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.

Rumors Are Flying
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rumors are flying
That you've got me sighing
That I'm in a crazy kind of a daze
A lazy sort of a haze
When I go walking
I hear people talking
They say our affair is not just a passing phase

And they whisper 'bout the flowers
You keep sending me by the dozen
And they wonder 'bout the hours
That you spend with me, it keeps them buzzin'

Rumors are flying
And I'm not denying
That people are sure I'm falling in love with you
'Cause for a change, darling
All the rumors are true

And they whisper all about the flowers
The many little flowers you keep sending me by the dozen
And they wonder all about the hours
That you spend with your baby, what do you do-do-do
That keeps 'em buzzin' all the time, all the time

Rumors are flying
And I'm not denying
That people are sure I'm falling in love with you

'Cause for a change, darling
All the rumors are true

Overall Meaning

The Andrews Sisters' song Rumors are Flying is about the rumors that are spreading about the person the singer has feelings for. The rumors are based on the flowers that the person sends to the singer and the time that they spend together. People are talking about the singer being in a "crazy kind of a daze" and falling in love with the person who is the subject of the rumors. The singer is not denying the rumors, rather, they are confirming that the gossip is true.

The song plays on the idea of rumors that often circulate in society. This song reflects on how people's opinions can be influenced by gossip and rumors, and how public perception can affect people's lives. The song also highlights the idea that people's actions speak louder than words and that receiving flowers and spending time with someone can provide visible evidence of a relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

Rumors are flying
There is a lot of gossip going around

That you've got me sighing
People think you've captured my heart

That I'm in a crazy kind of a daze
They believe you've driven me mad with love

A lazy sort of a haze
They think I'm daydreaming all the time

When I go walking
Even when I'm outside

I hear people talking
I can't help but overhear conversations

They say our affair is not just a passing phase
The chatter suggests that our relationship is serious

And they whisper 'bout the flowers
They speak quietly about the many flowers you send me

You keep sending me by the dozen
They are surprised by the large number of flowers

And they wonder 'bout the hours
They are curious about how much time we spend together

That you spend with me, it keeps them buzzin'
They are intrigued and speculating about our time together