by Stephen Cook
During the immediate postwar years, singer Jo Stafford rose to fame as both a member of Tommy Dorsey's band and as a solo act. Part of a loose sorority of pop-jazz vocalists that also included Kay Starr, June Christy, and Julie London, Stafford excelled at both swingers and ballads using her patented smooth pipes. On this mid-'50s outing, she's joined by accordionist Art Van Damme and His Quintet. Covering a ballad and mid-tempo mix of standards, Stafford especially excels on &Almost Like Being in Love,& &One for My Baby,& and &But Not for Me.& While not in the same league of contemporary work by Christy and London, Once Over Lightly still fits in well with the many cocktail vocal offerings from the '50s.