Jo Stafford was born on November 12 1917 in Coalinga, California, USA. She had originally wanted to be an opera singer, but she decided instead to join her sisters to form a group, The StaffordSisters. Jo Stafford 1917 - 2008

Jo Stafford was born on November 12 1917 in Coalinga, California, USA. She had originally wanted to be an opera singer, but she decided instead to join her sisters, Christine and Pauline to form a vocal group, The Stafford Sisters. Jo Stafford's career spanned five decades, from the late 1920s to the early 1960s. From 1949 until 1953 Jo Stafford made at least 400 broadcasts for Radio Luxembourg, and The Voice of America.

On Saturday September 9 1961 British television viewers watched the first of nine, fortnightly, themed shows starring Jo Stafford and her guests. The Jo Stafford Show, the first truly international television musical series, produced by ATV (Associated Television) at the Boreham Wood studios, in Hertfordshire, England. This star-studded show has guest artistes from both Britain and from the United States.

Jo Stafford is joined in these shows by some of the most famous artistes in showbusiness, including Claire Bloom, Benny Hill, Stanley Holloway, Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, Peter Lawford Peggy Lee, Kathleen Harrison, Robert Morley Kenneth More, Harry Secombe Peter Sellers, Edd Byrne, Roy Castle, Rosemary Clooney and James Darren. At Jo's personal request, the British vocal group, The Polka Dots accompanies her in each of the shows.

Each of the shows has a theme and in one of the shows the theme is Love and Jo is joined in this show by Ella Fittzgerald and they sing a medley of popular romantic songs. In another of the shows the theme is Travel and Jo is joined by actor Kenneth More, with the famous vintage car which features in his film Genevieve. The other themes include: the four seasons of the year and the English language.

On one occasion the show's entire company & guests, including, Robert Morley, Stanley Holloway and the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, left the confines of the ATV studios to record the show at the world-famous London Palladium. The Jo Stafford Show was made for world-wide distribution, and it is estimated that with her other weekly radio and television shows, Jo reached an audience of more than 500 million viewers! See Jo on YouTube