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.
Deep In The Blues
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a thief in the night
I heard you depart
With the morning light
I’ll never be the same
Can’t turn back the clock
No one is to blame
I never meant it to be like this
I never felt like this before
But I was hooked after just one kiss
I can’t wait for you to come back through that door
You stole my heart
It’s yours to keep
Right from the start
I know I’m in way too deep
Way too deep, in way too deep
I know I’m in way too deep
I thought at first
You were a one night stand
How you quenched my thirst
Left me feeling grand
Then I looked in your eyes
Saw through to your soul
Took me by surprise
Was like you I had always known
I never meant it to be like this
I never felt like this before
But I was hooked after just one kiss
I can’t wait for you to come back through that door
You stole my heart
It’s yours to keep
Right from the start
I know I’m in way too deep
Way too deep, in way too deep
The day has passed
And you still have not shown
Now my heart beats fast
It’s you on the phone
I’m waiting for the night
When you’ll come to me
Then it will feel right
When you are lying next to me
I never meant it to be like this
I never felt like this before
But I was hooked after just one kiss
I can’t wait for you to come back through that door
You stole my heart
It’s yours to keep
Right from the start
Right from the start
Paul Robert Thomas
In Les Paul & Mary Ford's song "Deep in the Blues," the lyrics describe falling deeply in love with someone unexpected. The song begins with the singer stating that someone stole their heart like a thief in the night, and they were unable to turn back the clock. The lyrics convey the singer's surprise at falling in love after just one kiss and wanting the person to come back through their door. They were shocked to realize they were in love and knew they were in way too deep.
The song describes the journey of falling in love and the risk taken to let someone in. The lyrics also depict the waiting game of being in love, with the last verse paving the way for hope as the phone rings with the loved one on the other end. The singer is waiting for the night when their lover will come back to them and lie next to them, making everything feel right. Overall, the song portrays the excitement and depth of falling in love.
Line by Line Meaning
You stole my heart
You captured my love and affection
Like a thief in the night
Secretly and unexpectedly
I heard you depart
I sensed your departure
With the morning light
At the break of day
I’ll never be the same
I am forever changed
Can’t turn back the clock
I cannot undo what's been done
No one is to blame
There is no fault or guilt
I’m in love I know it’s a shock
I am unexpectedly in love
I never meant it to be like this
I did not intend for this to happen
I never felt like this before
I have never experienced this type of feeling
But I was hooked after just one kiss
I was captivated after our first kiss
I can’t wait for you to come back through that door
I eagerly await your return
It’s yours to keep
My heart belongs to you
Right from the start
From the very beginning
I know I’m in way too deep
I am in too deep with my emotions
Way too deep, in way too deep
My feelings are too strong, too intense
I thought at first
Initially I believed
You were a one night stand
You were just a brief fling
How you quenched my thirst
How you satisfied my desires
Left me feeling grand
Made me feel great
Then I looked in your eyes
I gazed into your eyes
Saw through to your soul
Sensed the essence of who you are
Took me by surprise
Caught me off guard
Was like you I had always known
Felt as if I had always known you
The day has passed
The day is over
And you still have not shown
You have not appeared
Now my heart beats fast
My heart is racing
It’s you on the phone
You are calling me
I’m waiting for the night
I am anticipating the evening
When you’ll come to me
When you will be with me
Then it will feel right
It will feel appropriate and good
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Paul Robert Thomas, Paul Odiase
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
fieldfullofthistles
I remember hearing this about 30 years ago on a blues guitar compilation album - gets me everytime. Great post.
Enduro for ever
Awesome!
MrMjp58
I've just found a transcription of this by Ivor Mairants in an issue of Guitar magazine from Feb '75!! Can't wait to try it.
Fred Hesselmann
Jammer dat zo'n icoon niet meer onder ons is