View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the Vinyl release of Vaya Con Dios / Johnny on Discogs. Label: Capitol Records - F 2486. Format: Vinyl 7. Label: Capitol Records - F 2486. Format: Vinyl 7. Les Paul And Mary Ford. Vaya Con Dios (May God Be With You) / Johnny. Jul 01, 2008 Listen to your favorite songs from The Very Best Of Les Paul And Mary Ford by Les Paul & Mary Ford Now. Stream ad-free with Amazon Music Unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Download our mobile app now.
Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife musical duo, who performed and recorded during 1945-1963[1]. They both sang and played guitars.
Ford and Paul were music superstars during the first half of the 1950s, putting out 28 hits for Capitol Records between 1950 and 1957, including 'Tiger Rag', 'Vaya con Dios' (11 weeks at #1), 'Mockin' Bird Hill' (top 10), 'How High the Moon' (nine weeks at #1), 'Bye Bye Blues' and 'The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise'.
- 5External links
Vaya Con Dios
Background[edit]
The couple were introduced to each other by Gene Autry in 1946 and were married on December 31, 1949.[2]
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.[3]
In 2009, they were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.[4]
Paul and 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.[5]
YouTube has a large selection of clips from their syndicated TV show 'Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home' (1954-'55).
Paul and Ford divorced acrimoniously in December 1964, which also ended the collaboration between the two.
The duo have a star at 1541 Vine Street in the Recording section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[6]
Radio and television programs[edit]
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.[7]
References[edit]
- ^http://www.les-paul.com/timeline/les-mary/
- ^Sorscher, Zach. 'Les Paul's Musical Journey Part 2'. Goldmine. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^'I'm a Fool to Care'. YouTube.
- ^'Inductees'. Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^'Paul, Les.' Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. Ed. Colin Larkin. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
- ^'Les Paul and Mary Ford'. Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^Hall, Russell. 'Les Paul and Mary Ford: A Love Story'. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
Sources[edit]
- Jacobson, Bob. Les Paul: Guitar Wizard. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2012.
- Larkin, Colin, ed. Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. Ed. 'Les Paul'. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
- Shaughnessy, Mary Alice. Les Paul: An American Original. New York: W. Morrow, 1993.
- Wyckoff, Edwin Brit. Electric Guitar Man: The Genius of Les Paul. Genius at work! Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 2008.
External links[edit]
Streaming[edit]
| 'Vaya con Dios' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Les Paul and Mary Ford | ||||
| B-side | 'Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)' | |||
| Released | June 1953 | |||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper | |||
| Les Paul and Mary Ford singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
'Vaya con Dios (May God Be With You)' ([ˈba.ʝa kon djos], literally 'Go with God') is a popularsong written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper, and first recorded by Anita O'Day in December 1952. Les Paul and Mary Ford had a No. 1 recording of the song in 1953. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]
Background[edit]
The most-popular version of the song was recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford. This recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2486 with 'Johnny (Is the Boy For Me)' as the flip side in May 1953.[2] It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on June 13, 1953 and lasted 31 weeks on the chart, reaching number one on August 8 and remaining at number one for a total of 11 non-consecutive weeks.[3] The song also reached number one on the Cash Box chart where it remained at No. 1 for five weeks.[4]
The Les Paul and Mary Ford single reached No. 7 in the UK backed with the Les Paul instrumental composition 'Deep in the Blues' as the flip side.
In 2005, the 1953 Les Paul and Mary Ford recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Other notable recordings[edit]
The song has been recorded by:
- Peter Alexander (in German)
- Desi Arnaz, who sang it in two season 3 episodes of I Love Lucy; 'Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress' (1953) and 'Home Movies' (1954)
- Rico Barr & the Jump 'n' Jive Review, with Kate Davis, vocals (on the soundtrack for Disney's The Finest Hours) (2016)
- Jeff Beck with Imelda May (2011)
- Rob & Gilly Bennett (1993)
- Lily Berglund (in Swedish)
- The Beverley Sisters (1953)
- Chuck Berry (1965) On album Fresh Berrys
- Roy Black (in German)
- Pat Boone (1959) On duet album Pat & Shirley Boone Side By Side
- Carole Carr with orchestra cond. by Hill Bowen. Recorded in London on September 13, 1953. It was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10570.
- The Cats (1968 on album The Cats and in 1972 on single)
- Larry Clinton (1953)
- Nat King Cole (in Spanish)
- Giorgio Consolini in Italian
- Bing Crosby - recorded December 31, 1953[5] and included on his album Bing Sings the Hits (1954)
- Julie Daraîche (in French)
- The Drifters (1964)
- Dyango in his 1977 album Contigo en la Distancia
- Tommy Edwards (1961)
- Chiemi Eri (in Japanese)
- Emile Ford and his band The Checkmates on his 1961 album 'Emile'.
- Freddy Fender (1976)
- The Fontane Sisters on their 1957 album 'A Visit With The Fontane Sisters'.
- Connie Francis (Spanish: 1960, German: 1966)
- Jairo (1982)
- Harry James – Harry James & His Western Friends (Dot DLP 3735 and DLP 25735)
- Julio Iglesias – in 1976 Spanish version, in 2005 French version 'C'est Votre Histoire Et La Mienne'
- Pedro Infante (1953[6] in Spanish)
- Andrea Jürgens (1990)
- Ginette & Raymond Lavoie in French
- Bob London (1953)
- Wingy Manone (1953)
- Al Martino (1978)
- The McGuire Sisters (1966)
- Millican & Nesbitt (1973)
- Bob Moore (1967)
- Anne Murray (2002)
- Tony Orlando & Dawn (1972)
- Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
- Semprini with Rhythm Accompaniment. Recorded in London on October 13, 1953 as the first melody of the medley 'Dancing to the piano (No. 22) – Hit medley of waltzes' along with 'My Love, My Love' and 'The Melba Waltz'. The medley was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10592.
- Sylvia Syms (1968)
- Doris Troy (1970) On Apple album Doris Troy. Song produced by Troy and BeatleGeorge Harrison who also played guitar on it.
References[edit]
- ^Western Writers of America (2010). 'The Top 100 Western Songs'. American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014.
- ^Vaya Con Dios. Second Hand Songs.
- ^Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940–1955. Record Research.
- ^'Song artist 161 - Les Paul & Mary Ford'. Tsort.info. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
- ^'A Bing Crosby Discography'. BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^Pedro Infante. Discogs.
Sources[edit]
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- Jacobson, Bob. Les Paul: Guitar Wizard. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2012.
- Shaughnessy, Mary. Les Paul: An American Original. New York: Morrow, 1993.
- Wyckoff, Edwin Brit. Electric Guitar Man: The Genius of Les Paul. Genius at Work! Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 2008.
