Who Was Harwich's Own Paul Pena?

Find Out Now! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j8YG1zhKb8

Paul's first Album (on Capitol Records)

Capitol ST 11005
Musicians on this LP include: Jeff Baxter and Jumma Santos

Side One : - Woke Up This Morning - I'm Gonna Make It Allright - The River - One For The Lonely
 

Side Two : - Something To Make You Happy - My Adorable One - When I'm Gone - Lullaby

This was only released in vinyl. Occasionally you can find order it in vinyl at Orleans Earth-House. 

Thanks to the documentary film, Genghis Blues, Paul Pena is now known and appreciated throughout the world for his amazing accomplishments as a musician, particularly for having taught himself the techniques of traditional Tuvan singing.

Paul Pena was born on January 26, 1950 in Harwich, MA, the oldest child of Jack and Virginia Pena. 

His grandparents came from the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. He was born with congenital glaucoma. When he was five, he began school at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown (a suburb of Boston). He graduated in 1967 and then attended Clark University in Worcester, MA. 

As a young child, Paul soon showed his talent for music. His mother heard him picking out melodies and chords on a baby grand piano that had been found in the town dump and brought home, 'as a toy that a blind child might enjoy.' He developed 'perfect pitch.' Soon Paul was studying the piano, guitar, upright bass, violin and 'a little trumpet.' He played and sang popular jazz and Cape Verdian ballads with his father, a professional jazz musician, and also sang in his school choruses. Paul appeared in a talent show, and while in college, performed in coffeehouses in Worcester.

In 1969, Paul played in the Newport Folk Festival 'in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop with such people as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson.' In 1971, Paul moved to San Francisco and recorded his first marketed record for Capital Records, which was released in 1973.

In his musical career Paul played with many of the blues greats, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, 'Big Bones,' and T. Bone Walker. His song, 'Jet Airliner,' recorded by the Steve Miller Band, was a hit in the 1970s. Another album, recorded by Bearsville Records, was never released. It is scheduled to be released in the year 2000. To find out more about this album click here.

During this period Paul's wife, Babe, suffered kidney failure. Paul gave up his musical career at that point in order to take care of her. She died in 1991. He suffered greatly from her loss.

Paul first heard a fragment of harmonic singing on a shortwave Radio Moscow broadcast on December 29, 1984 and he was so struck by it, he spent almost eight years trying to track down its source. In 1991 he was finally able to locate a recording of Tuvan music and taught himself the vocal techniques known as 'Khoomei, Sygyt, and Kargyraa'. 


In addition, he learned a good bit of the Tuvan language using English-Russian and Russian-Tuvan dictionaries and an obsolete 'Opticon' scanning device which translates text into sensations. In 1993, Paul attended a concert sponsored by the Friends of Tuva organization and met Kongar-ol Ondar after the performance. Paul gave Kongar-ol an impromptu demonstration--and astonished him with his talent and mastery of traditional Tuvan singing. The two men formed a strong friendship along with their musical collaboration.

In 1995, Kongar-ol invited Paul to sing at the second international Khoomei Symposium and contest, held in Tuva's capital city, Kyzyl. Ralph Leighton and the "Friends of Tuva" sponsored his trip. Paul took first place in the Kargyraa division of the contest and became known as 'Earthquake' for his amazingly deep voice. He also won the 'audience favorite' award. Filmmakers Adrian and Roko Belic accompanied Paul to Tuva to film the contest and his travels through Tuva, guided by Kongar-ol. Paul and Kongar-ol have also recorded a compact disc called Genghis Blues, which combines American blues singing, Cape Verdian 'morna,' and Tuvan Khoomei.

Since the release of the film, Genghis Blues, and the CD Sountrack , Paul was named 'San Francisco's Tuvan Blues Ambassador' and July 11, 1999 was declared 'Paul Pena Day' by the mayor. Paul has also been diagnosed with a pancreatic illness. He is on the long road to recovery.

Sources:

Paul Pena's promotional autobiography, sent to Roko Belic

Paul Pena, A National Living Treasure in Cole Valley, by Fred Cirillo 

Paul is his Own Words 

March 18, 2001

Hello! my dear dear friends! It has been a long time since I have been directly in touch with many of you, and, in the cases of some of you, we have never met, nor, have we ever corresponded. In either case, however, the result has been the same. I have received a tremendous lot of support, both moral, and otherwise from each and every one of you. It is for that reason, and because so many of you have expressed an interest in what has been happening to me over the past few months, I will try with this letter to update everyone on the progress of my health and of my career.   

I would first like to thank all of you for your interest, your support, and your good wishes during these last two to three years. It is very humbling to realize that so many people care about one personally. I have read each and every message that has come to my personal email address over the past five months or so. 

Some letters, which were sent to someone else to be read to me, have also been forwarded to me. In each and every case, the genuine love and kindness that you all tried so sincerely to convey was not lost on me! I wish, here and now, to express my deepest gratitude for those good feelings so clearly apparent in your correspondence. 

Like good memories, they are treasures to be saved in the mind and heart forever to give aid and comfort during the bad times, and to increase the joy and fulfillment to be had during the good times. Well, on with the show!

I have been feeling much better generally during this year then I did last year. Please believe me when I tell you that in that one simple sentence I said a great deal. As, I'm sure, most of you know, I do not have cancer. Instead I have been told that I have Pancreatitis, an illness which does not kill in and of itself as Cancer does. I've put on a little weight which for me was and still is an absolute necessity. It seems so strange that while so many people are trying so hard to get rid of the pounds, 

I'm having all I can do to put on weight. (grin) I'm much happier with the medical care that I have been getting more recently. My doctor is a very beautiful person and we have become friends in a very short time.

As for my career, I must say that it has taken many amazing turns, nearly all of them for the better. Before I forget, let me mention some of the things I plan to be doing during the next little while. I guess that by the time this letter is finished, I will have played in Sebastapol on St. Patrick's day. Next month I'll be at Clarion Music on the 6th, in Berkeley on the seventh, (Sorry but I don't know how to spell the name of the venue, (grin) possible some dates in the northwest, and some other things are planned for May and later. These shows, along with radio and newspaper interviews I have either just done, or am about to do, will, we hope, help a great deal to spread our message around. I'll be giving a Throat Singing workshop at Clarion on the 22nd of April. For more complete information, please check out the 'Upcoming Shows' section of this website.

Well, that is about all I have to say for now, except to assure you all, once again, of my undying thanks for all you've done. There are many whose names should appear, on a list, if I were making such a list so I just hope that all of you know that you are included in my thought and sincere good wishes! Now that I can email, I will really make an effort to be more communicative. I have more good things to say these days, and I know better how to say them. 

For now, though, I want to wish each of you a very happy and prosperous year of 2001. May you all receive all the joy and fulfillment that you deserve in return for all you have done for, and meant to me! I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at the places I shall be playing. If you do attend one of my performances, and, if it is reasonably possible, come up and say "Hello!" I can't guarantee that I will always remember your names but a little reminder should suffice. Take care of yourselves because this world is in great need of such people as you are. 

Wishing you all a happy year and love-filled lives, 

I am Very truly yours,

Paul Pena AKA.
 

(*)"Cher Shimjer."   (*) That is "Earthquake in the Tuvan language.

Legendary folk-blues singer-guitarist Paul Pena died in San Francisco on October 1st from complications related to diabetes and pancreatitis. He was fifty-five.

Born in Harwich, Massachusetts and blind from childhood, Pena played alongside such blues greats as T. Bone Walker, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt, and released his first, self-titled album in 1972 on Capital Records. The next year, he wrote and recorded "Jet Airliner," which became a Top Ten hit for the Steve Miller Band in 1977, and its royalties provided Pena with income for years to follow.

He began work on a second album in 1973, but the tapes were shelved when he left the music business to tend to his ailing wife, Babe, who died of kidney failure in 1991.

In 1984, Pena was reintroduced to the music scene when he became interested in throat singing after hearing a broadcast from Tuva, in southern Siberia, on a shortwave radio. He later taught himself the skill by listening to recordings.

Pena was invited by Kongar-Ol Ondar, one of the world's foremost throat singers, to participate in Tuva's annual competition. His 1995 travel to Tuva was captured in the 1999 Academy Award-nominated documentary.