Singer, Musician. She would gain fame as an American singer with her husband, the guitar-playing and electronic-recording pioneer Les Paul. Born Iris Colleen Summers, the daughter of a minister, she began a career in 1943 as a country singer who was a talented guitarist under the name of Colleen Summers before changing her name to Mary Ford in the summer of 1949. In the 1940s, Paul was seeking a female vocalist for an NBC program, and she was one of the candidates who auditioned. After selecting from the candidates, Paul eventually changed her name. In January of 1948, during a raging storm, she was involved in an auto accident as the driver. Paul, who was a passenger in the car, had his career put on halt for eighteen months while he recuperated from serious injuries. The two married on December 29, 1949. Besides Paul's two sons from his first marriage, the couple had a daughter who died within four days, an adopted daughter, and in 1959 the birth of a son. Through Paul's search for a sound, her husband discovered the "overdub" using the heads of a tape recorder. As a result, her vocals sounded like two singers backed by Paul's over-enhanced guitar playing. Starting on April 21, 1951, and remaining for nine weeks, the couple's recording of "How High the Moon" coveted the #1 Billboard Hit spot and earned a Gold Record with over one million records sold. Starting on August 8, 1953, and remaining for eleven weeks, their recording of "Vaya Con Dios" was a #1 Billboard Hit and earned a Gold Record. In 1960, the couple received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and, in 2009, were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Debuting in October of 1953, they had their own syndicated television series, "At Home with Les Paul and Mary Ford," until 1960. Among the noteworthy performances, the couple appeared at the Palladium Theatre in September of 1952, where they debuted before Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, and appeared on the television show "American Bandstand" in May of 1961. She released her first solo single record in 1963, followed by other recordings and live performances with her siblings. As her career declined after changing recording companies, she and Paul divorced in December of 1964, ending their professional collaborations. She never had any singing success like the recordings as a husband-and-wife duo with Les Paul. In 1966, Ford married for a fourth time to Donald Hatfield, a high school classmate. Before Paul, she was previously married to David Marvin Palmquist and Marvin Chester Watson. After battling alcoholism for years, she died at the age of 53, according to her obituary, after an eight-week coma from the complications of being a diabetic. One Chicago obituary listed her year of birth as 1928, yet her marker states 1924.