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.
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