Billy Paul
| Billy Paul | |
|---|---|
Paul performing in Tunis, April 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Williams |
| Born |
December 1, 1934 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 24, 2016 (aged 81) Blackwood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1952–2016 |
| Website | Official website |
Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 #1 single, "Me and Mrs. Jones", as well as the 1973 album and single "War of the Gods" which blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences.
He was one of the many artists associated with the Philadelphia soul sound created by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell. Paul was identified by his diverse vocal style which ranged from mellow and soulful to low and raspy. Questlove of the Roots equated Paul to Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, calling him "one of the criminally unmentioned proprietors of socially conscious post-revolution '60s civil rights music."
Paul was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in North Philadelphia. His love of music began at a young age, listening at home to his family's music collection. He recalled: "That's how I really got indoctrinated into music. My mother was always...collecting records and she would buy everything from Jazz at Philharmonic Hall to Nat King Cole." He began singing along and tried to emulate the records he heard: "I always liked Nat King Cole. I always wanted to go my own way, but I always favored other singers like Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald – I loved Ella Fitzgerald. There are so many of them. Nina Simone was one of my favorites – Johnny Mathis, They all had a style, a silkiness about them.... I wanted to sing silky, like butter – mellow. I wanted to sing mellow you know what I mean. One of my favorites is Jessie Velvet – they used to call him Mr. Easy. A lot of people forgot about him you know – Sam Cooke is another one of my favorites."
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Wikipedia