Jo Stafford

Jo Elizabeth Stafford (born November 12, 1917) is a singer whose career spanned the late 1920s 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 considered 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."

Retirement

In 1966, Stafford went into semi-retirement, retiring completely from the music business in 1975. In 1977, she and Paul Weston recorded a one-off cover of The Beegees "Stayin' Alive." Stafford wouldn't perform again until 1990, at a ceremony honoring Frank Sinatra.

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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 Edwards recordings. Following the lawsuit, Stafford, along with son Tim, started the Corinth Record label, and began releasing her old albums. 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 Corinth Records.

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