Yesterday Once More

20 Oct 2015

Neil Sedaka And Jo Stafford

Hi Listeners,

This week we are presenting another of our Featured Artists’ programs. Neil Sedaka and Jo Stafford are seemingly very different artists but share one thing, apart from their tremendous popularity. They were both classically trained: Neil Sedaka as a concert pianist and Jo Stafford as an opera singer.

Neil Sedaka has sold millions of pop records and written over 500 hits for other singers. In fact, his songwriting successes matches his singing successes. He was originally a singer with The Tokens who had a worldwide smash hit in 1961 with ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. He also penned a lot of Connie Francis’s big hits in collaboration with Howard Greenfield.

Sedaka’s output of songs was phenomenal and trying to select six of them for a program is always going to seem restrictive. However, three of his big hits ‘Calendar Girl’, ‘Laughter In The Rain’ and ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do’ represents his long list of hit singles. One of his writing successes ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ will also be featured.

One critic said of Jo Stafford, “The voice says it all,beautiful, pure, straightforward, no artifice, matchless intonation and easily recognizable“. That says it all about Jo Stafford’s remarkable popularity through out five decades. Like many female singers of her time she sang in front of big bands like the Paul Weston Orchestra (whom she later married). It was an era when ‘the voice’ was the most important instrument in a song.

Described as a ‘coloratura soprano’ Jo Stafford was the world’s leading female vocalist, being the first American female singer to top the UK charts with ‘You Belong To Me’ in 1955. In the program we will present a selection of her best known songs including ‘ Wind In The Willow’, ‘Shrimp Boats’, On London Bridge’ and “It’s Almost Tomorrow’. Listen to her soaring, inspirational version of ‘Shenandoah’ and you will understand the adulation she received for her pure voice.

Playlist