One of the greats of American Song, Jo Stafford, died last week. She was a brilliantly understated recording artist who always brought great clarity to what she did. Interestingly, we can’t claim her as a great “cabaret” artist — she is said to have played one nightclub gig and refused to do it ever again.
But she was a triple threat in her own way. In addition to her solo career, she was one of the original Pied Pipers singing with the Tommy Dorsey band. Moreover, she and her husband Paul Weston recorded a series of brilliant comedy CDs as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, two of the most brilliantly incompetent singers ever. In fact, Stafford’s only Grammy came in the comedy category. (This was my first real introduction to Stafford’s work — it was a special favorite of my musical mentor Carl Barnwell. And some people might say they see a strong strain of Darlene Edwards’s influence in my work)
July 24, 2008 at 4:44 pm |
Well-played, Michael. What a charming and thoughtful write-up. I’m going to look into those comedy albums right way!