Biography

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 17, 2024

Contact:
info@coolstreme.com

"Paul Oscher plays the soul I feel" - Muddy Waters

Paul Oscher is a blues legend. A blues singer and multi-instrumentalist (harmonica, guitar and piano), who while still in his teens, became the first Caucasian member of the great Muddy Waters Blues Band (1967-1971).

Paul lived in Muddy's house on Chicago's South Side and shared the basement with blues piano player Otis Spann. Paul played the Chitlin' Circuit and recorded with Muddy for the legendary Chess Records Company. He traveled the world with Muddy.

It has been almost three years since Covid-19 took Paul Oscher's great talents from this world, a world that is less colorful as a result. One of Paul's last requests was that Blues Fidelity continue to release recordings from his extensive archive. There are few existing live recordings that capture the great shows Paul put on around New York City in the 1970s and 1980s after leaving The Muddy Waters Blues Band. His blues revues at The Nitecap in Brooklyn, The Fugue in lower Manhattan, and elsewhere were magnets for New York’s blues fans and attracted great musicians like Big Walter Horton, Johnny Copeland, Bob Gaddy, Naomi Shelton, Doc Pomus, Steve Guyger and others to hang and sit in.

In the late 1980s Paul Oscher brought a revue into the Manhattan House of Detention, also known as "The Tombs". The band included Paul on harp and guitar, his regular drummer and blues veteran Candy McDonald, Steve Gomes on bass, Otis Spann disciple David Maxwell on piano, and guest vocalists Bob Gaddy, a noted New York blues singer/pianist, and Rose Melody, a regular singer at Paul's shows. The audience at the Tombs was starved for entertainment and Paul was determined to give it to them. From the start the excitement in the room is palpable and continues to ramp up throughout. The performances are extraordinary, expressing the lowdown blues in all of its colors and variations. There is a looseness and swing that was Paul's trademark, a result of his extensive road work with Muddy Waters. It's nothing but the blues, so turn it up and enjoy it!

Credits:
Produced by Louis X. Erlanger

Paul Oscher - Vocal, Harp, Guitar
David Maxwell - Piano
Steve Gomes - Bass
Candy McDonald - Drums
Bob Gaddy - Vocals, Piano
Rose Melody - Vocals

1. Off The Wall (2:31) (Featured Track)
Paul Oscher, Harp; David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriter: Walter Jacobs
Publisher: Songs Of Universal, Inc.

2. Blue Midnight (5:23) (Featured Track)
Paul Oscher, Harp; David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriter: Walter Jacobs
Publisher: Songs Of Universal, Inc.

3. Flip, Flop, And Fly (3:14)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: John James Powell, Harry David Gregson Williams
Publisher: Almo Music Corporation, Irving Music

4. You're Still My Baby (4:33)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Chuck Willis
Publisher: Sony/ATV Songs LLC

5. Stagolee (3:39)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Rose Melody, Vocals; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Jack Dupree
Publisher: Chappell & Co

6. Stormy Monday (5:05)
Rose Melody, Vocals; Paul Oscher, Guitar; David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Aaron T-Bone Walker
Publisher: Wixen Music Publishing Inc, Music of Mam

7. Honky Tonk Train (5:54)
David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Meade Lux Lewis
Publisher: Shapiro Bernstein & Co Inc

8. After Hours (6:45)
David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Erskin Hawkins
Publisher: Warner Bros Music A Div Of Warner Bros Inc.

9. Kansas City (2:55)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Paul Oscher, Guitar, Harp; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Wilbert Harrison
Publisher: EMI Longitude Music Co

10. Steal Away (4:42)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Rose Melody, Vocals; Paul Oscher, Guitar; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Jimmy Hughes
Publisher: Screen Gems-EMI MUsic Inc

11. Silent Night (2:45)
Bob Gaddy, Vocals, Piano; Rose Melody, Vocals; Paul Oscher, Guitar; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Public Domain
Publisher: Public Domain

12. Slideaway (From Hide Away) (2:35)
Paul Oscher, Guitar; David Maxwell, Piano; Steve Gomes, Bass; Candy McDonald, Drums

Songwriters: Sonny Thompson, Freddie King
Publisher: Fort Knox Music, Inc.


Documentary about Paul Oscher:

Paul Oscher Live at the Savoy in NYC, with Aretha Franklin's Willie Bridges on sax: