THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

585-Jo Stafford-You Belong to Me.

1953-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 2.32. Jo Stafford became the very first female singer to have a UK Number 1, when this song topped the chart in January 1953.

‘You Belong to Me’ was initially written by Chilton Price (1913-2010,) while working as a librarian at the Louisville radio station,’WAVE,’ where the Country Music artists Pee Wee King, (1914-2000) and Redd Stewart (1923-2003,) were regular performers. Price showed this song, and others she had written to King, and Stewart, and after they had made lyric, and melody adjustments, were co-credited as the songs authors. Although in a 2002 interview Price claimed that King and Stewart had no part in the writing of the song, but Billy Stewart the son of Redd refutes that claim, saying that Stewart and King revised the lyrics, and improved the melody. The other song of note to which all three are credited is the 1951 composition ‘Slow Poke,’ which gave Pee Wee King a Billboard Country Number 1 single in 1951, as well as topping the chart in Australia in 1952.

Jo Elizabeth Stafford was born November 12th, 1917, in Coalinga, California, United States, she died from congestive heart failure on July 16th, 2008. Her first venture into music was forming the ‘Stafford Sisters’ a vocal trio, with her two older sisters at the age of 12. In 1938 she became the lead singer of the ‘Pied Pipers,’ performing backing vocals with the ‘Tommy Dorsey’ Big Band.’ During World War 2, she regularly performed concerts for soldiers, which earned her the nickname ‘G.I. Jo.’ She was an actress appearing in 15 films between 1936-1947, and also had her own television show,’The Jo Stafford Show,’ in 1954, and again in 1961. Between 1944-1956 she achieved 80 top 40 singles on Billboard, including four Number 1 songs. Jo Stafford also recorded comedy with her second husband Paul Weston (1912-1996,) under the stage name of ‘Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, releasing five studio Albums, and two singles, including a cover of The Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive.’

‘See the marketplace in old Algiers, send me photographs and souvenirs.’