As a guitar player who owns a Les Paul style guitar, I’ve been wanting to check out an album from Les Paul for a while. I heard someone playing “Josephine”, a song from this album, The Hit Makers! (1953), in a YouTube video, and almost immediately saved this album. Les Paul and Mary Ford were a husband and wife duo, both of whom sang and played guitar. During the period that they recorded and performed (1945-1963), the duo had a number of songs in the top 10 on the pop charts, some of which hit #1 for up to 11 weeks. In just 1951 alone, the duo sold 6 million records. I’m quite excited to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“How High the Moon” gets some groovy guitar going right away, which seems to have a bit of rockin’ pop jazz groove feel, and sounds very much like what I feel like rockabilly or early rock and roll sounds like. I really dig the vocals from both Paul and Ford, who both harmonize in a super sweet way, producing a sound with the guitar that somewhat reminds me of The Beatles. Wow, great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “Josephine” has some super interesting effects on the guitar playing, with a super springy reverb that nearly gives the playing a sort of slick, island percussion sort of feel. The smooth bopping bass in the background has a really pleasant groove to it, which complements the guitar really nicely. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Mockin’ Bird Hill (Tra La La Twittle Dee Dee Dee)” starts out with some bright guitar that almost has a somewhat of a piano feel to it, before Ford comes in with some super sweet vocals, and the rhythm of the track picks up a bit of waltz feel. I really dig the super sweet background chorus vocals, which add a pleasant lightness to this tune. Great track.
“Whispering” starts out a pleasant mixture of guitar sounds, which honestly have left me in awe at the fact that the album was released in 1953. The mixture of guitars in this track have a pretty timeless sound. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Vaya Con Dios” slows things down a bit with a bit of a slow-dance type tune. I’ve always heard about people speak vaguely of Les Paul and Mary Ford in the guitar community, but the vocals in the album have been super sweet. So far in the listening experience of this album, I’ve also been vaguely reminded of Elvis Presley throughout, as he was somewhat of a contemporary to Paul and Ford. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “I’m a Fool to Care” seems to slow things down even more, and the guitar work seems to pick up a super flavorful, sleek blues sort of sound, which honestly reminds me a little bit of John Mayer. At this point, I know I need to listen to more of Les Paul and Mary Ford. Oh wow, there’s so much feeling in the punchy guitar lines in this one. I’m also vaguely reminded of Grant Green, who hadn’t quite become well-known at the time of this album. Awesome tune.
“The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise” gets grooving right away with a super sweet rockabilly type of tune. Oh wow, the guitar lines in this one feel like a super groovy blend of jazz/bebop guitar and Link Wray, and I’m really digging the sound. Great track.
“Meet Mister Callaghan” starts out with an interesting mixture of guitar chords, from what seems to be a mixture of guitars, leading to a sort of proto-garage rock sound at the start of the track. Oh wow, the guitars seem to start playing some more melodic lines with tons of reverb and flavor. Super sweet instrumental tune.
“Tiger Rag” gets grooving right away with a sort of rockabilly rag feel, with accentuations from one guitar that seem to add a percussiveness alongside the bopping bass line, while the lead guitar seems to whirl about in an upbeat fashion. Oh wow, the vocals almost have a sort of comical sound that I really dig. Super interesting and sweet track.
Oh wow, “Tennessee Waltz” slows things back down again, and I really dig the sound. The sweet tones of the guitars almost have a melancholic, blues-like quality to them. Oh wow, I think that Paul and Ford might have been playing a pseudo-reberb effect by one nearly copying the other’s playing with a slight delay, and slightly changed, increasing the flavor in the tune even further. I think this track was one of their top 10 hits the duo had. Great tune.
“I’m Sitting On Top of the World” has a bit of a bopping groove to it, almost like a pop rock mixed with bebop sort of style at the beginning of the track. Holy smokes, the guitar in this one really goes in with some jazz-like soloing, seemingly whirling around the soundscape. I’m vaguely reminded of the similar tune that the Grateful Dead played in their earlier years. Great track.
Oh wow, “Whither Thou Goest” seems to be a slow burning type of tune, which seems to be wrapping up the album up in a super sweet manner. Oh wow, Ford hits some super sweet notes, which are only enhanced with more sweetness as the background chorus vocals seem to swell in and out of the soundscape. Wow, great tune, and a great way to finish up this album.
Holy smokes, I’m glad I finally checked out Les Paul and Mary Ford. I was expecting some pretty sweet guitar playing, of which my expectations had been exceeded, but had no clue of what the vocals would be like at all, which also left me in awe as I continued to listen to the album. If you’re a guitar player of any sort, but especially if you have any inclination towards rockabilly or bebop, or if you aren’t a guitar player but enjoy the genres of rockabilly and bebop, I would recommend that you check out this album. I’m very much looking forward to listening to more from both Paul and Ford, and will probably be getting some of their work on vinyl sooner than later. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A