William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Bye Bye Blues ; Year: 1952; Genre: Pop/Jazz Despite the brevity of this track Les Paul and Mary Ford pack a great deal into this standard that clocks in at barely over 2-minutes. The multi-tracking that he invented is on display as ever with a wall of sound consisting of overlapping harmonies of Mary Ford's singing as well as overdubbed guitar pieces. Heck, even that solo, though very short, packs quite a punch and thus the song seems longer that it actually is.    Hear Bye Bye Blues on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: The Stylistics - Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)   My song pick 2 years ago today: Soundgarden - Somewhere   My song pick 3 years ago today: Joni Mitchell - God Must Be a Boogie Man   My song pick 4 years ago today: Funkadelic - Uncle Jam My song pick 5 years ago today: Hawkwind - Looking in the Future My song pick 6 years ago today: Stratovarius - Lifetime in a Moment My song pick 7 years ago today:...

From: The Very Best of Les Paul & Mary Ford ; Year: 1998 (1951); Genre: Pop/Rock 'N Roll/ Jazz I'm making another pick where the date a song was released/recorded and my song pick number match. Les Paul & Mary Ford's cover of the often recorded song from the '40s Broadway musical Two for the Show was a pretty big hit in the year 1951, which is also today's pick. As always, Mary Ford's vocals and  Les Paul's guitar played are brilliant as ever. While today it might seem normal, but back then Les Paul was a pioneer in musical recording; he was among the first to employ overdubbing and multitracking on his recordings, which set his sound apart. It's interesting when you think about it: the techniques he used essentially set the path as to where studio recordings would progress ever since. Hear How High the Moon on YouTube. Watch a video clip with the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - R...

1392 Les Paul and Mary Ford - Whispering From: The Hit Makers! , Year: 1953 I had another track in mind for my pick today, but after finding out that today would have been guitarist/producer/inventor extraordinaire Les Paul's 96th birthday I figured I would pick one of his tracks instead. There were actually quite a few that immediately came to mind, however his rendition of this great Jazz standard seemed like an excellent choice for today. Hear Whispering on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - The Pass My song pick two years ago today: Days of the New - The Down Town My song pick three years ago today: Billy Joel - Tell Her About It +

720 ( Les Paul & Marry Ford - World is Waiting For the Sunrise ) Yesterday master guitarist Les Paul died; yet another amazing guitar man passes. Today he is probably mostly known for the electric, solid-body guitar that he invented and the one that's mainstay guitar of the industry which bares his name. For me, however I remember Les Paul for his blistering guitar work; this song contains one of his most memorable solos for me. Not bad for a man who's right arm was permanently set at an angle, which was because of injuries from an auto accident. It's funny how so often someone makes claims that person "X" was a major or "THE" influence on music; there is no question at all about Les Paul's immense influence and contributions to music. I know that there are a lot of musicians out there mourning his passing and many who owe this man for their careers. He will be missed, but his music and the guitar that bares his name will live on. Here is ...