Jo Stafford

[Mark Stryker]

Last night in the car I heard on the radio Jo Stafford's early recording of "It Could Happen to You" and it totally knocked me out -- the phrasing and breath control were amazing; Sinatra-esque in the liquid legato, relaxed time and how she links certain lines without breaking for breath. Anyway, I regret to say that I know next to nothing about Stafford's work. So, before I trek out to the used record stores this weekend, anybody have advice as to what to look for and any qualitative distinctions to be made between early and later periods of her work?

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Mark Stryker

[Bright Moments]

ANYWHERE!!! she is terrific and has perfect pitch to boot!

[AllenLowe]

I like the late 40s, early 50s - also, beware her hillbilly parodies (she did them with Paul Weston, to whom she was married, I think).

[flat5]

Yes they were married.

The parody records were made using the names Jonathan and Darlene Edwards and in my opinion they are worth having because they are funny.

It is fun to play them at a party when nobody knows what they are listening to.

[mmilovan]

Mark Stryker,

totally true. Not only perfect pitch and breath control but very capable of subtle melody altering, just any great singer capable of doing.

I will always look for her nearly swing-to-bop uptempo interpretations of popular standards from the 1940's (especially Capitol period), but records with Tommy Dorsey are also worth listen to.

Also, few discussions here:

[Shrdlu]

Compare with most of today's female vocalists, most of whom just squawk.

[JSngry]

Jo Stafford (and Paul Weston!) had skills!

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6raAdR-1s0o

Still haven't gotten the whole Tommy Dorsey thing, but damn, you look at all the talent involved and skills of the highest order was pretty much a prerequisite.

As for the hillbilly parody, that was done Red Ingle & his Natural Seven on at least one song, "Tim-Tay-Shun" & "Seventy Mental Reasons". "Serutan Yob", a total riot, is rumored to have been Stafford as well, but apparently not...

All in all though, there's this http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jUFO2tUBV4c to which all I can say is LORD have mercy!

Edited March 12, 2010 by JSngry

[Dave James]

I've often thought if a new sheriff showed up in town and told me that in the future I could only listen to one vocalist, male or female, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Jo Stafford I'd say and when can I start listening? Unfortunately, most of the clips on YouTube are static, so there appears to be very little video that documents her performances. Too bad. Here's one of those picture vids with Jo doing The Nearness of You. All I can say is "wow".

[Stereojack]

If you can find "Jo + Jazz" or "Jo + Blues", these are her most jazz oriented sides. I also love her late 1940's Capitol sides, there have been several CD's released from this period.

She made many LP's for Columbia in the 1950's. I've never heard a bad one, although she's at her best singing ballads from the Great American Song Book. In the 1960's she recorded a couple of hard-to-find gems: "Do I Hear a Waltz (Dot) and "Getting Sentimental Over Tommy Dorsey" (Reprise). Don't know if these have ever been reissued.

Stafford is one of the greatest!

[Teasing the Korean]

If you can find "Jo + Jazz" or "Jo + Blues", these are her most jazz oriented sides.

Yes, "Jo + Jazz" is a great album, I never heard the other one.

Another nice Columbia album is "Jo Stafford Sings Broadway's Best." I think some tracks from this are on CD but I don't know if it has been released intact.

[JSngry]

Jo Stafford (and Paul Weston!) had skills!

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6raAdR-1s0o

Still haven't gotten the whole Tommy Dorsey thing, but damn, you look at all the talent involved and skills of the highest order was pretty much a prerequisite.

As for the hillbilly parody, that was done Red Ingle & his Natural Seven on at least one song, "Tim-Tay-Shun" & "Seventy Mental Reasons". "Serutan Yob", a total riot, is rumored to have been Stafford as well, but apparently not...

All in all though, there's this http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jUFO2tUBV4c to which all I can say is LORD have mercy!

One thing about both of these clips...Stafford & Weston both made a lot of top-shelf "straighter" music, but when they chose to swing, they swung hard. Not everybody who tried to do that could.

[Dave James]

The other side of Jo, a.k.a. Darlene Edwards pickin' on the Bee Gees. I don't know squick about singing but my understanding is that it's not easy to do this kind of thing.

[mmilovan]

One thing about both of these clips...Stafford & Weston both made a lot of top-shelf "straighter" music, but when they chose to swing, they swung hard. Not everybody who tried to do that could.

I think there is bit of Tommy Dorsey heritage in that Stafford & Weston sound. Truly, it is more evident in straight ballad tempo music (Weston was staff arranger for Dorsey during 1940s), but this Dorsey's band could swing like mad. This switch Tommy made at the beginning of decade, around 1939 or so, IMHO

[JSngry]

All in all though, there's this http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jUFO2tUBV4c to which all I can say is LORD have mercy!

This damn thing has me mesmerized all over agian...check out, not just her actions while singing, but those while she's not, from her walk out to the mike, how she swing around to face it in rhythm and immediately gets that foot pat going strong, to her move away from the mike during the band break to how she just moves right along with the band while they play to how she gets back to the mike at exactly the right moment to that little grin at the end that says "that kicked ass & you know it and I know it but you don't need to know that I know it as much as I do" to the timing of the bow to come up exactly when the band cuts off....this is all stuff that nobody has to do...to want to do it, and to do it this thoroughly speaks volumes to how into what she did she was doing..

While we're at it...it CAN'T be as easy as she makes it sound to do this:

there's a quiet confidence in all this that comes from knowing you got a gift, knowing you've done your work, knowing that you got SKILLS and can't nobody fuck with you because you do. At some point you just gotta say "wow, that Jo Stafford chick was BAD!!!!"

[Stereojack]

All in all though, there's this http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jUFO2tUBV4c to which all I can say is LORD have mercy!

Is that Marty Paich conducting the band?

[Quasimado]

Perfection!

[Peter Friedman]

Just pulled this one. Will play it tomorrow.