Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife duo, in which … Read Full Bio ↴Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife duo, in which Les Paul played guitar and sang (sometimes) and Mary Ford sang and played guitar. In 1951 alone, they sold six million records.

Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss, June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) and Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers, July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) were introduced to each other by Gene Autry in 1946 and married in 1949.
They first appeared in the pop charts in 1950. Between the years 1950 and 1954, Les Paul and Mary Ford had 16 top-ten hits. They had five top-ten hits within nine months. "Tennessee Waltz", "Mockin' Bird Hill", "How High the Moon" (#1 for nine weeks), "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" and "Whispering". From August 1952 to March 1953 they had five more top-ten hits; "My Baby's Coming Home", "Lady of Spain", "Bye Bye Blues", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Vaya Con Dios" (#1 for 11 weeks). Their 1954 version of "I'm a Fool to Care" went to #6, and was featured in a memorable Southern Comfort commercial in 2013 that got over 1 million views on YouTube.

In 2009, they were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Les Paul and Mary Ford are famous for creating a makeshift recording studio in their garage. In their garage studio, they used multitrack recording to record many of their hits including ‘Lover’, ‘Nola’, ‘Brazil’ and ‘Whispering' with only the two of them.

YouTube has a large selection of clips from their syndicated TV show "Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home" (1954-'55).

Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced acrimoniously in December 1964, which also ended the collaboration between the two.

The duo have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Les Paul had hosted a 15-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford, and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humour between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented dazzling re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood," "Little Rock Getaway," "Brazil," and "Tiger Rag." Several recordings of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.

The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (aka Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine, it was widely syndicated during 1954–55 and was only five minutes long (one or two songs) on film and therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in on programming schedules. Since Les created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to up-to-date quality at the time of his death.

Brazil
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics

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Brazil, where hearts were entertaining June,
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured 'someday soon.'
We kissed and clung together,
Then, tomorrow was another day
The morning found me miles away
With still a million things to say;
Now, when twilight dims the sky above

Recalling thrills of our love,

There's one thing I'm certain of
Return I will to old Brazil

Overall Meaning

The song 'Brazil' by Les Paul is a romantic ballad that talks about the memories of a love story that took place in Brazil. The lyrics of the song talk about how the hearts were entertaining June in Brazil, and how the lovers stood beneath an amber moon and whispered to each other about being together someday soon. They shared an intimate moment when they kissed and clung together, but the promise of tomorrow took the singer away, leaving behind a million things that went unsaid.

Years have passed, and now, when twilight dims the sky, the singer recalls the thrills of their love and is certain of only one thing - they will return to old Brazil. The lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past, a past that was filled with love, passion, and adventure.

Overall, the song 'Brazil' is a beautiful tribute to a lost love, and Les Paul's guitar playing adds to the romantic and dreamy tone of the song. It reminds us that memories are timeless, and the moments we cherish will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Line by Line Meaning

Brazil, where hearts were entertaining June,
Brazil, where the hearts were enjoying the month of June with amusement and pleasure,

We stood beneath an amber moon
We stood under the bright yellow moonlight,

And softly murmured 'someday soon.'
We whispered 'we'll meet again soon,' in a gentle voice,

We kissed and clung together,
We kissed and held onto each other tightly,

Then, tomorrow was another day
The next day was a new day,

The morning found me miles away
And I woke up in the morning finding myself miles apart from you,

With still a million things to say;
Despite having so much to say,

Now, when twilight dims the sky above
Now, when the sky above is slowly getting darker during sunset,

Recalling thrills of our love,
Recalling the exciting memories of our love,

There's one thing I'm certain of
There's only one thing I am certain about,

Return I will to old Brazil
That I will return to the old, cherished memories of Brazil.