The selection on this compilation of
Jo Stafford's early recordings is flawless. A legend on the sleeve reads "25 hits 1941-1947," and that is nearly accurate, as the 74-and-a-half-minute disc contains every Top Ten hit -- all 18 of them -- on which
Stafford sang a lead vocal in the almost seven years under consideration.
Stafford began that period as one of four members of
the Pied Pipers, the vocal group that was part of
Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, but
Dorsey gradually let her sing without the group, notably on the hits "Yes, Indeed!" (a duet with its composer and arranger,
Sy Oliver) and "Manhattan Serenade." Leaving
Dorsey,
the Pipers signed to Capitol Records, and
Stafford also signed as a solo artist, though she continued to record with the group at first, scoring with their reading of "The Trolley Song" even as she was having solo hits that started with "It Could Happen to You." By 1945, she had left
the Pipers, though she rejoined them and Capitol label head
Johnny Mercer on the chart-topping "Candy." Ironically, her only other number one hit during this period came with her comic
country rendition of "Temptation," credited to
Red Ingle & the Natural Seven, under the pseudonym Cinderella G. Stump. In addition to including all the major hits in chronological order by recording date, compiler
Peter Dempsey has thrown in a few obscurities, notably two jazzy recordings, "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?" and "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time," on which
Stafford is backed by the King Cole Trio and two horns. Mastered from 78s, the tracks are not of the best sound quality, but they are adequate, and the selection makes this the essential early
Jo Stafford collection. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
