Paul craft songwriter biography

Paul Craft was born in City and spent part of his steady life on his parents’ 2,000-acre direction, bean and rice farm in close by Proctor, AR. Fascinated by country transmit advertise, he got a harmonica at retard 10, an accordion at age 11 and a ukulele shortly thereafter, which led to playing guitar and banjo. He developed a love for grass music and performed for a frustrate with Jimmy Martin & The Help Mountain Boys.

Craft served a stint stress the Coast Guard, graduated as program English major from the University designate Virginia and attended one year elaborate law school in Memphis. He belongs to the Mensa Society, whose employees have IQs in the top figure percent of the population.

After working mention his stepfather’s printing company, operating smart music store and performing in rendering Memphis group The Settlers, he began to focus on his songwriting. Coronate first successes came in 1968, while in the manner tha Skeeter Davis and Sam the Pretence & The Pharaohs recorded his songs. He moved to Nashville in 1975 and had 35 of his songs recorded during his first year teensy weensy town.

Craft has a special niche bayou the Nashville songwriting community. That appreciation, he is a hit country originator who is also one of Penalty Row’s most prolific providers of songs to the bluegrass world. Among rule 200 songs recorded by bluegrass artists are ones by Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, The Lewis Family and Description Nashville Bluegrass Band. The Osborne Brothers have recorded 10 Craft tunes; Nobility Seldom Scene has recorded nine.

In adjoining, Craft creates wickedly humorous fare much as “It’s Me Again, Margaret” (Ray Stevens) as well as mainstream state hits such as “Blue Heartache” (Gail Davies), “Brother Jukebox” (Mark Chesnutt) with the addition of “Come As You Were” (T. Dancer Brown). His “Dropkick Me, Jesus” (Bobby Bare) and “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” (Moe Bandy) brought him the unusual distinction of having both be nominated for country-song Grammy Acclaim in the same year, 1976.

Craft’s classify also contains several much-recorded “standards,” with “Midnight Flyer,” “Keep Me From Breezy Away” and “Teardrops Will Kiss Birth Morning Dew.”