60 each, though they did record four sides for RCA Victor Records. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ...
RCA, formerly an acronym for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark owned by Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson. ...
Half the members of the Pied Pipers returned to Los Angeles, but they had a difficult time trying to make a living until they got an offer from Dorsey to join his big band in 1939. This led to success for the whole group, but especially for Stafford, who was also featured in solo performances. The group also backed Frank Sinatra in some of his early recordings. A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. ...
Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 â May 14, 1998) was an American jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ...
In 1942, the group had an argument with Dorsey and left, but in 1943 it became one of the first groups signed to Johnny Mercer's new label, Capitol Records. Capitol's music director was the same Paul Weston who had been instrumental in introducing Stafford to Dorsey. Weston and Stafford married in 1952. They went on to have two children, Tim and Amy. John Herndon Johnny Mercer (November 18, 1909 â June 25, 1976) was a popular American songwriter and singer. ...
Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the...
Solo career In 1944, Stafford left the Pied Pipers to go solo. Her tenure with the USO, in which she gave countless performances for soldiers stationed overseas, acquired her the nickname "GI Jo." USO is a TLA that may stand for: Unidentified submarine object Udaipur Solar Observatory Ultra stable oscillator Unidentified submarine object or Unidentified swimming object or Unidentified submersible object Union der Schülerorganisationen (uso. ...
Beginning in 1944, she hosted the Tuesday and Thursday broadcasts of an NBC musical variety radio program — the Chesterfield Supper Club. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...
Chesterfield Supper Club was an NBC musical variety radio program (1944-50) and was also broadcast as a television program (1948-50). ...
In 1948 Stafford and Gordon MacRae had a million-seller with their version of "Say Something Sweet to Your Sweetheart" and in 1949 repeated their success with "My Happiness". Albert Gordon MacRae (born 12 March 1921 in East Orange, New Jersey, â died 24 January 1986 in Lincoln, Nebraska) was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in musical films of the 1950s. ...
In 1950, she left Capitol for Columbia Records, then returning to Capitol in 1961. At Columbia, she was the first recording artist to sell twenty-five million records. During her second stint at Capitol, Stafford also recorded for Frank Sinatra's Reprise label. These albums were released between 1961 and 1964, and were mostly retrospective in nature. Stafford left the label when Sinatra sold it to Warner Bros. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ...
In the 1950s, she had a string of popular hits with Frankie Laine, six of which charted; their duet of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'" making the top ten in 1951. It was also at this time that Stafford scored her best known hits with huge records like "Jambalaya," "Shrimp Boats," "Make Love to Me," and "You Belong to Me". The last song was Stafford's all-time biggest hit, topping the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom (the first song by a female singer to top the UK chart). Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio (March 30, 1913 â February 6, 2007), was one of the most successful American singers of the twentieth century. ...
It has been suggested that Audrey Williams be merged into this article or section. ...
Hey Good Lookin is a 1951 song recorded by Hank Williams. ...
Jambalaya is a popular song. ...
Shrimp Boats was a popular song in the 1950s. ...
Make Love To Me is a popular song. ...
You Belong to Me is a popular song. ...
Comedy career Stafford briefly experimented with comedy under the name "Cinderella G. Stump" with Red Ingle and the Natural Seven. True success in the comedy genre, though, would come about almost accidentally. Best known for his comedy records with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides for Capitol, Ernest Jansen Red Ingle (1906-65) was a musician, singer and writer, arranger, cartoonist and caricaturist. ...
Throughout the 1950s, Stafford and Paul Weston would entertain guests at parties by putting on a skit in which they assumed the identities Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, a bad lounge act. Stafford, as Darlene, would sing off-key in a high pitched voice; Weston, as Jonathan, played an untuned piano off key and with bizarre rhythms. Finding that she had time left over following a 1957 recording session, Stafford, as a gag, recorded a track as Darlene Edwards. Those who heard bootlegs of the recording responded positively, and later that year, Stafford and Weston recorded an entire album of songs as Jonathan and Darlene, entitled Jo Stafford and Paul Weston Present: The Original Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards, Vocals by Darlene Edwards. An assortment of bootleg recordings A bootleg recording (or simply bootleg or boot) is an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist, or under other legal authority. ...
As a publicity stunt, Stafford and Weston claimed that the Edwardses were a New Jersey lounge act that they had discovered, and denied any personal connection; much time would pass before people realized (and Stafford and Weston admitted) that they were in fact the Edwardses. Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area Ranked 47th - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²) - Width 70 miles (110 km) - Length 150 miles (240 km) - % water 14. ...
The album was a commercial and critical success. The couple continued releasing Jonathan and Darlene albums, with their 1961 album, Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris winning that year's Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album (they "tied" with Bob Hope, as the Grammys decided, in a rare move, to issue two comedy awards that year. Hope was given an award for "Spoken Word Comedy.") It was the only major award that Stafford ever won. Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 â July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ...
The couple continued to release Jonathan and Darlene albums for several years, and in 1977 released a final, one-off single, a cover of The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" backed with "I Am Woman." The same year also saw a brief resurgence in the popularity of Jonathan and Darlene albums, when their cover of "Carioca" was featured as the opening and closing theme to The Kentucky Fried Movie. The Bee Gees: Maurice, Barry and Robin The Bee Gees were a British and Australian band, originally a pop singer-songwriter combination, reborn as funk and disco. ...
Stayin Alive is a song by The Bee Gees, released as a single in 1977. ...
I Am Woman was a song performed by Australian singer Helen Reddy. ...
Carioca is an adjective in the Portuguese language that refers to people or things from (i. ...
US movie poster The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. ...
Today, the Jonathan and Darlene albums are seen as an important step in musical comedy, and some see them as the predecessors to parody comedians such as "Weird Al" Yankovic. This article is about the musician himself. ...
Retirement In 1966, Stafford went into semi-retirement, retiring completely from the music business in 1975. Except for the 1977 Jonathan and Darlene Edwards version of "Stayin' Alive," Stafford wouldn't perform again until 1990, at a ceremony honoring Frank Sinatra. Retirement is the point where a person stops employment. ...
Stafford won a breach-of-contract lawsuit against her former record label in the early 1990s, which won her the rights to all of her old recordings, including the Jonathan and Darlene recordings. Following the lawsuit, Stafford, along with son Tim, reactivated the Corinthian Record label which began life as a religious label the deeply religious Paul Weston had started. With Paul Weston's help, she compiled a pair of Best of Jonathan and Darlene albums, which were released in 1993. In 1996, Paul Weston died of natural causes. As of 2005, Stafford continues to operate Corinthian Records. In 2006, she donated her library and her husband's to the University of Arizona. As of March 12th 2007 there is an internet campaign in the UK to get 'No Other Love' into the top 40 of the UK singles chart. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
The University of Arizona (UA or U of A) is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. ...
Notable songs Solo Allentown Jail is a folk song. ...
Autumn in New York is a jazz standard composed by Vernon Duke in 1934. ...
Day by Day is a popular song. ...
Early Autumn is a 1949 song composed by Ralph Burns and Woody Herman with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. ...
Goodnight Irene, or Irene, is an American folk standard. ...
The Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village, New York, United States. ...
I Love You was a popular song, written in 1939 by Cole Porter and popularized by Bing Crosby in 1944. ...
Ill Be Seeing You is a popular song. ...
It Could Happen to You is a popular standard written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen. ...
Its Almost Tomorrow is a popular song. ...
The Dream Weavers were a popular singing group, primarily famous in the 1950s, consisting of Gene Adkinson and Wade Buff. ...
Jambalaya is a popular song. ...
Keep It a Secret - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...
Long Ago (and Far Away) is a popular song. ...
Make Love To Me is a popular song. ...
No Other Love is a popular song. ...
Pierino Ronaldo Perry Como (May 18, 1912 â May 12, 2001) was an Italian American crooner during the latter half of the 20th century. ...
Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a popular song composed by Maurice Abrahams in 1912. ...
September Song is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. ...
Serenade of the Bells is a popular song. ...
Shrimp Boats was a popular song in the 1950s. ...
Some Enchanted Evening is a popular song from the musical South Pacific, written by Richard Rodgers (music), and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics). ...
Ezio Pinza The Italian bass Ezio Pinza (18 May 1892 - 9 May 1957) was one of the outstanding opera singers of the first half of the 20th century. ...
Suddenly Theres a Valley is a popular song. ...
Gogi Grant (born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg, September 20, 1924) was an American popular singer. ...
Teach Me Tonight is a popular song. ...
The DeCastro Sisters were a female singing group: they consisted of Peggy, Cherie, and Babette DeCastro. ...
Thank You for Calling is a popular and country song. ...
Thats For Me is a popular song. ...
(Now and Then Theres) A Fool Such as I is a popular song. ...
Clarence Eugene Snow (May 9, 1914 â December 20, 1999), better known as Hank Snow, was a Hall of Fame country music singer and songwriter. ...
Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 â August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer, musician and actor. ...
Theres No You is a popular song. ...
The Things We Did Last Summer is a popular song from 1946. ...
You Belong to Me is a popular song. ...
White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ...
Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 â October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ...
With Frankie Laine Hey Good Lookin is a 1951 song recorded by Hank Williams. ...
Basin Street Blues is a song written in Dixieland Swing style, by Spencer Williams. ...
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening is a popular song. ...
With Gordon MacRae A â Youre Adorable is a popular song written by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise, and Sid Lippman, published in 1948. ...
Pierino Ronaldo Perry Como (May 18, 1912 â May 12, 2001) was an Italian American crooner during the latter half of the 20th century. ...
Dearie is a popular song. ...
My Darling, My Darling is a popular song. ...
Septimus Winner (11 May 1827 - 22 November 1902) is best known as a songwriter during the 19th century. ...
Echoes is a popular song. ...
Cinderella (first released on February 15, 1950) is an animated film by The Walt Disney Company in which a young girl abused by her stepmother and step-sisters is still able to go the ball and win her prince, with the help of a fairy godmother, a half dozen mice...
With Johnny Mercer - "Candy"
- "It's Great To Be Alive"
Candy is a popular song. ...
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