Paul Pena facts for kids

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

His music mixed many styles like Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk, and rock and roll. Paul Pena is famous for two main things. First, he wrote the song "Jet Airliner," which was a big hit for the Steve Miller Band in 1977. Second, he appeared in the 1999 movie Genghis Blues. In this film, he showed his amazing skill in Tuvan throat singing.

Early Life and Education

Paul Pena was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His grandparents came from the islands of Brava and Fogo in Cape Verde. They moved to the United States in 1919. Paul grew up speaking Cape Verdean Creole with his family.

Both his grandfather, Francisco Pena, and his father, Joaquim "Jack" Pena, were professional musicians. They taught Paul how to play Cape Verdean music, including Morna. Paul even performed with his father. They spent a summer in Spain and Portugal, where he learned about flamenco music.

Paul Pena was born with glaucoma, an eye condition. He attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, starting at age five. He graduated in 1967. After that, he went to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. By the time he was 20, Paul was completely blind.

Paul Pena's Musical Journey

Paul Pena had a busy musical career. In 1969, his band played for a week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They opened shows for famous groups like Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead. That same year, he performed at the Newport Folk Festival.

In the early 1970s, Paul played in the T-Bone Walker Blues Band. They even performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972. He also played bass guitar and sang backup on Bonnie Raitt's first album.

After moving to San Francisco in 1971, Paul Pena got help finding work from the Grateful Dead's office. He often opened for Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at clubs in the Berkeley area.

First Albums and a Big Hit

Paul Pena's first album was called Paul Pena. It was released by Capitol Records in 1972. His next album, New Train, was recorded in 1973. It featured musicians like Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. However, this album was not released for a long time due to a disagreement between Paul and his manager.

A copy of New Train was given to Steve Miller. Steve Miller then recorded Paul's song "Jet Airliner" with the Steve Miller Band. This version became a huge hit in 1977, reaching number 8 on the music charts. "Jet Airliner" was about Paul's airplane trip to play with T-Bone Walker's band. The money Paul earned from this song's royalties became his main income later in life.

Paul Pena paused his music career to care for his wife, Babe, who was very ill. She passed away in 1991.

New Train was finally released in 2000, 27 years after it was recorded! In 2001, Paul went on his last tour to support the album. He played shows for bands like The String Cheese Incident and Bob Weir's Ratdog. He also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed "Jet Airliner."

Many artists have covered Paul Pena's songs. "Gonna Move," from New Train, has been covered by Susan Tedeschi and the Derek Trucks Band. The Derek Trucks Band also covered his song "Something to Make You Happy."

Discovering Throat Singing

Paul Pena had an amazing journey into Tuvan throat singing. On December 29, 1984, he was listening to shortwave radio, trying to find a Korean language lesson. Instead, he heard a fascinating example of Tuvan throat singing on a Radio Moscow broadcast. He was very interested!

Seven years later, he found a Tuvan record called Tuva: Voices From the Center of Asia and listened to it constantly. Paul taught himself the Tuvan language. Since there were no Tuvan-to-English dictionaries, he used two dictionaries: Tuvan-to-Russian and Russian-to-English. He used a special device called an Optacon to read the words with his finger.

In 1993, Paul Pena attended a Tuvan throat singing performance in San Francisco. He surprised everyone by singing an impromptu Tuvan song in the kargyraa style. This impressed a famous Tuvan throat singer named Kongar-ol Ondar. Ondar invited Paul to sing at the second international Khoomei Symposium in 1995 in Kyzyl, Tuva.

Paul traveled to Tuva and was the first Westerner to compete in the Symposium. He won first place in the Kargyraa contest and also won the "audience favorite" award!

Tuvans lovingly called him "Cher Shimjer," which means "earthquake." This was because of how deep his voice was. Paul said his voice was even lower than most Tuvans.

The Genghis Blues Film

The 1999 film Genghis Blues tells the story of Paul Pena's journey to Tuva. The movie won an award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 for Best Documentary Feature.

Later Years and Passing

In 1997, Paul Pena was badly hurt when his bedroom caught fire. He breathed in a lot of smoke and was in a coma for four days.

Paul also had diabetes and struggled with a serious pancreatitis illness. He passed away in his San Francisco apartment on October 1, 2005. His death was due to complications from diabetes and pancreatitis.

Discography

Studio albums

• Paul Pena, released in 1972 by Capitol Records
• 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, first released in 1996 by TuvaMuch Records, re-released with extra songs in 2000 by Six Degrees Records

Live recordings

• Fly Walker Airlines, the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, 1972 by Polydor Records. This was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
• Stormy Monday, released in 1996, the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, by Delta Music. This is a version of Fly Walker Airlines.
• Giant Killers, Big Bones and Paul Pena. Recorded live in Berkeley, California in February 1991.
• Delta by the San Francisco Bay, Paul Pena, Alvin Youngblood Hart And Big Bones, 2012 by GangsterBlues.com. Recorded live in August 1991.

Filmography

• Genghis Blues, released in 1999 by Wadi Rum Productions

See also

In Spanish: Paul Pena para niños