Paul Humphrey

Paul Nelson Humphrey (born October 12, 1935, Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American jazz and funk/R+B drummer.

He worked as a session drummer in the 1960s for jazz artists such as Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Kai Winding, Jimmy Smith, Charles Mingus, Lee Konitz, Blue Mitchell and Gene Ammons.

As a bandleader, he recorded under the name Paul Humphrey and the Cool Aid Chemists, with keyboardist Clarence MacDonald, guitarist David T. Walker, and bassist Bill Upchurch. In 1971, this ensemble had two hits, "Cool Aid" (US #29, US Black Singles #14) and "Funky L.A." (US Black Singles #45). He also recorded an album as head of the Paul Humphrey Sextet in 1981.

Humphrey was one of the drummers on Marvin Gaye's album Let's Get It On.

He also recorded with Steely Dan,Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia, Jimmy Smith, The Four Tops, Al Kooper, Jackie DeShannon, Natalie Cole, Albert King, Quincy Jones, Dusty Springfield, Jean-Luc Ponty, Michael Franks, Maria Muldaur, Marc Bolan and others.

Humphrey also was the featured drummer for both the Lawrence Welk orchestra and television show from 1976 to 1982. He and his wife Joan are the parents of two children, Pier and Damien, who appeared with their father on the Welk show's annual Christmas episode.

Paul Humphrey (American football)

Paul Humphrey (July 18, 1917 – June 22, 2006) was a center in the National Football League. He was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1939 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and played that season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Later he would play with the Milwaukee Chiefs of the American Football League.

References

Paul Humphrey (Canadian musician)

Paul Humphrey is a Canadian singer/songwriter and musician who plays keyboards and guitar and is best known as the lead singer for the 1980s Canadian new wave band Blue Peter. Humphrey has also been the leader of The Paul Humphrey Band, The Monkey Tree, and Broken Arrow.

Blue Peter

Blue Peter was founded by Humphrey and Chris Wardman in the late 1970s. Humphrey sang lead, and was known for his low-timbred singing, compared at times to that of David Bowie and Bryan Ferry, as well as his "suave" looks and dancing style. While a member of Blue Peter, he earned the Male Vocalist of the Year award at 1984's CASBY Awards (then known as The U-Knows), held by CFNY radio in Toronto. Humphrey and Blue Peter perform shows occasionally, often as part of "retro" events, such as the Juno Awards 40th Anniversary Concert Series held at the Horseshoe Tavern in January 2011.

Solo career

After stints with The Paul Humphrey Band and Monkey Tree, Humphrey formed Broken Arrow with Blue Peter bass player Ric Joudrey in 1997. Broken Arrow recorded and released two CDs, Bend (1997), and Four Ways to Centre (2000).