- Paul deLay
Infobox musical artist
Name = Paul deLay
Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Paul Joseph deLay
Born = birth date|1952|1|31
Died = death date and age|2007|3|7|1952|1|31
Origin =Portland, Oregon ,United States
Instrument =harmonica , voice
Genre = Blues
Occupation(s) =musician ,songwriter
Years_active = c. 1970-2007
Label =
Associated_acts = Paul deLay Blues Band
URL =Paul Joseph deLay (
January 31 1952 , Portland,Oregon -March 7 2007 ), was an Americanblues vocalist and harmonicist.Life and career
DeLay's musical career [ [http://www.pauldelay.com/paul.html Paul deLay's web site.] ] started in the early 1970s with a band called "Brown Sugar", which played numerous West Coast gigs. In 1976, he and
guitarist Jim Mesi formed the Paul deLay Blues Band, which performed well into the 1980s. The band also recorded severalalbum s during that time.By the late 1980s, deLay was suffering from
alcohol andcocaine addiction. In 1990, he was arrested fordrug trafficking , and served a 41-month prison sentence. While he was incarcerated, his band continued without him, performing as the "No deLay Band" and featuring longtime Portland blueswoman Linda Hornbuckle as lead vocalist in lieu of deLay [ [http://www.lindahornbuckle.com/bio.ihtml Linda Hornbuckle's home page.] ] . Upon his release from prison, deLay (now clean and sober) rejoined the band and recorded a series of critically-acclaimed albums.In 2002 deLay assembled the final version of his band, with David Vest [ [http://www.davidvestband.com David Vest's web site.] ] sharing lead vocals and playing piano, Peter Dammann on guitar, and Jeff Minnick and Dave Kahl on drums and bass. A live CD [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QUTS1Q/ The Last of the Best: Live Recordings by the Paul deLay Band.] ] featuring this lineup was released in 2007, entering the Top Ten on Billboard's national blues chart.
Paul deLay continued touring and recording until his final illness. In March 2007, after returning to Portland from a gig in
Klamath Falls, Oregon , deLay felt ill and sought medical treatment. It was discovered that he was suffering from end-stageleukemia ; he soon lapsed into acoma from which he would not recover. He died in Portland onMarch 7 2007 , aged 55 [Foyston, J. (2007, March 8) [http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1173327939191310.xml&coll=7 Paul deLay: Big man, big notes and a big blues life.] "The Oregonian ".] . Memorial concerts in Portland andSeattle attracted large audiences.Awards and achievements
Over his career, deLay received a W.C. Handy Award for best
instrumentalist , a recording of the year award from the Portland Music Association, and several awards from the Cascade Blues Association [Krough, D. (2007, March 7). [http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_030707_news_delay_dies.2b4eea2d.html Portland bluesman Paul deLay dies] .KGW -TV. Retrieved 09 March, 2007.] .References
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