Oh What a Voice

Category: Obituary

For younger people, "You Belong to Me" evokes memories of either Carly Simon or the Doobie Brothers. However, the older people -- and music buffs -- immediately think of that wonderful song from the 50s and Jo Stafford's remarkable voice.

Jo Stafford died July 16th of congestive heart failure at her home in Century City, California. Most people who remember her probably thought she died ages ago. Sadly, there is not much desire for the popular music she and others of her era performed, so the fact that her name only surfaced in the public eye through death is understandable, though regrettable.

Jo Stafford began as a singer in vocal group called the Pied Pipers in the 1930s. Tommy Dorsey's arranger heard them and invited them to leave California for New York. The band broke up soon afterwards, but Stafford and two others remained in New York and quickly found work with Dorsey and performing on recordings by Dorsey's vocalist, Frank Sinatra.

Stafford became a popular singer on the USO circuit during World War II. After the war, Stafford and Gordon MacRae (no relation to the 70s "Rock Your Baby" singer George McCrae) had a series of successful duets. She also performed with former Spike Jones City Slicker Red Ingle and his new band, Natural Seven, on their country comedy hit, "Tim-Tay-Shun." The comedy routine would serve her well: her only Grammy came for "Best Comedy Performance" in 1960 for Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris.

In the 50s, Stafford found a number of her hits in the country genre. She scored pop hits with "Jambalaya" and "Hey Good Lookin'" (both Hank Williams tunes) and "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I," a major country hit for Hank Snow.

However, if she is best remembered for one song, it is most likely "You Belong to Me," the Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart composition she recorded in 1952. Her vocal performance wowed fans on both sides of the Atlantic, sending the song to #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. It was not only her biggest hit in England, it put her in the record books in Britain, as she became the first female artist to top the British pop charts.

Stafford's career, like many of her pop contemporaries such as Frankie Laine (with whom she had a number of duet hits) and Patti Page, saw their careers plummet with the advent of rock and roll. Stafford, however, maintained a loyal fan base and continued to perform into her 60s.

Jo Stafford was 90.