Jonathan and Darlene Edwards

Jonathan and Darlene Edwards were an off key, out of tune musical duo for comedic effect, the alter-egos of a prominent (and much more competent) musical couple. The pair were actually popular singer Jo Stafford (heard on radio's Chesterfield Supper Club alternating with Perry Como) and her husband, arranger/orchestra leader Paul Weston (musical director for Capitol Records). 
The concept was based on an act Weston did at parties, playing the piano like "the most horrible cocktail pianist at anytime, anywhere."Weston, Paul and Jo Stafford. Song of the Open Road: An Autobiography and Other Writings. BearManor Media, 2012 He was approached for an album, with the character christened Jonathan Edwards, but Weston felt a full album would need more than the bad piano player and enlisted Jo Stafford to vocalize as Darlene. The pair kept in rhythm and time with neither the source song nor even each other. Their debut was The Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards (1957), followed sporadically by four more sequels as late as 1982, as well as a 1979 single covering "Stayin' Alive." 
Jim Henson used multiple tracks from the Jonathan and Darlene albums on Sam and Friends, as well as occasional straight musical recordings by Stafford and Weston (singly or together).
==Songs used on Sam and Friends==
entries marked with an asterisk are the transcription date
;as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards
* *August 28, 1957: "It's Magic" from The Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards (1957).Shemin, Craig. Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show. p. 288
* December 19, 1958 (re-performed on December 22): "It's Magic."ibid. p. 317
* February 25, 1959: "Dizzy Fingers" (Jonathan Edwards only) from The Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards.ibid. p. 344
* October 26, 1959: "Autumn in New York" from The Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards.ibid. p. 402
* January 27, 1960: "Cocktails for Two" from The Piano Artistry of Jonathan Edwards.ibid. p. 427
* December 15, 1960: "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from Jonathan and Darlene in Paris (1962).ibid. p. 480
* March 6, 1961 (est. date): "I Love Paris" from Jonathan and Darlene in Paris (1962).ibid. p. 489
;as Jo Stafford and Paul Weston
* *August 19, 1955: "Ugly Chile (You're Some Pretty Doll)" (1946), Paul Weston only (orchestra leader) with Johnny Mercer.ibid. p. 250
* December 12, 1960: Christmas medley by Jo Stafford with Paul Weston's orchestra from Ski Trails (1956). Edited into tracks of same songs from the Dean Martin album Winter Romance (1959). Individual songs: "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!," "Winter Wonderland," "June in January."ibid. p. 479
==Sources==
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Category:Musical References