Ep. 190 - PAUL THORN ("Pimps & Preachers")

Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

SUMMARY
Our guest is critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Paul Thorn, who has carved out an independent career from his home base in Tupelo, Mississippi, that has earned him legions of dedicated fans. His latest release is a highly personal album titled Never Too Late to Call.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott chat about the Grammy Awards, somehow find a way to make it all about them, and figure out that being a guest on Songcraft is a great way to get a Grammy nomination.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Paul Thorn
ABOUT PAUL THORN
Tupelo, Mississippi, native Paul Thorn started out as a professional boxer before being discovered by Miles Copeland and signing a recording contract with A&M Records. Thorn eventually struck out on his own and formed the independent Perpetual Obscurity Records with manager and songwriting partner Billy Maddox. They’ve gone on to release nine studio albums, four of which have hit the Billboard charts. All Music writes that Thorn’s catalog has “balanced blues, rock, gospel, country, and soul in a singular strain of Americana with songs that embrace the human condition with their humor, irony, pathos, tenderness, heartbreak, grief, anger, and joy.” Though his songs have been recorded by Shenandoah, Tanya Tucker, Toby Keith, Sawyer Brown, Kim Richey, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jerry Jeff Walker, Diane Schuur, and others, nobody delivers a Paul Thorn song with the same touch as the man himself. From “It’s a Great Day to Whup Somebody’s Ass” to “Pimps & Preachers” to “I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love” to “Mission Temple Fireworks Stand,” Paul’s diverse catalog has built a dedicated audience who love his unique sense of the craft and his mesmerizing skills as a performer. His latest album, produced by Matt Ross-Spang in Memphis, is Never Too Late to Call.