Paul Pena - Dead at 55
In the space of two short months, the world has lost four great blues musicians, Little Milton, R.L. Burnside, Gatemouth Brown, and now, we mourn the passing of Paul Pena
Paul Pena passed away on 1 October 2005 from complications due to diabetes. Pena’s story is a true story of the blues. In my opinion he is one of the truly great “unknown” bluesmen. He has sung with and been praised by some of the best in the business.
His deep, rich, gut-bucket voice is pure blues. He is probably best known/unknown for having written “Jet Airliner”, which was recorded by Steve Miller. I first became aware of him and his life when I saw the movie “Ghengis Blues” and the Pusan International Film Festival here in Pusan, Korea. I was moved very, very deeply by his story and his music.
Paul made an incredible album back in the 1970s when he was touring with T-Bone Walker. However, it took 27 years for the record to be release commercially. When he found out the CD would finally be released, he broke down and said, “”It’s a lonely thing.That’s all I can tell you…It’s a weird thing.You never know if you’re welcome.”
To read more about Paul Pena and my thoughts, visit my blues blog “Blues Got A Hold On Me”.