Paul Allan Oscher (February 26, 1947 – April 18, 2021) was an American
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Primarily a harmonica player, he was the first permanent white member of
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
' band.Norman Darwen, "Obituary: Paul Oscher", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.360, June 2021, pp14-15
Background
Oscher was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright,
Suzan-Lori Parks
Suzan-Lori Parks (born May 10, 1963) is an American playwright, screenwriter, musician and novelist. Her 2001 play ''Topdog/Underdog'' won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002; Parks was the first African-American woman to receive the award for d ...
, from 2001 to 2011.
Career
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. He named John Lee Williamson as a major influence.
Oscher met Muddy Waters in the mid-1960s. After
Big Walter Horton
Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...
failed to show up for a gig, Oscher played harmonica as a member of the Muddy Waters Blues Band from 1967 until 1972. He was the first white musician in Muddy's band, and lived in Muddy's house on Chicago's South Side, where Oscher shared the basement with the blues pianist Otis Spann. Oscher recorded with Muddy for Chess Records.
After performing solo for a time in New York as "Brooklyn Slim", he toured Europe in 1976 with
Louisiana Red
Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. He was best known for his song "Sweet Blood Call".
Biography
Born ...
. They both appeared at the WDR-TV music show, ''
Rockpalast
''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...
''. During the 1990s, Oscher worked as a multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, guitar and harmonica, sometimes as a
one-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform.
The simplest type of "one-man ban ...
. He recorded an album in 1995, ''The Deep Blues of Paul Oscher''. In 1999, he played with
Big Bill Morganfield
William "Big Bill" Morganfield (born June 19, 1956) is an American blues singer and guitarist, who is the son of legendary McKinley Morganfield, also known as Muddy Waters.
Biography
Morganfield was born in Chicago, Illinois. He had little cont ...
on his debut album, ''Rising Son''.
In 2003, Oscher was featured on harmonica, guitar and vocals on
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...
's album, ''About Them Shoes'', along with
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
Mos Def
Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
and recorded the song, "Bed Stuy Parade and Funeral March", on Mos Def's album, ''
The New Danger
''The New Danger'' is the second studio album by American rapper Mos Def, released on October 12, 2004, by Rawkus and Geffen Records. It is the follow-up to his breakthrough solo effort ''Black on Both Sides'' (1999), after which he devoted more ...
''. In 2008, he recorded with
Keb' Mo'
Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...
on the soundtrack of a film about the blues, '' Who Do You Love?''.
Death
Oscher died on April 18, 2021, in Austin, his home city for the last years of his life, after several weeks hospitalized with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...
. He was 74.
Awards
2006:
Blues Music Award
The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...
s:
*"Acoustic Artist of the Year"
*"Acoustic Album of the Year"
2000: LA Music Awards
*"Best Performance by Blues Musician"
Discography
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
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
Live at Mr. Kelly's
''Live at Mister Kelly's'', often stylized as ''"Live" (At Mr. Kelly's)'', is a live album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1971."Unk" in Funk'' (Chess, 1974)