Tuxedo Historical Society hosts Les Paul and Mary Ford benefit tribute on June 9
TUXEDO A musical tribute to Les Paul and Mary Ford will be held Saturday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Marys-in-Tuxedo to benefit the Tuxedo Historical Society.
The concert will be presented by Tom Doyle and Sandy Cory. A master guitarist, Doyle was the long-time luthier, sound engineer and confidant to Les Paul. He and vocalist/musician Cory are curators of the Paul/Ford sound and bring their music and stories to clubs throughout New York City and nationally.
Les Paul is considered the godfather and principal inventor of the electric guitar and is credited for the subsequent revolution his invention brought to popular music. Paul performed for many years with wife and vocalist Mary Ford.
Doyle began playing guitar after hearing Les Paul at age 8 and began emulating his sound over the years. He met Paul in New York City and began a 40-year musical collaboration and friendship.
Doyle currently runs his own guitar building school in New Jersey and has customized and repaired guitars for such artists as George Benson, Sting, Bucky Pizzarelli and Jimmy Page.
He performs and records with his wife, Sandy Cory, combining beautiful instrumentation of guitar, vocals, flute and drums with stories from the Les Paul years.
Deborah Harmon, the executive director of the historical society, reports that local legend has it that Les Paul once played at the Tuxedo Club.
"Though we cannot prove that," Harmon said, "we've learned that Mr. Paul was a close friend of one of the founders of the Tuxedo Historical Society; since Mr. Paul lived in nearby Mahwah he may well have performed here."
Essential information Tickets for the event are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
Advance tickets can be purchased by check made payable to Tuxedo Historical Society and mailed to THS at PO Box 188, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987.
Credit card purchases can be made via PayPal using tuxedohistory@gmail.com.
For further information contact Tuxedo Historical Society at 845-351-2926 or e-mail using the preceding address.