Paul Warren

Paul Warren was an extraordinary bluegrass sideman who played fiddle on scores of radio and television shows and recording sessions; although he was in the music business over 35 years, he never made a solo studio album. Warren was born and raised in Hickman County, Tennessee; his earliest influences were his father, who played clawhammer banjo, and Fiddlin' Arthur Smith. He got his start playing high school dances with partner Emory Martin in the mid-'30s. In 1938, he joined Johnnie Wright's band; by 1940, they had become successful enough to abandon their day jobs and focus full-time on music. He remained with Wright and his Tennessee Hillbillies until entering the Army in 1942, where legend has it that he survived capture and two years in a German POW camp because he entertained the guards by playing "Under the Double Eagle" on fiddle. After his discharge, Warren returned to Wright's band. After Wright formed Johnnie & Jack with Jack Anglin, Warren played behind them until 1953, and also spent a year playing on Kitty Wells recordings like "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels" and "Release Me." In 1954, he began his long association with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs when he replaced Benny Martin in their Foggy Mountain Boys; he appeared on all of their recordings between 1954 and 1969. When Flatt and Scruggs broke up in the late '60s, Warren played in Flatt's Nashville Grass through early 1977 when his health began to fail and he was forced to retire; he died the following year. Although he never recorded by himself, a collection of tunes featuring his work was posthumously gathered by Lance Le Roy, who released them a tribute album in 1979. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide