The Doors Forum

PAUL PENA







The River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBS-ARknJvM


It's been just over a year since Paul Pena passed away at the age of 55, and I finally got my hands on his recording - "New Train" (the CD cover pictured at right).
I guess I must have subconsciously known about Paul Pena for years, his name has been around in Blues circles since the early 1970's, but it wasn't until I read his obit last year that I really took notice...

Paul Pena was a singer, guitarist, bass player, and songwriter. He had a hard life, having been born with a serious case of congenital Galucoma which left him legally blind from the age of 10 onward. He still became a talented musician, playing in the band of Blues icon T-Bone Walker during the early 70's.
Paul recorded 2 albums under his own name as leader:

"Paul Pena", released in 1972 by Capitol Records (currently out of print)
"New Train", recorded in 1973, released in 2000 by Hybrid Recordings

Following the recording of his 2nd album (New Train, 1973)he suffered a sort of blacklisting in the industry due to an unscrupulous producer (Albert Grossman) who refused to release the recordings and also would not release Paul from his binding contract. If it weren't for a stroke of luck and a hit song to provide him with royalty checks, Paul Pena would have starved - Pena just happens to be the writer of the song "Jet Airliner" which was a big Top 10 hit for
Steve Miller in 1977. He also happens to be the author of a number of other interesting songs.



One of those songs, "Gonna Move", sounded much too familiar to me the minute I heard the rhythm track at the start of the song, and then I realized that I have been hearing the Derek Trucks Band and Susan Tedeschi (Derek's wife) performing that song as a regular part of their live repertoire.

Another moving song (no pun intended) is the title track - "New Train",
a song of spirituality and a hope for peace, here are the lyrics:

"I remember a time back in the big city near my home
To the clocks tolling the morning
'Hear the sound of a Gospel choir, singing soft and low
On a rainy day the sun was dawning
But it's been a long long time, since I've heard the rhyme
Of a time and a season hidden in the past
And the days are growing harder, time is growing shorter
Brother hating brother spreading fast...

You gotta get on the new train and ride
We gotta find our way to freedom
You gotta get on the new train and ride
Buy our ticket for a brand new season

Trippin down south in the Easter time
See the folks coming out from worship
Everyone talking about the glories of the resurrection
While all of them thinking that they're perfect
When there comes a helpless man
who's down and needs a hand
And the will of Christ is done by one from prison
So he gets a hand from one, and is condemned by some
but divine love we all have and this he lays on him


You gotta get on the new train and ride
We gotta find our way to freedom
You gotta get the new train and ride
Buy our ticket for a brand new season

As I look back on my history
See a house with children playin' in the street
Mama sittin' cross legged tellin' us
Be our brother's keeper
And I take my strength from daddy's song
You know I love what I see
'Cause it's taught allot to me
Made me strong and helped this boy understand
That this world is here for giving
And life is here for living
Let the choir sing and let me sing it with the band

You gotta get on the new train and ride
We gotta find our way to freedom
You gotta get on the new train and ride
Buy our ticket for a brand new season"
[copyright 1973, 2000 Paul Pena]

For more information on Paul Pena:

The official Paul Pena website

Article on Paul in CV MusicWorld

Paul Pena memorial page on Friends of Tuva website

Paul Pena entry in Wikipedia

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Jet Airliner...this is the amazing R&B original that was covered by Steve Miller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjr5U7g6 ... re=related

..........................................................

Thanks to RW for turning me onto Pena!

Whenever you run across Paul Pena in a record bin or used CD shop...don't pass him by!

Paul Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.



Gonna Move
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbl6n065 ... re=related

His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll. Pena is probably best known for writing the song "Jet Airliner," a major 1977 hit for the Steve Miller Band and a staple of classic rock radio; and for appearing in the 1999 documentary film Genghis Blues, wherein he displayed his abilities in the field of Tuvan throat singing.

Pena was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His grandparents were from the islands of Brava and Fogo in the Cape Verde islands off the western coast of Africa, and emigrated to the United States in 1919. Pena spoke Cape Verdean Creole with his family while growing up. His grandfather, Francisco Pena, and father, Joaquim "Jack" Pena, were both professional musicians, and taught Paul to play Cape Verdean music, including Morna. Pena performed professionally with his father, including a summer spent in Spain and Portugal, where he studied flamenco music.

Pena was born with congenital glaucoma. He attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, from the age of 5, and graduated in 1967. He then attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Pena was completely blind by the time he was 20.

MUSICAL CAREER

In February 1969, Pena's band played for a week at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, opening twice for both Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead.[1] Pena performed in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop at the Newport Folk Festival the same year. He also played in the T-Bone Walker Blues Band during the early 1970s, including an appearance in the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972. He played bass guitar and provided backup vocals on Bonnie Raitt's debut album.

After moving to San Francisco in 1971, Pena called the Grateful Dead office, which helped find him work. He opened for Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at the Keystone in Berkeley and other area clubs many times over the course of the next three years. Pena said of Keystone owner Freddie Herrera, "His idea of an audition was for me to come and open up for Garcia and Saunders. That went on for some time. Whenever he would have somebody, not knowing who would open, he would call me."[2]

Pena's debut album was the self-titled Paul Pena, recorded with guitarist Jeff Baxter, drummer Juma Santos, and former Perkins classmate Ellis Hall on backing vocals, and released by Capitol Records in 1972. His followup album New Train was recorded in 1973 by Bearsville Records and was produced by Ben Sidran (keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band). New Train featured Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and The Persuasions. Albert Grossman, the owner of Bearsville Records (and best known as the manager of Bob Dylan), stopped release of the record after a dispute with Pena and his then-manager, Dr. Gunther Weil. Pena remained contractually obligated to Grossman, and was unable to record for another label.

Sidran gave an unreleased copy of New Train to Steve Miller, who recorded "Jet Airliner" with the Steve Miller Band for the 1977 album Book of Dreams. Miller's version of "Jet Airliner" was a hit single, and went to #8 on the charts. Pena's primary source of income in his later years were royalties from that single, which was a song about Pena's airplane trip from Boston to Montreal to play the first-ever date with T-Bone Walker's band.

Pena temporarily suspended his musical career to care for his wife, Babe, who was suffering from kidney failure. She died in 1991.

New Train was finally released in 2000, 27 years after it was recorded. In 2001 Pena conducted his last tour, playing a number of dates in support of the album. He opened shows for The String Cheese Incident in March of that year, and for Bob Weir's Ratdog in April. He was a presenter at the 22nd annual W. C. Handy Awards in May. He then appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on June 8, 2001, and played "Jet Airliner".

"Gonna Move," a song from New Train, has been covered by a number of artists, including Les Dudek on his 1978 album Ghost Town Parade, Susan Tedeschi on her 2002 album Wait for Me, the Derek Trucks Band on their 2004 album Live at Georgia Theatre, and by Taylor Hicks on 2006's Taylor Hicks.
In February 1969, Pena's band played for a week at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, opening twice for both Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead.[1] Pena performed in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop at the Newport Folk Festival the same year. He also played in the T-Bone Walker Blues Band during the early 1970s, including an appearance in the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972. He played bass guitar and provided backup vocals on Bonnie Raitt's debut album.

After moving to San Francisco in 1971, Pena called the Grateful Dead office, which helped find him work. He opened for Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at the Keystone in Berkeley and other area clubs many times over the course of the next three years. Pena said of Keystone owner Freddie Herrera, "His idea of an audition was for me to come and open up for Garcia and Saunders. That went on for some time. Whenever he would have somebody, not knowing who would open, he would call me."[2]

Pena's debut album was the self-titled Paul Pena, recorded with guitarist Jeff Baxter, drummer Juma Santos, and former Perkins classmate Ellis Hall on backing vocals, and released by Capitol Records in 1972. His followup album New Train was recorded in 1973 by Bearsville Records and was produced by Ben Sidran (keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band). New Train featured Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and The Persuasions. Albert Grossman, the owner of Bearsville Records (and best known as the manager of Bob Dylan), stopped release of the record after a dispute with Pena and his then-manager, Dr. Gunther Weil. Pena remained contractually obligated to Grossman, and was unable to record for another label.

Sidran gave an unreleased copy of New Train to Steve Miller, who recorded "Jet Airliner" with the Steve Miller Band for the 1977 album Book of Dreams. Miller's version of "Jet Airliner" was a hit single, and went to #8 on the charts. Pena's primary source of income in his later years were royalties from that single, which was a song about Pena's airplane trip from Boston to Montreal to play the first-ever date with T-Bone Walker's band.

Pena temporarily suspended his musical career to care for his wife, Babe, who was suffering from kidney failure. She died in 1991.

New Train was finally released in 2000, 27 years after it was recorded. In 2001 Pena conducted his last tour, playing a number of dates in support of the album. He opened shows for The String Cheese Incident in March of that year, and for Bob Weir's Ratdog in April. He was a presenter at the 22nd annual W. C. Handy Awards in May. He then appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on June 8, 2001, and played "Jet Airliner".

"Gonna Move," a song from New Train, has been covered by a number of artists, including Les Dudek on his 1978 album Ghost Town Parade, Susan Tedeschi on her 2002 album Wait for Me, the Derek Trucks Band on their 2004 album Live at Georgia Theatre, and by Taylor Hicks on 2006's Taylor Hicks.

Throat Singing

While searching for a Korean language lesson on shortwave radio on December 29, 1984, Pena was intrigued by an example of Tuvan throat-singing he heard on a Radio Moscow broadcast. Seven years later he found a Tuvan record at a local record store called Tuva: Voices From the Center of Asia, and listened to it "continuously".[3] Based on that record and extended experimentation, he was able to teach himself the vocal techniques called Khoomei, Sygyt and Kargyraa:

After playing the CD continuously for several months and driving many of my friends away by making weird noises while experimenting with my voice, I finally learned a few of the basic techniques of this fascinating group of vocal styles by remembering the styles of some of the blues greats of the past — especially Charlie Patton, Tommy McClennan, and Chester "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett. [1]

Pena also taught himself Tuvan. There were no Tuvan to English translation dictionaries, so Pena used two dictionaries: Tuvan to Russian and Russian to English. He used a device called an Optacon to scan the pages and convert the printed words into tactile sensations he could read with his finger.

Pena attended a performance of Tuvan throat-singing at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco on February 6, 1993. He performed an impromptu Tuvan song in the kargyraa style, which impressed famous Tuvan throatsinger Kongar-ol Ondar. Ondar invited Pena to sing in the second international Khoomei Symposium in 1995 in Kyzyl, Tuva. Pena travelled to Tuva and was the first westerner to compete in the Symposium. He placed first in the Kargyraa contest and also won the "audience favorite" category.

Tuvans affectionately call him "Cher Shimjer" (Earthquake), because of the deepness of his voice. Pena said "My voice is lower than most Tuvans. They have a style that makes your voice lower. When I use that, there's a slow song when I hit a note that's four white keys from the left of the piano."[4]

The 1999 film Genghis Blues documented Pena's journey to Tuva. It won the 1999 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for a Documentary. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 in the Documentary Feature category.
[edit] Health issues

In 1997 Pena was severely injured after his bedroom caught fire. He suffered smoke inhalation and was in a coma for four days.

Pena suffered from diabetes. He also waged a long battle with pancreatic illness, and was originally mis-diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He began chemotherapy treatments and doctors gave him six months to live. In 2000 he was properly diagnosed with pancreatitis, a life-threatening illness.

Pena died in his San Francisco, California, apartment of complications from diabetes and pancreatitis on October 1, 2005.[5][6]


Discography
Studio albums

* Paul Pena, released in 1972 by Capitol Records (FINALLY RE-RELEASED in mp3 format in 2011 and available on amazon.com and iTunes)
* New Train, recorded in 1973, released in 2000 by Hybrid Recordings
* Deep in the Heart of Tuva: Cowboy Music From the Wild East, (various artists) released in 1996 by Ellipsis Arts
* Genghis Blues, released in 2000 by Six Degrees Records

Live recordings

* Fly Walker Airlines, the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, 1972 by Polydor Records. T-Bone Walker, guitar and vocals; Paul Pena, lead guitar and vocals; Hartley Severns, saxophones and violin; Johnny Summers, bass guitar; Vinnie Johnson, drums. Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival June 17–20, 1972
* Stormy Monday, released in 1996, the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, by Delta Music. This is a bootleg version of the album Fly Walker Airlines taken from the radio broadcast of the June 17, 1972 concert in Montreux, Switzerland. The CD incorrectly lists a recording date of 1968.
* Giant Killers, Big Bones and Paul Pena. Recorded live at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley, California in February 1991.

Filmography

* Genghis Blues, released in 1999 by Wadi Rum Productions