Died On This Date (March 7, 2007) Paul deLay / Portland Blues Singer
themusicsover Paul deLay
January 31, 1952 – March 7, 2007
Paul deLay was a Portland, Oregon blues treasure. Over a career that he launched during the early ’70s, deLay dazzled blues fans throughout the western United States and beyond. After starting out in a band called Brown Sugar, deLay formed the Paul deLay Blues Band in 1976. During the early ’90s, he spent a few years in prison on drug related charges, but that didn’t stop the music. He shined as part of the Walla Walla prison band until he was released and able to re-join his own band who had forged on without him as the No deLay Band. DeLay released several albums throughout his long career, with his 2007 effort, Last Of The Best hitting the Top 10 of the Billboard blues chart. He also received a W.C. Handy award and several accolades from the Cascade Blues Association and Portland Music Association. Paul deLay passed away from the effects of leukemia on March 7, 2007. He was 55.
What You Should Own
Stompin’ Tom Connors was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter who reportedly penned over 300 songs and released some 50 albums totaling over 4 million copies sold. At the age of 15, Connors left home to hitchhike across Canada, writing songs on his guitar along the way. During his last stop, he was short on cash to buy himself a beer, so the hotel’s barkeep said he’d give him the beer if he’d sing a few songs. That turned into a 13-week run at the hotel, a weekly spot on the local radio station, and several recordings. Throughout his career, Connors wrote and recorded numerous popular songs. His “The Consumer” was used as the theme song for a popular CBC program, while his “The Hockey Song” became an arena favorite throughout the NHL. In 1978, Connors retired to his farm in protest over policies of the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission. He reactivated his career in 1988 and continued to perform and record up until his final years. Connors is ranked # 13 on The Greatest Canadian list and was pictured on a 2009 Canadian postage stamp. Stompin’ Tom Connors was 77 when he died of natural causes on March 6, 2013.
Magic Slim was Chicago by way of Mississippi blues man who released some 40 albums over a career that spanned seven decades. Slim initially learned to play the piano, but moved to the guitar after a cotton gin accident took one of his fingers. In 1955, he went to Chicago to check out the local scene. By the mid ’60s he was back for good and offering up a house-rockin’ good time to all who went to see him. By now he was fronting his own band, Magic Slim and the Teardrops and slugging it out at the local juke-joints. He recorded several singles throughout the ’60s and early ’70s until releasing his first album, Born Under a Bad Sign, in 1977. Over the next 35 years, he released albums for such legendary blues labels as Alligator, Wolf, and Blind Pig. During the ’90s, Slim settled in Lincoln, Nebraska where he regularly played with his son, Shawn “Lil’ Slim” Holt. Over the course of his career, Slim was recognized with Band of the Year honors at the W.C. Handy Awards six times. Magic Slim was 75 when he passed away on February 20, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released.