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.
Silent Night
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All's asleep, one sole light,
Just the faithful and holy pair,
Lovely boy-child with curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Silent night! Holy night!
God's Son laughs, o how bright.
As the dawn of salvation draws near,
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!
Silent night! Holy night!
Brought the world peace tonight,
From the heavens' golden height
Shows the grace of His holy might
Jesus, as man on this earth!
Silent night! holy night!
Where today all the might
Of His fatherly love us graced
And then Jesus, as brother embraced.
All the peoples on earth!
Silent night! Holy night!
Long we hoped that He might,
As our Lord, free us of wrath,
Since times of our fathers He hath
Promised to spare all mankind!
Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds first see the sight.
Told by angelic Alleluja,
Sounding everywhere, both near and far:
"Christ the Savior is here!"
The song "Silent Night" by Les Paul and Mary Ford invites us to join in the celebration of the miracle birth of Jesus Christ. The singer is marveling at how the world is silent, yet awake in anticipation of the arrival of the holy child. The scene is set with one light shining, and she describes the only two people present, the parents of the newborn. The child is described as lovely, with curly hair and sleeping peacefully. This peacefulness and tranquility of the moment are emphasized with heavenly silence.
In the second verse, the singer describes how God's son is born, and with his laughter, His true nature is revealed. His love emanates from his holy lips, shining brightly, and the dawning of salvation is near. The singer recognizes that this baby is no ordinary child but Jesus Christ, the Lord.
The third verse begins by acknowledging that with the birth of Jesus, the world has received peace. The birth of the Messiah is a sign of God's grace, and His power is emphasized as coming from the heavens' golden height. The singer recognizes that Jesus, born as a man on this earth, came to bring peace to all people.
The fourth verse continues by stating that Jesus came to earth to show us His fatherly love and embraced us as a brother to all the people on earth. Hope, love, and the promise of salvation are all encapsulated in His birth. The people of the world, who were once without hope, have been spared from wrath, fulfilling the promise that God made to our fathers.
Finally, the singer describes the moment that the shepherds are visited by the angels, who proclaim "Christ the Savior is here!" This announcement is a call to all to join in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, who has come to bring peace to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Silent night! Holy night!
A peaceful, sacred evening
All's asleep, one sole light,
Everyone is asleep except for one light shining
Just the faithful and holy pair,
Only the devoted and pure couple is present
Lovely boy-child with curly hair,
The beautiful baby boy has curly hair
Sleep in heavenly peace!
The baby is sleeping soundly in a peaceful, heavenly state
God's Son laughs, o how bright.
Jesus, the son of God, is joyful and shining brightly
Love from your holy lips shines clear,
Love emanates clearly from Jesus' holy mouth
As the dawn of salvation draws near,
The beginning of salvation is nearing
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!
Jesus, as the Lord, was born on this night
Brought the world peace tonight,
This evening brought peace to the world
From the heavens' golden height
From high up in the golden heavens
Shows the grace of His holy might
Displays the holy power of God's grace
Jesus, as man on this earth!
Jesus came to earth as a human
Where today all the might
Where all His power resides today
Of His fatherly love us graced
He bestows His loving, fatherly grace upon us
And then Jesus, as brother embraced.
Jesus embraced all of humanity as His brothers and sisters
All the peoples on earth!
All the people on earth are included in His embrace
Long we hoped that He might,
We have been hoping for a long time
As our Lord, free us of wrath,
As our Lord, He frees us from punishment
Since times of our fathers He hath
Since the time of our ancestors, He has promised
Promised to spare all mankind!
He promised to spare all people from harm
Shepherds first see the sight.
The first to see the baby were the shepherds
Told by angelic Alleluja,
Informed by angelic praise
Sounding everywhere, both near and far:
Echoing loudly throughout the area
"Christ the Savior is here!"
Announcing that the Messiah has arrived
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chuck Howard, Franz Gruber, John Berry, Joseph Mohr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Muzikgirl67
WOW-WEE!!..It's a Christmas kind of day...in June!🎄 Thanks so much for these treasures 78prof! (I think you have the greatest & most beautiful Christmas playlists!-but then again, I think I might've mentioned that to ya' before!)...Have an outta-sight weekend, and take care!🎅💿🎅💿🎅
Nihal Jayakody
Thank you for this. Wonderful old time Christmas music ! Les Paul and Mary Ford , superb rendition of this great Carol
ray stansell
Thanks for posting. I was six years old when this came out, and I still love it. I also love the fact Les Paul designed the electric guitar named after him that has made so much great classic rock music over the years. I've owned three different ones and wish I still had a Gibson Les Paul although I do more with photography than music. Thanks again!