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.
Lover
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I let you
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
And high above
The moon was new
And so was love
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover where can you be
You came at last
Love had its day
That day is past
You've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
The song "Lover" by Les Paul and Mary Ford is a heart-wrenching ballad about the pain of lost love. The lyrics describe the singer's longing for a past lover, and the memories of their time together that continue to haunt them even after the relationship is over. The first few stanzas describe the singer's initial attempts to move on and forget their past love, but ultimately, they are unable to do so. The chorus repeats the phrase "Lover come back to me" as the singer's heartache grows.
The song is full of vivid imagery that paints a portrait of the singer's emotional state. The sky is blue and high above, the moon is new, and the night is cold. These descriptions help to convey the singer's feelings of loneliness and despair, as they long for the return of their lost love.
The song's melody is simple and plaintive, with a gentle guitar accompaniment that underscores the raw emotion of the lyrics. The clear, sweet tones of Mary Ford's vocals add to the song's wistful quality, making it a poignant depiction of lost love and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away
You left and went away from me
I let you
I allowed you to go, didn't try to stop you
We broke the ties that bind
We ended the relationship
I wanted to forget you
I wanted to move on and forget about you
And leave the past behind
To escape from the pain and troubles of the past
Still, the magic of the night I met you
The unforgettable memories of the night we met still linger in my mind
Seems to stay forever in my mind
These memories are vivid and long-lasting
The sky was blue
The sky above was colored blue
And high above
Far up in the sky
The moon was new
The moon was in its crescent phase
And so was love
Love was new and fresh
This eager heart of mine was singing
My heart was full and hopeful
Lover where can you be
Where are you, my lover?
You came at last
Finally, you arrived
Love had its day
Our love had its time in the sun
That day is past
That time is long gone now
You've gone away
You've left me once again
This aching heart of mine is singing
My heart is heavy with pain and longing
Lover come back to me
Please return to me, my dear lover
When I remember every little thing
Whenever I reminisce about everything we had
You used to do
The things you used to say and do
I'm so lonely
I feel so isolated and desolate
Every road I walk along
Every path I take in life
I walk along with you
I still envision you by my side
No wonder I am lonely
It's no surprise that I feel lonely without you
The sky is blue
The sky remains blue
The night is cold
The night is chilly and bleak
But love is old
But our love has endured and aged
And while I'm waiting here
As I wait here alone
This heart of mine is singing
My heart is still yearning
Lover come back to me
Please come back to me, my dear lover
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, TuneCore Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@elvalle89
This dude was writing songs for people in 1968 in 1948. A man truly ahead of his time.
@reneematte8426
elvavalle 89 : Yes ! You are so right !
@albertjimeno5315
THIS.
@detroitjack0325
This is a historic recording. Historic meaning this was the first multi track recording.
@gutidelrio
Not the first by far, but an influential one indeed.
@d.a.elliottjr.367
Still sounds new more than 70 years later. It's about 5 years older than I thought.
@TheDeastman13
i don't know about 'new' but i had to pull my socks up about 20 times cuz they kept getting knocked off...
@reneematte8426
Grazie♥🎵🎶Les Paul : musicien guitariste avant-gardiste incorrigible 🎸✿💖♪🎸✿💖♪
@rocketguardian2001
Wow i would have thought this was Polyphia or Ichika Nito or ine of the other math rock kids. This is amazing.
@robertorick6383
The song was reissued in 1962 on Capitol's infamous "Duophonic" stereo sound, and sounds like it was four guitars playing against each other in ersatz stereo (due to the doubling of the "separation".) The result can be found on the album "The Hits Of Les Paul & Mary Ford" (Capitol # DT-1476.)