Listen
OD
01 - That old feeling
02 - Bewitched
03 - My silent love
04 - I surrender dear
05 - You call it madness
06 - June in January
07 - Moonlight and shadows
08 - I can't get started
09 - How deep is the ocean
10 - Sweet and lovely
11 - Prisoner of love
12 - If I had you
THE DAY MARY FORD MET LES PAUL
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn 1945 Les Paul had been performing jazz on NBC radio with his trio, but he thought it might be a kick to do a few hillbilly shows just for old time's sake.
Problem was, Les needed a singer, and when he ran into his childhood idol Gene Autry one day in Hollywood, Gene offered a solution - a singer who had worked with him.
Gene said, "I know just the gal you're looking for. She sings good, and she's good-looking".
He told Les her name, Colleen Summers, and gave him her phone number. But when he called her, she didn't believe it was Les Paul.
Mary said, "I know you're pulling my leg because I'm a Les Paul nut".
Les said, "Well, whatever you are, I am Les Paul, and I'm asking you over to my studio."
She said, "Well, I'll go that far anyway."
That night, she drove from El Monte all the way over to Les' place in Hollywood. When she got there, Les was mowing the front lawn by flashlight, wearing army shoes and a flannel shirt.
Mary said, "Can you tell me where the Les Paul studios are?
Les said, "Yeah - right behind the house. Go down the driveway and you'll run right into the garage. Just holler, and they'll lift you through the window". The door was sealed up so there was just the window.
So Colleen went back there, and the guys lifted her in. Now the guys in the jazz trio were good players - they could also play country just for kicks, and they began to rehearse Mary.
She started singing with them, then said, "Where's Les?"
"He'll be here any minute now", they reassured her.
Then when Les climbed in through the window, and she said, "Well, I see the gardener, but where's Les? [laughs]
"That's not the gardener", the guys told her. "He's Les".
She said, "You're putting me on. this must be a gag."
So Les asked her to wait a moment, then picked up his guitar and played a couple of runs.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
Mary said, "Well I'll be darned - you a-r-e Les Paul! [laughs]
That's how Mary met Les Paul, and then she did this series of hillbilly shows with him. For those, Les named her Mary Lou - that's where Mary eventually came from. After those gigs, Mary didn't work with Les professionally for
another four years. She was country, and he was doing jazz and increasingly,
popular music. But their romance took off immediately. Mary and Les started going together right after that rehearsal. She was such a groupie - to her, there was no other guitar player in the world. The only thing on her mind was
Les Paul. So from the time they met, it was right on.
Les said, "We were just meant for each other. That's all there is to it."
The rest is musical history.