Jo Stafford (1917–2008) was an American traditional pop music singer and occasional actress whose career spanned five decades. Admired for the purity of her voice, she achieved by 1955 more worldwide record sales than any other woman artist. Born in Coalinga, California, Stafford made her first musical appearance at age twelve. She was trained as an opera singer before turning to popular music. With her two older sisters, she appeared in Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1938, where she met musicians with whom she formed the The Pied Pipers and became the group's lead singer. Her work with the USO, giving concerts for soldiers, earned her the nickname "G.I. Jo". From 1945, Stafford was a regular host of the NBC series The Chesterfield Supper Club and later appeared on television including two series called The Jo Stafford Show. In 1961, the album Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris won Stafford her only Grammy Award. In the 1970s, she recorded a cover of the Bee Gees hit "Stayin' Alive". Her work is recognized by three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her 1952 song "You Belong to Me" made her the first woman to reach number one on the U.K. Singles Chart.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Stafford

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1330:

Led by voivode Basarab I, Wallachian forces defeated the Hungarian army in an ambush at the Battle of Posada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Posada

1892:

William Heffelfinger was paid $525 by the Allegheny Athletic Association, becoming the first professional American football player on record. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heffelfinger

1944:

Second World War: The Royal Air Force sank the German battleship Tirpitz on the ninth attempt, resulting in about 1,000 deaths of the sailors on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Tirpitz

1996:

A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakhstan Airlines cargo plane collided in mid-air near New Delhi, killing 349 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charkhi_Dadri_mid-air_collision

2006:

Although the Georgian government declared it illegal, South Ossetia held a referendum on independence, with about 99 percent of voters supporting, to preserve the region's status as a de facto independent state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetian_independence_referendum,_2006

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

peri: A sprite or supernatural being in Persian mythology. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peri

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.   --Bahá'u'lláh https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h