PAUL OSCHER
Paul Oscher (April 5, 1950 – April 18, 2021)[1] was an American blues singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist.
Background[edit]
Oscher was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He was married to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks from 2001 to 2011.[2]
Career[edit]
He first began playing harmonica at the age of 12. His career as a musician began at the age of 15 when he played for the musician Little Jimmy Mae.
Oscher played harmonica as a member of the Muddy Waters Blues Band from 1967 until 1972.[3] He was the first Caucasian musician in Muddy’s band and lived in Muddy’s house on Chicago’s South Side and shared the basement with the blues pianist Otis Spann. Oscher recorded with Muddy for Chess Records,[4] and in 1976 he toured Europe with Louisiana Red. They both appeared at the WDR-TV music show Rockpalast. In 1999, he played with Big Bill Morganfield on his debut album, Rising Son. In 2003 Oscher was featured on harmonica, guitar and vocals on Hubert Sumlin‘s album About Them Shoes, along with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Levon Helm. In 2006, Oscher collaborated with Mos Def and recorded the song “Bed Stuy Parade and Funeral March” on Mos Def’s album The New Danger. In 2008 he recorded with Keb’ Mo’ on the soundtrack of a film about the blues, Who Do You Love?.
Awards[edit]
2006: Blues Music Awards:
- “Acoustic Artist of the Year”
- “Acoustic Album of the Year”
2000: LA Music Awards
- “Best Performance by Blues Musician”
Discography[edit]
As a solo artist
- Knockin’ On The Devil’s Door (Viceroots, 1996)
- The Deep Blues Of Paul Oscher (Blues Planet, 1996)
- Living Legends Deep In The Blues (Blues Leaf, 2000)
- Alone With The Blues (Electro-Fi, 2004)
- Down In The Delta (Blues Fidelity, 2005)
- Bet On The Blues (Blues Fidelity, 2010)
- Cool Cat (Blues Fidelity, 2018)
With Muddy Waters
- After the Rain (Chess, 1969)
- Live at Mr. Kelly’s (Chess, 1971)
- “Unk” in Funk (Chess, 1974)
References[edit]
- ^ Doug Henkle. “FolkLib Index – Musician’s Birthdays (sorted by birth date yr/mo/da)”. Folklib.net. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ Dave Helland (October 17, 2006). “Suzan-Lori Parks and Paul Oscher”. BMI.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ Giles Oakley (1997). The Devil’s Music. Da Capo Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
- ^ Robert Gordon (May 24, 2006). “Muddy Waters – Can’t Be Satisfied – American Masters”. PBS. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
External links[edit]
