Paul Pena is a blind singer/songwriter and guitarist. He was born on January 26, 1950 in Hyannis, MA. He played music from an early age and did a lot of permorming in Massachusetts. In 1971 he moved to San Francisco and recorded his first record for Capitol Records in 1973. He has performed with such blues artists as John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Missippi Fred McDowell, and T. Bone Walker.
Paul's next album, New Train, was recorded in the mid-70s and was supposed to be his breakthrough record, but it was not released. His song "Jet Airliner" from that album was covered by the Steve Miller Band, and Paul lived off of the royalties for many years. The album has finally been released, in 2000, on Hybrid Records.
Paul has recently become more well known for having taught himself the method of Tuvan throatsinging, after he heard a recording of it on his shortwave radio in 1984. When Kongar-ol Ondar, a master of the technique, performed in San Francisco in 1993, Paul sang a piece to him, and Kongar-ol was so impressed that he invited Paul to attend the second international Khoomei Symposium and contest, held in Tuva. Paul's visit to Tuva is documented in the film Ghengis Blues. Paul took first place in the Kargyraa section of the contest and also won the Audience Favorite award. 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 Pena passed away on October 1, 2005 in San Francisco, California.
Paul's next album, New Train, was recorded in the mid-70s and was supposed to be his breakthrough record, but it was not released. His song "Jet Airliner" from that album was covered by the Steve Miller Band, and Paul lived off of the royalties for many years. The album has finally been released, in 2000, on Hybrid Records.
Paul has recently become more well known for having taught himself the method of Tuvan throatsinging, after he heard a recording of it on his shortwave radio in 1984. When Kongar-ol Ondar, a master of the technique, performed in San Francisco in 1993, Paul sang a piece to him, and Kongar-ol was so impressed that he invited Paul to attend the second international Khoomei Symposium and contest, held in Tuva. Paul's visit to Tuva is documented in the film Ghengis Blues. Paul took first place in the Kargyraa section of the contest and also won the Audience Favorite award. 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 Pena passed away on October 1, 2005 in San Francisco, California.
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