After the breakup of the group in 1971, Butterfield continued to tour and record with the band Paul Butterfield's Better Days, with his mentor Muddy Waters, and with members of the roots-rock group the Band. Paul Lee Butterfield was born on July 19, 1937, and died at age 56 years old on May 26, 1994. Butterfields first son, Gabriel Butterfield goes to locations that were important to his father, but he clearly isnt sure what hes trying to say and one of his interviews has a notable, jarring jump cut halfway through. With disappointing record sales (and focus on more commercially successful artists), Elektra dropped the band, and the gigs became fewer as music took yet another turn. It was a very solitary effort. The idea is to raise funds for a full-length documentary film that Butterfields been putting together about his father, The Life and Times of Paul Butterfield, that hes hoping will ensure the man who plugged electric blues into the rock and roll world, and Bob Dylan to The Band, a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [27], Butterfield next pursued a solo career and appeared as a sideman in several different musical settings. Davenport loved him for it, as did all of the members of this big, ballsy band. The album cut back on extended instrumental jams and went in a more rhythm and blues-influenced horn-driven direction, with songs such as Charles Brown's "Driftin' Blues" (retitled "Driftin' and Driftin'"), Otis Rush's "Double Trouble", and Junior Parker's "Driving Wheel". But fate literally stepped in, when the college-bound high school grad tripped over a rake. WebThe band was renamed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Formed in the summer of 1963, the group originally featured eponymous vocalist and harmonicist Paul Butterfield, guitarist Elvin Bishop, He was this tough Irish Catholic, kind of a hard guy. Paul Shaffer, who played keyboards on the 1984 comeback album The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again and became his neighbor in New Yorks Gramercy Hotel, recalls Butterfields strange diet of fried peppers that exacerbated a serious abdominal ailment known as peritonitis. Youd see him out at nights in the bars, at local clubs and restaurants. He was understandably devastated. 4, Dont call it a tribute: Behind the scenes of Hudson Valleys cover band trend, How a Catskill music venue survived the pandemic to thrive as a cultural hub, School swatting strikes Kingston High as police issue statewide advisory, Best barbecue in the Hudson Valley? By this time, the band included a four-piece horn section in what has been described as a "big-band Chicago blues with a jazz base". In 1976, Kathy Butterfield had had enough. At his best, Paul Butterfield loved long and hard, won the respect and admiration of those he worked with and turned the genre upside down, which, as it turns out, was the way he held his harmonica. [7] It has been described as "the first of its kind and the root from which the acid rock tradition emerged". Though many would argue that Paul Butterfield was a game changer, innovator and rule-breaker, taking the harmonica and the blues to a whole new level, there was very little beyond his recordings to document his life. A note on the albums back cover read: We suggest that you play this record at the highest possible volume in order to fully appreciate the sound of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band., Born in Chicago, with Paul Butterfield, Rick Danko and Blondie Chaplin, The first cut on the album, Born in Chicago, would wind up on a sampler album that introduced a broader audience to the bands music. King and Friends. A young woman named Virginia McEwan stepped up to the plate, not only saving Pauls career, reflects his brother, but also his life. He was also a gifted guitar player. Among those sharing screen time, the late B.B. But, as those who were there note, he was both welcomed and encouraged, not only by Waters, but the likes of Howlin Wolf and Little Walter. [22] To one reviewer, these recordings represent Paul Butterfield's best performances.[23]. Says guitarist Buzz Feiten, We were an interracial band where everybody was equal, but there were parts of the country that didnt see it that way. Not to worry; Rothchilds influence eased the way, setting the wheels in motion that would make the hot band even hotter. A live double album by the Butterfield Blues Band, Live, was recorded March 2122, 1970, at The Troubadour, in West Hollywood, California. Arnold and Davenport left the band, and Bloomfield went on to form his own group, Electric Flag. His wife, Kathy, would play an important role in his life, cheering him on, allowing him to be what he wanted to be and do what he wanted to do, while giving him a stable family life and doing her best to keep him from being his own worst enemy. His experience and talent were underscored by his understanding of the blues genre, familiarity with the players, and a deep respect for Butterfields music. Despite such high notes, Pauls career was at a standstill and fading fast. The 13-minute instrumental track "East-West" incorporates Indian raga influences and some of the earliest jazz-fusion and blues rock excursions, with extended solos by Butterfield and guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. Paul Lee Butterfield was born on July 19, 1937, and died at age 56 years old on May 26, 1994. [8] In 1975, he again joined Muddy Waters to record Waters's last album for Chess Records, The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album. You're in! [8] Reportedly left-handed, he held the harmonica in a manner opposite that of a right-handed player, i.e., in his right hand, upside down (with the low notes to the right), using his left hand for muting effects. He was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment by his manager of an apparent drug overdose, says Rolling Stone. He was popular for being a Rock Singer. Paul took up the flute when he was in high school, taking lessons from a well-respected flautist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, Butterfield was included in the expanded 40th Anniversary Edition Woodstock video, and an additional two songs appeared on the box set Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm. He stood up for what he believed in., A poignant moment in the film comes when Mark Naftalin recalls a conversation between Butterfield and drummer Billy Davenport who was concerned about what he, as an African American appearing in an integrated band, might face on the road. T&C
Butterfields first albums, on Electra Records, were critical hits and trendsetters in their day. [8] His style has been described as "always intense, understated, concise, and serious",[33] and he was "known for purity and intensity of his tone, his sustained breath control, and his unique ability to bend notes to his will". [28] The album was recorded at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio with Garth Hudson and members of Waters's touring band. He was down there on the South Side, holding his own. Calling a last-minute meeting of the group, Yarrow urged members to include the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the opening day line-up. Somehow, in their early 20s, the two hired away Muddy Waters rhythm sectionand secured a gig as the house band at a folk club on Chicagos North Side, where they brought in a second, younger guitaristMike Bloomfield. Paul Butterfield, born in the same Hyde Park neighborhood where our President now keeps his private home, was the son of an Irish immigrant turned lawyer who attended private school and studied classical flute until he got bitten by the blues harmonicaand started hanging out at South Side clubs with his buddy, guitarist Elvin Bishop. [14] The induction biography commented that "the Butterfield Band converted the country-blues purists and turned on the Fillmore generation to the pleasures of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Willie Dixon and Elmore James". In 1963, he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which recorded several successful albums and was popular on the late-1960s concert and festival circuit, with performances at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, the Fillmore East in New York City, the Monterey Pop Festival, and Woodstock. Aside from "rank[ing] among the most influential harp players in the Blues",[32] The son of a lawyer and a painter, he attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school associated with the University of Chicago. They called themselves what else but Nick and Paul, with Nick on guitar, and Paul doing double duty, singing and wowing crowds with his electrifying way around the diatonic. [3] On May 4, 1987, at age 44, Paul Butterfield died at his apartment in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles. They lived a comfortable life in the Hyde Park section of Chicagos South Side, where his parents introduced him and his brother Peter to music at a young age. And, thanks to Sandra Warren, John Anderson and Abramorama, the wait is over. The album consists of more varied material, with the band's interpretations of blues (Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues"), rock (Michael Nesmith's "Mary, Mary"), R&B (Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life, Woman"), and jazz selections (Nat Adderley's "Work Song"). Butterfield has also been seen as pointing blues-based music in new, innovative directions. "[12], Beginning in 1980, Paul Butterfield underwent several surgical procedures to relieve his peritonitis, a serious and painful inflammation of the intestines. While still recording and performing, Butterfield died in 1987 at age 44 of an accidental drug overdose. His athletic prowess made him a regular on the track team at school, where he also studied classical flute. The resulting knee injury put an end to the scholarship, keeping Butterfield in Chicago, where he enrolled in the University of Illinois. [6] Rothchild persuaded Holzman to agree to a third attempt at recording an album. Paul got in his Jeep and went back down the mountain. Lee Butterfield speaks onstage during the 30th annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on April 18, 2015, in Cleveland. WebWith the program long set for the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, fate once again stepped in, this time in the form of Peter Yarrow the Peter in Peter Paul and Mary and member of the festivals board. Peter recalls his brother saying, I almost had it, and its being taken away from me.. Deceased on May 04 34. [33] AllMusic critic Steve Huey commented, It's impossible to overestimate the importance of the doors Butterfield opened: before he came to prominence, white American musicians treated the blues with cautious respect, afraid of coming off as inauthentic. And he wasnt out for the glory, which is to say that when it came to blowing his own horn, he wasnt into self-promotion. Paul Butterfield died at the young age of 44 on May 4, 1987, reported Associated Press. Weblee butterfield son of paul butterfield As a young white man, Butterfield found himself enamored with Chicago's predominantly Black blues music scene of the late '50s and discovered a lot of his musical inspirations from legends like Muddy Waters. (function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createElement("script"), tag = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document);
He loosened all the levels of self-consciousness and doubt out of me And he'll forever live in my heart for that and for respecting me as a fellow musician. He was survived by his sons, Gabe and Lee Butterfield. Born Paul Vaughn Butterfield. In England in November 1966, Butterfield recorded several songs with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, who had recently finished the album A Hard Road. Grossman managed Bob Dylan and Peter Paul and Mary, and took the young band leader under his wing. Not long after creating his second band Better Days, Butterfield began having issues pertaining to his health. It was so perfect, and we were all sitting there and just completely open-mouthed and silenced by this incredible thing, and then it was over, he says. That side of his father, Gabe Butterfield now says, was part and parcel with his having been a bandleader having to keep a whole host of temperamental players in line for years. This would be our second nomination, Gabe Buterfield says. Shortly after that first meeting, the two hit the ground running, with Warren taking on the role of executive producer, and Anderson wearing a variety of hats: writing, directing, editing, narrating and co-producing the film. Pure and simple. In the end, the board sided with Yarrow, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, with Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on guitar, Sam Lay on drums and Jerome Arnold on bass, took to the stage. Each has their own way of saying things. Live provides perhaps the best showcase for this unique "blues-jazz-rock-R&B hybrid sound". Born on December 17 65. Lee Butterfield (son of Paul) and his lovely wife Kristen share a moment in the spotlight before an emotional World Premiere of Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story with Lee Butterfield. The clips and quotes and makeshift travelogue of Butterfields life in this article are but a sampling of what youll find in the film. Their engagement at the club was highly successful and brought the group to the attention of record producer Paul A. Jim Kweskin, whose jug-band music would later captivate the Boston college crowd, met the then 19-year-old while on a visit to Chicago, where Butterfield introduced him to the music of some of the towns greatest blues players, among them Muddy Waters. On April 15, 1987, he participated in the concert "B.B. WebBy 1971, Butterfield had purchased his first house, in rural Woodstock, New York, and began enjoying family life with his second wife, Kathy Peterson, and their infant son, Lee. It was the end of an era, with Paul selling the Woodstock house and moving back to New York City. Lee Butterfield (son of Paul) and his lovely wife Kristen share a moment in the spotlight before an emotional World Premiere of Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story with Lee Butterfield. Butterfield and the early members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Post a comment below. And then, and then another lifeline, when an investor-banker bankrolled a comeback album. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band album would eventually take the number eleven spot on Downbeat magazines All-Time Top 50 Blues albums. Anderson knew the territory, having directed two blues-centered documentaries: 2008s Born in Chicago and 2014s Sam Lay in Blues Land. Lee Butterfield (son of Paul) with Director John Anderson at the World Premiere of Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story, The Newport Beach Film Festival 10 Like Most relevant Megan Brady Lee! [41] He wrote a harmonica instruction book, Paul Butterfield Teaches Blues Harmonica Master Class,[e] a few years before his death (it was not published until 1997). WebFamily tree of Paul Butterfield. There was no need to look any further; Horn from the Heart it would be. Jim Rooney, then manager of Bearsville Studios, recalls the way it all went down. Paul Butterfield died at the young age of 44 on May 4, 1987, reported Associated Press. WebWhen Paul Lee Butterfield was born on 16 July 1938, in Oroville, Butte, California, United States, his father, Jessie Westley Butterfield, was 41 and his mother, Elenora Sarah Baker, was 40. These recordings also failed to satisfy Rothchild, but the group's appearances at the club brought them to the attention of the East Coast music community. He was just a natural genius. The marriage was over, and she and son Lee packed up their cares and woes and moved west. Paul Butterfield, born in the same Hyde Park neighborhood where our President now keeps his private home, was the son of an Irish immigrant turned lawyer who attended private school and studied classical flute until he got bitten by the blues harmonicaand started hanging out at South Side clubs with his buddy, guitarist Elvin Bishop. 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