Biography
Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss (the last name simplified later by his mother to Polfus) in Waukesha, Wisconsin, first became interested in music at the age of eight, when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning to play the banjo, Paul began to play the guitar. By 13, Paul was performing semi-professionally as a country-music guitarist. At the age of 17, Paul played with Rube Tronson's Cowboys. Soon after, he dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri on KMOX.
In the 1930s, Paul worked in Chicago, Illinois in radio, where he performed jazz music. Paul's first two records were released in 1936. One album was credited to Rhubarb Red, Paul's hillbilly alter ego, and the other was in the backing band for blues artist Georgia White.
Les Paul's 'The Log', one of the first solidbody electric guitars.Paul was unsatisfied by the electric guitars that were sold in the mid 1930s and began experimenting with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created The Log which was nothing more than a length of common "4 by 4" fence post with bridge, guitar neck, and pickup attached. For appearances he attached the body of an Epiphone jazz guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems - feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body.
In 1938, Paul moved to New York and landed a featured spot with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians radio show. Paul moved to Hollywood in 1943, where he formed a new trio. As a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore, Paul played with Nat King Cole and other artists in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles on July 2, 1944. Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby and artists like the Andrews Sisters, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own in the late 1940s.
In 1941, Paul designed and built one of the first solid-body electric guitars (though Leo Fender also independently invented his own solid-body electric guitar around the same time, and Adolph Rickenbacker had marketed a solid-body guitar in the 30s). Gibson Guitar Corporation designed a guitar incorporating Paul's suggestions in the early fifties, and presented it to him to try. He was impressed enough to sign a contract for what became the "Les Paul" model (originally only in a "gold top" version), and agreed never to be seen playing in public, or photographed with, anything other than a Gibson guitar. That persisted until 1961, when Gibson changed the design without Paul's knowledge. He said he first saw the "new" Gibson Les Paul in a music store window, and disliked it. Though contract required him to pose with the guitar, he said it was not "his" instrument, and asked Gibson to remove his name from the headstock. Gibson renamed the guitar the " SG", and it also became one of the company's best sellers. Later, Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson, and endorses the instrument even today (though his personal Gibson Les Pauls are much modified by him - Paul always uses his own self-wound pickups on his guitars). To this day, the Gibson Les Paul guitar is used all over the world, both by novice and professional guitarists.
In 1947, Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. This was the first time that multi-tracking had been used in a recording. Amazingly, these recordings were made, not with magnetic tape, but with wax disks. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multi-track recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. There is no record of how few 'takes' were needed before he was satisfied with one layer and moved onto the next.
Paul even built his own wax-cutter assembly, based on auto parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the wax disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his 15-minute radio show in his hotel room.
Paul was injured in a near-fatal automobile accident in January 1948 in Oklahoma, which shattered his right arm and elbow. Paul spent a year and a half recovering. Paul instructed the surgeons to set his arm at an angle that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar.
In the early 1950s, Paul made a number of revolutionary recordings with wife, Mary Ford. These records were unique for their heavy use of overdubbing, which was technically impossible before Paul's invention of multitrack recording. Paul's multitracking system was made possible by the introduction of reel-to-reel audio tape recording, developed by Jack Mullin and the Ampex company in the late 1940s, with the backing of radio, film and recording star Bing Crosby.
Crosby gave Les Paul what was only the second of the now-famous Ampex Model 200 recorder, which was the world's first commercially-produced reel-to-reel tape recorder. Using this machine, Paul developed his tape multitrack system by adding an additional recording head and extra circuitry, allowing multiple tracks to be recorded separately and asynchronously on the same tape. Paul's invention was quickly developed by Ampex into commercially-produced two-track and three-track recorders, and these machines were the backbone of the professional recording studio, radio and TV industry in the 1950s and early 1960s.
In 1954 Paul, continued to develop this technology, by commissioning Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder, at his expense. His idea, later known as "Sel-Sync," in which a specially-modified recording head could simultaneously record a new track and play back previously recorded ones, was the core technology for multi-track recording for the next thirty years.
During his early radio shows, Paul introduced the mythical "Les Paulverizer" device, which was supposed to multiply anything fed into it, like a guitar sound or a voice. This even became the subject of comedy, with Mary Ford multiplying herself and her vacuum cleaner with it so she could finish the housework faster (a typical joke in the pre-feminist era). Later Paul made the myth real for his stage show, using hidden equipment which over the years has become smaller and more visible. Currently he uses a small box attached to his guitar - it is not known how much of the device remains off-stage. He typically lays down one track after another on stage, in-sync, and then plays over the repeating forms he has recorded. With newer digital sound technology, such an effect is available commercially.
In the late 1960s, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He recorded an album Lester and Chester with Chet Atkins. He and Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) divorced amicably in December 1964, as she could no longer tolerate the itinerant lifestyle their act required of them.
In 1978, Les Paul and Mary Ford were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983. In 1988, Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit." Les Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005 for his development of the solid-body electric guitar.
As of 2006, At the age of 90, Les Paul won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. He also performs weekly at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in New York City, despite the arthritis that has stilled all but two of the fingers on his left hand.
Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul
Mockin' Bird Hill
Les Paul Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And kisses the roses 'round my window sill
Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
Of those birds in the treetops on mockin' bird hill
Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, it gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning to the mockin' bird's trill
Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, there's peace and goodwill
Ah-la-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
When it's late in the evenin' I climb up the hill
And survey all my kingdom while everything's still
Only me and the sky and an old whippoorwill
Singing songs in the twilight on mockin' bird hill
Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, it gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning to the mockin' bird's trill
Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, there's peace and goodwill
You're welcome as the flowers on the mockin' bird hill
la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
The lyrics to Les Paul & Mary Ford's song, "Mockin' Bird Hill," describe the joy and peace one feels when waking up to the sound of birds singing and the beauty of nature. The song starts with the sun rising over the hill and kissing the roses, and the trill of the birds in the treetops filling the heart with gladness. The lyrics are symbolic of the simple pleasures of life that one can find in nature and the appreciation of the beauty of the environment.
The chorus of the song is filled with enthusiasm and joy as the trill of the mockin' bird fills the morning air. The lyrics go on to describe the peace and goodwill that this experience brings, likening the listener to the flowers on the mockin' bird hill. The second verse continues the description of the beauty of nature, as the singer climbs up the hill in the evening to survey the land while everything is quiet. The old whippoorwill singing in the twilight adds to the peaceful ambiance of the surroundings.
Overall, the lyrics of "Mockin' Bird Hill" celebrate the small moments of joy and tranquility that can be found in nature, and the appreciation of those moments.
Line by Line Meaning
When the sun in the mornin' peeps over the hill
As the sun rises in the morning, and peeps over the hill, I awaken from my slumber.
And kisses the roses 'round my window sill
The sun's rays softly kiss the roses blooming on my windowsill.
Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
As I listen to the birds' sweet melodies, my heart overflows with joy.
Of those birds in the treetops on mockin' bird hill
As the birds sing from their perches in the treetops, I am filled with wonder and serenity.
Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, it gives me a thrill
The tune of the birds gives me immense pleasure and joy, making me feel like singing along.
To wake up in the morning to the mockin' bird's trill
I love waking up to the sound of nature's music, especially the exquisite trill of the mockingbirds.
There's peace and goodwill
In this peaceful and serene environment of nature, there is only an abundance of love and goodwill.
You're welcome as the flowers on the mockin' bird hill
Everyone is welcome to join and appreciate the beauty of nature, just like the flowers blooming on the mockingbird hill.
When it's late in the evenin' I climb up the hill
In the evening, when the sun is retreating, I climb up the hill to better appreciate the view.
And survey all my kingdom while everything's still
From the hilltop, I survey the vastness of the land beneath me, taking in the peaceful quietness of the night.
Only me and the sky and an old whippoorwill
In the stillness of the night, there is only me surrounded by the vast sky, the only sound coming from a nearby whippoorwill.
Singing songs in the twilight on mockin' bird hill
As the sun sets in the horizon, and the night sky begins to set in, the songs of the mockingbirds can still be heard filling the twilight air.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Vaughn Horton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jaddison1112
My parents had this song by Les Paul and Mary Ford on a 78 RPM. When we were kids in the late 1950s and later as well we would listen to this on an old phonograph record player. It makes me think of happy memories with my parents, and miss them too.
@lospaisasoriginal5454
You're damn right they are right there with you still...
Don't ever let go of them.
@edsauer2931
This lovely song displays the genius of two great artists! Love it greatly.
@brucew44guns
Kind of a plain and simple song----but done by masterful geniuses who added what few could ever do. Great talent here, I don't see much like this anymore.
@Streamliner2024
Great posting! Not only is the audio razor sharp and clean, the pictures are exceptional - 'pan and scan' editing effects are great! I just remember playing this on a single song '78' on our 1953 Philco radio/phonograph when I was 5 or 6 and watching that purple Capitol label go round and round like mad. It was always over too soon. Back then 2 1/2 minutes was the norm for song lengths.
I understand Les and Mary did most all of their recording at home - in the kitchen, the bedroom - you name it. Les liked the different acoustics each room would give. He also recorded with a professional Ampex reel to reel recorder (351?) and a Neumann U-47 tube mike - the best mike ever made - hands down. (One in perfect shape goes for over $12,000 now on Ebay, if you can even find one!) That electronic combination is why the masters are so clean with plenty of dynamic range. The pressing, phonograph needles and cartridges were the weak links in reproduction.
Les got Ampex to build him the first 8 track 'multi-track' recorder by stacking 8 Ampex amps in a rack - about 6 feet high and building him special 8 track record, playback and erase heads. The way he got all those chord progressions and glissandos executed so fast was because he recorded them at 7 1/2 inches per second and played them back at 15 ips. Many guitarists marveled at how he could play so fast. Well, Les was fast, but the speed change made him "supersonic." Pretty cool effects - a process that was copied by other artists for a long while.
@glenmurphy7020
They were great together. I loved listening to them when I was a kid and still love listening to them today. Songs had meaning as well as talent.
@ronmarler5746
Mary Ford is the most underrated singer of all time. Mary played the guitar just well as Les. If it was Not for Mary Les would be a complete unknown now. Mary Ford is one of the greatest singers of all time.
@thestoryplease
This song is soooo 50's but together they pull it off as not kitch or corn but a sweet, melodic masterpiece. Always picks me up and I can imagine this wonderful place in a peaceful countryside with apples and pears and the Sweetie putting her apple pie in the window to cool. Tasty!
@LollyBarrel
My grandpa would drive around with this music and I still have the CD.
@MrReaperofDead
Does your grampa use youtube? 😯