Born in Madison Wisconsin, Paul Brown moved to Memphis, TN at the age of five where he lived until the death of his mother. Soon after, Paul Brown was eleven years old, living in Nashville in a school for the homeless, searching for some way to cope when he stumbled across an old upright piano that would alter his life forever.
By the age of 13, Paul Brown was playing dates with country artist Louise Mandrell and Dove-award winning Christian singer Don Francisco and sponging styles ranging from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to Parliament Funkedelic and Rap pioneers Sugar Hill. "I loved everything," says Paul. "I was so happy to find something I could connect with, something I could use to express all these whacked out feelings I had. I remember going AWOL to see a KISS concert that turned out to be a Parliament concert instead. That was one of the most enlightening experiences of my musical career."
In '79, Paul returned to Memphis armed with nothing more than a trumpet, a road atlas and an arsenal determination. By the mid '80s, he landed his first publishing deal writing and arranging for various artists.
In 1991 Paul met Ann Peebles and Don Bryant, known for their 1973 hit "I Can't Stand the Rain." Hired as a sub to fill in for Hi Records' organist Charles Hodges, Paul, soon found himself being asked to be Ann's music director and producer. During the 19 years Paul has been with Ann, he has traveled all over the world for tours and television performances.
In '94 Paul took a year off with Ann to record and tour with East/West recording artist The Mother Station, following up with an MTV video for their smash single "Put the Blame On Me." In 1995, Ann pulled him back in to co-write and co-produce her critically acclaimed release Fill This World With Love.
In 1998 Paul joined forces with world-renowned rock group Survivor, featuring Jimi Jamison, for a world tour. Since then, Paul has produced two critically acclaimed Gospel projects, including Don Bryant's It's All in the World, set for release in the winter of 2010.
Paul has recorded on four major tribute records including one for writing legend Don Covay and a tribute to Eric Clapton featuring Ann Peebles with Brown and members of The Legendary Hi Rhythm Section. He also arranged, engineered and mixed blues legend Bobby Rush's album Undercover Lover, which Living Blues dubbed "One of the most important Blues albums of the year."
Paul has performed on four major PBS specials and three live DVDs including Rush's award winning DVD Live at Ground Zero and the Grammy winning soundtrack for Martin Scorcese's film The Blues. He recorded on the critically acclaimed live album with Memphis' Fusion Band FreeWorld and award winning blues artist Stacy Mitchhart's release titled Gotta Get the Feelin' Back Again, which reached #3 on XM Radio's Blues Charts.
Playing more than 280 tour dates a year, with a new live album with blues great Stacy Mitchhart and opening his brand new Ocean Soul Studios in Nashville, TN Paul isn't slowing down. He is currently producing the debut album for American Idol finalist Alexis Grace along with a new release for Colorado folk legend Roz Brown. Along with touring full time with Mitchhart, Paul's also hitting the road Alexis Grace following the album's release.
