Thank You for Calling

Jo Elizabeth Stafford (Coalinga (Californië, 12 november 1917 - Century City (Los Angeles), 16 juli 2008 was een Amerikaans pop- en jazz-zangeres. Haar carrière begon in de jaren dertig en liep door tot in het begin van de jaren zestig.
Stafford wilde aanvankelijk operazangeres worden en studeerde ook piano, maar door de Grote Depressie gaf zij dit in 1929 op en sloot zich direct bij haar zusters Christine en Pauline aan.

Gedrieën vormden zij de zanggroep "The Stafford Sisters". Die Staffords namen ook deel aan de muziek van de films "Damsel in Distress" en "Alexander's Ragtime Band".

Nadat haar zusters getrouwd waren viel de band uiteen en Jo sloot zich aan bij een nieuwe band: The Pied Pipers. Deze groep werd snel populair bij lokale radiostations en zong ook soundtracks van films in.
Nadat Jo Stafford de Pied Pipers verlaten had werkte ze samen met Johnny Mercer, die in 1942 het platenlabel Capitol Records mede opgericht had. Mercer nam haar aan als soliste.

In de vijftiger jaren zette de succesvolle carrière zich voort. In Nederland is zij vooral bekend door 'Thank you for calling'.

De vertolking van dit lied door Jo Stafford was tijdenlang de favoriete song van mijn moeder, jarig op 28 november...





Jo Stafford trad een maal samen op met Ella Fitzgerald:


She was as fine a musical artist as any in the 20th century, up there in a group that included Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee. Jo Stafford, who died July 16 at age 90, sang directly in the center of the note, and her sound was as clear as a Spanish town at noon. Stafford was also remarkable for the diversity of the material she tackled. She was one of the greatest ballad singers who ever lived, but she sang pop songs--her 1952 hit You Belong to Me sold 2 million copies--as well as folk music, country songs and novelty numbers. For a very successful period, Stafford and her husband, arranger Paul Weston (above, left), satirized popular singing under the names of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. Stafford sang deliberately off-key; Weston played a ghastly, oversentimentalized piano. People loved it.
During World War II and the Korean War, Stafford toured extensively, performing for U.S. servicemen. She was shy and neither greatly beautiful nor a huge theatrical presence. But because she was so dignified and understated, soldiers could identify with her. When she sang, servicemen overseas felt as if they were at home. Although she was a major star, she was a modest person who would have seemed out of place in a limousine. She was like a girl on a bus, always heading toward the music.
TIME 29 dec 2008