JO STAFFORD
During the 1940s, when the top-billed women in the music business were usually featured vocalists in big bands, Jo Stafford and Dinah Shore each had an impressive string of hit records as solo acts. Their bandleaders (Paul Weston, in Jo's case) were satisfied to take a back seat to the talent and charisma of the beauty behind the mic. As a result, Dinah and Jo were the era's premier female singers, outselling all others. It was a close call as to which of the two was more successful in those pre-Patti Page days. When the '50s rolled around, each took a different path to retaining star status; Jo changed record labels and continued her chart-topping ways while Dinah moved, rather spectacularly, into the relatively new realm of network television. Jo didn't start ... MORE ››
