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.