Jo Stafford, popular singer of the big band era, died today of congestive heart failure at the age of 90. She got the nickname GI Jo from servicemen who gave her the honorary title after she touched them so deeply during the 2nd World War and the Korean War.
Stafford, who had recorded over 800 songs, reached the charts with 26, and close to a dozen reached the top 10. Over the course of her career she sold over 25 million records (flat, round vinyl things).
Accroding to her son Tim Weston, many of her records still play as backgroun in a number of films. Her last recorded record was in 1970. She had suffered health problems since October 2007, said Weston.
Jo Stafford - You Belong To Me
Stafford and husband her husband Paul Weston secretly recorded a comedy album under assumed names of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, where they purposely played terrible piano and Stafford sang off key. Eventually their ruse was discovered, and their second comedy album ended up winning the duo a Grammy in 1960 for the best comedy album.
Ella Fitzgerald/Jo Stafford Medley of love songs 1961 part1
Unusual for a singer, Stafford was extremely shy, and only played one time in a nightclub.
Concerning that incident, she said in a 1996 interview, "I'm basically a singer, period ... and I think I'm really lousy up in front of an audience ... it's just not me."
Even so, she did appear in front of more controlled studio audiences, and also on radio and television up through the 1950s.
Along with her son Tim, Stafford is survived by her daughter Amy Wells, and four grandchildren.
Jo Stafford - Long Ago And Far Away (1944)
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