Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss, June 9, 1915 โ August 12, 2009) and Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers, July 7, 1924 โ 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 โLoverโ, โNolaโ, โBrazilโ and โWhispering' 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 1954โ55 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.
Jingle Bells
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
A day or two ago,
I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon miss fanny bright
Was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank,
And we, we got upsot.
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
A day or two ago,
The story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there
I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away.
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Now the ground is white
Go it while you're young,
Take the girls tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed bay
Two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! you'll take the lead.
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
"Jingle Bells" is a classic Christmas song and probably one of the most recognizable of all Christmas tunes. It was originally published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857, and it was written by James Lord Pierpont. The lyrics describe a joyous ride through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh, with the bells on the horse's bob-tail ringing out to make "spirits bright." The song celebrates the fun of winter sports and holiday festivities.
The second verse tells the story of the singer's own experience on a sleigh ride that went awry when the horse hit a snow bank and caused the sleigh to tip over. However, the humor of the situation is not lost as the bells still jingle while they are upside down in the snow. The final verse is an invitation to all to join in on the fun, with the suggestion of finding a fast horse, hitching it to an open sleigh, and taking the lead as they race through the snowy fields all night long, jingling all the way.
Overall, "Jingle Bells" is a timeless classic that perfectly captures the joy, excitement, and sense of adventure that comes with the holiday season. It's a fun and lively tune that has been enjoyed by generations of people all around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Dashing through the snow
Rushing energetically through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Riding a sleigh that's open and led by only one horse
Over the fields we go,
Traveling across fields
Laughing all the way;
Having a joyful time and laughing throughout the journey
Bells on bob-tail ring,
The bells on the horse's tail make noise when it moves
Making spirits bright,
The bells add to the lively and uplifting atmosphere
What fun it is to ride and sing
It's great enjoyment to ride and sing along to the song
A sleighing song tonight
The song is about sleighing and is meant to be sung tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
The sound of the bells ringing
Jingle all the way!
The bells keep jingling continuously
O what fun it is to ride
Riding is so enjoyable
In a one-horse open sleigh
Being on the sleigh with only one horse feels exciting
A day or two ago,
This happened only recently
I thought I'd take a ride,
I had the idea to go out for a ride
And soon miss fanny bright
A woman named Fanny bright was with me shortly after
Was seated by my side;
Fanny was sitting next to me
The horse was lean and lank;
The horse was skinny and long
Misfortune seemed his lot;
Bad luck appeared to be the horse's fate
He got into a drifted bank,
The horse went into a pile of snow
And we, we got upsot.
As a result, we fell over
The story I must tell
I have an amusing story to share
I went out on the snow
I went outside into the snow
And on my back I fell;
But I slipped and fell on my back
A gent was riding by
A man was going by on a sleigh
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He was on a sleigh that was open and led by only one horse
He laughed as there I sprawling lie,
He chuckled at me as I lay sprawling on the ground
But quickly drove away.
He didn't stick around to help me up and drove off quickly
Now the ground is white
With snow on the ground
Go it while you're young,
Make the most of life while you are still young
Take the girls tonight
Bring the ladies for this night's ride
And sing this sleighing song;
Sing this song while sleighing
Just get a bob-tailed bay
Use a horse with a bobbed tail
Two-forty as his speed
It should be a horse that can run fast at 240 meters per minute
Hitch him to an open sleigh
Attach the horse to an open sleigh
And crack! you'll take the lead.
Start off and you'll take the lead with a loud crack of the whip
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JAMES S. PIERPONT, SKIPPY MARTIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind