Being born the son of a Pentecostal preacher and the nephew of a real-life pimp made for an interesting childhood and adolescence for roots rocker and songwriter, Paul Thorn. Add to that combination, having music deep in your soul while growing up in Elvis Presley’s hometown, singing in many of the same churches he did as a youth, and being a close personal friend of the guy that first taught The King how to play guitar, and you’ve got yourself an interesting concoction that helped mold Paul Thorn into the artist he is today.
Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, and following his preaching father to both “white” churches and “black” churches in town, Paul was exposed both styles of congregational music which helped lay an early foundation for his musical stylings.
In this interview Paul talks with us about his early career as a songwriter under the tutelage of legendary producer Rick Hall and shares a couple stories about Rick, including how he passed on the chance to record and produce The Allman Brothers.
Interestingly enough, prior to Paul’s success as a songwriter and performing artist, he was also a pretty damn good boxer. His success in the ring helped move him up the ranks as a middleweight boxer and eventually led to a televised bout with legendary boxer, Roberto Duran. The fight was eventually stopped and went in favor of Duran, but Paul gave an impressive performance, going six rounds with one of the best to ever climb in the ring. You can watch the fight HERE.
As Paul’s career as a songwriter and performer began to gain momentum, other artists began to take notice, and some even started recording his tunes themselves. Most notably, Toby Keith cut Paul’s song “Double-wide Paradise”; Paul, with tongue-in-cheek, says it was Toby’s lowest charting single ever.
Paul is also the writer of the song “Mood Ring” that has become a favorite of Wade Bowen fans.
With Paul being one of my favorite songwriters and artists, this interview was a real treat for me. I hope you guys dig listening to it as much as I did recording it!
Click here to watch Paul’s concert special that aired on PBS!
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