Paul English (November 6, 1932 – February 11, 2020) was
Willie Nelson's longtime
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
who started playing with him in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
in 1955, although he did not become Nelson's regular drummer until 1966. In the years in between he played with
Delbert McClinton among others. In the early days, one of his duties was to serve as a strong armed collection agent for overdue payments from club owners for the band. He was the husband of second wife Janie English.
English was the titular "Paul" of the Willie Nelson album ''
Me and Paul
''Me & Paul'' is the 32nd studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. The titular Paul, refers to his long-term drummer, Paul English.
Track listing
All songs written by Willie Nelson except where noted.
#" I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train" ...
'' as well as the title track of that album. English had a role in Nelson's movie ''
Red Headed Stranger'' (1986).
English joined Willie Nelson,
John Mellencamp, and
Neil Young as the first members of
Farm Aid’s board of directors in 1985, and he served as the organization's treasurer for many years.
English died on February 11, 2020 of acute pneumonia, at the age of 87.
References
External links
*
1932 births
2020 deaths
American country drummers
Country musicians from Texas
Deaths from pneumonia in Texas
People from Vernon, Texas
Willie Nelson
{{US-drummer-stub