Veteran singer Jo Stafford has died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 90. Stafford, who garnered the nickname 'GI Jo' after becoming a big hit with US servicemen during the second world war, had been in ill health for some months, finally succumbing to heart failure.
The singer was born in Coalinga, California, and began her career by performing with her sisters as The Stafford Sisters. When they married and gave up singing, she became the only female vocalist of a new group, The Pied Pipers. The group became very successful in the thirties and forties, working on local radio and film soundtracks, and backing Frank Sinatra on some early recordings, but Stafford went solo in 1944. Over the course of her career, 26 of her singles made the charts, many of which made the top ten, and she even had her own TV series. She also turned her hand to comedy, winning a Grammy for one of the number of comic albums she released with husband Paul Weston, under their alter-egos of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.
Her son Tim Weston described her as a "reluctant star", saying that "she loved making records and really didn't crave the attention of personal appearances".
Stafford is survived by her son, a daughter, and four grandchildren.