Paul Craft was born in Memphis, TN, and spent part of his early life on his parents’ 2,000-acre cotton, bean, and rice farm in nearby Proctor, AR. Fascinated by Country radio, he got a harmonica at age 10, an accordion at age 11, and a ukulele shortly thereafter ¬– all of which eventually led him to play guitar and banjo. He developed a love for Bluegrass music and performed for a time with Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys.
Paul served a stint in the Coast Guard, graduated as an English major from the University of Virginia, and attended one year of law school in Memphis. He also joined the Mensa society, whose members have IQs in the top two percent of the population.
Paul’s first songwriting success came in 1968 with cuts by Skeeter Davis and Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs. Then, in 1974, the Eagles recorded “Midnight Flyer” (also recorded in 1973 by The Osborne Brothers) and Linda Ronstadt recorded “Keep Me From Blowing Away” (also recorded in 1973 by both Jerry Lee Lewis and The Seldom Scene).
Paul moved to Nashville in 1975. Within the next 12 months, 35 of his songs were recorded. Remarkably, in 1976, Paul had not one – but two – songs nominated for Grammy Country song of the year: “Dropkick Me, Jesus” by Bobby Bare and “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” by Moe Bandy.
Paul’s Country hits include “Come As You Were” by T. Graham Brown, “Brother Jukebox” by Mark Chesnutt, “When The New Wears Off Of Our Love” (a hit in 1977 for Jody Miller and again in 1983 for The Whites), and “Blue Heartache” by Gail Davies (later a Bluegrass hit for Lou Reid & Carolina). Also a prolific provider of songs to the Bluegrass world, Paul garnered more than 200 cuts from artists such as Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, The Lewis Family, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, numbering compositions such as “Teardrops Will Kiss The Morning Dew” by Alison Krauss and “No Lawyers In Heaven” by Charlie Sizemore among his Bluegrass hits.
Paul died in Nashville on October 18, 2014, at age 76.
