jo stafford: 108 classic sides from a great american hitmaker

Born in 1917, her schooldays were spent at Long Beach. She undertook classical music training, hoping for a career in opera. The Depression intervened. Three days after leaving high school, she joined her sisters to form the Stafford Sisters Trio. They worked first on radio, graduating to singing 'off camera' vocals for movie musicals, backing stars like Fred Astaire and Alice Faye. When a sister married, the trio disbanded. With two male singing groups 'The Four Esquires' and 'The Three Rhythm Kings', they formed an octet - The Pied Pipers. Their main work was on radio commercials. They were 'discovered' by Eli Oberman, who offered them a one-disc deal. Those historic sides, dating from 1939, are featured here, as are two 'Pipers' RCA recordings made the same year. Success was short. In 1939 they lost their radio show and broke up. Reformed as a quartet, they joined Tommy Dorsey. Their first Dorsey recordings were in February 1940, and one of that day's titles - What Can I Say (After I've Said I'm Sorry) is included here, as is Jo's first solo hit For You. During WW2, Jo's voice represented a link with home - her voice was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio and recorded on forces-only 'V' Discs. Touring with the band, Jo and the Pipers won an army of fans - but it was not to last. The Pipers were the object of one of Dorsey's tantrums and they walked out. Capitol Records signed them. Jo's first Capitol release, Old Acquaintance, entered the charts, but it was two movie-related hits - Long Ago (and Far Away) and The Trolley Song that made her a star. Success prevailed during the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Then came Rock 'n' Roll. Hit Parade success began to pass her by, but Jo carried on. In 1961 she moved to London, to film a high budget, thirteen-week TV series to feature many of the era's top artists. It was distributed worldwide. On her return to the States Jo recorded with a series of labels, but her career slowly ran down. It was a decent run.
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