“I was simply overjoyed when I heard that Paul Hornsby was recording his first ever solo album. I mean, after so many years of producing and playing with great artists like Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton and Toy Caldwell, Paul is finally getting the spotlight, and it is more than well deserved. He gets a few of his old friends in on that act, and together, they turn out a fantastic CD full of classic tunes from rock to blues to rockabilly - from the Ray Charles hit “Mess Around” to the blues of “Key to the Highway” and the rockin’ boppin’ “My Gal is Red Hot,” all featuring Hornsby’s stellar piano work, and in a pleasant surprise, his equally great vocals, something I had never heard before! All I can say is, turn it up!” -Michael Buffalo Smith, Author & Recording Artist ****************************************************************************************************************************************** Paul Hornsby was my mentor when I was a young musician growing up in Alabama. I learned a great deal from him in my formative years and still learn from him today. He is a master musician and producer and one of my closest friends, and I am so glad he has finally come out with this, his own first solo project. I know everyone will enjoy this fun music and fine playing! -Chuck Leavell, Keyboardist and Conservationist ******************************************************************************************************************************************** PAUL HORNSBY "RED HOT" PAUL HORNSBY...lead vocals, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B-3, keyboard bass. Expertly aided and abetted by: BILL STEWART drums GARY PORTER drums CHARLIE HAYWARD bass JOHNNY FOUNTAIN bass JACK PEARSON lead and slide guitar solos ("I'M READY") KEN WYNN electric guitar, dobro ("CORINNA CORINNA") CHRIS HICKS guitar ("KEY TO THE HIGHWAY") TOMMY TALTON slide guitar ("HALLELUJAH"), dobro ("AMAZING GRACE") LEE ROY PARNELL slide guitar solo ("MESS AROUND") PAT BEGESON harmonica CHUCK LEAVELL Hammond B3 ("I'M READY) DUANE BOSWELL percussion E.G. KIGHT background vocals WILLIE MORRIS (OF CAMEO) background vocals BECKY HATAWAY background vocals QUAY SAMPSON background vocals DOODLEY SQUAT SINGERS: ANDY JOHNSON, CAITLYN BAGWELL, CHANCE ROYAL, JOSNIE FERGUSON, KEVIN VINES JOHN LAUGHTER tenor and bari saxes ELBERT DURHAM tenor sax REGGIE BOOKER trombone TOM HARLING trumpet RANDAL FOIL tuba MARCUS JAMES HENDERSON sax solos Produced and engineered by Paul Hornsby at Muscadine Studio, Macon, Georgia Assistant engineers: Duane Boswell, Kenny Smith, Richard Schoff, Scott Pallot, Rick Maxwell CD art design: Michael Pierce Cover Photography: David Byrd ********************************************************************************************************************************************** BIO Paul Hornsby was born in Alabama, where he grew up listening to his father, an old time fiddler, play at local square dances. When he was fourteen, he began playing guitar, which was his first serious entry into creating music. Paul learned his licks from Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and then the "Ventures" records. While attending the University of Alabama in 1962, he was exposed to the blues and R&B music, folks like acts like Slim Harpo, Jimmy Reed, Arthur Alexander, and so on. Hornsby played in various bands throughout his career, including The Men-Its alongside the great Eddie Hinton, and later Hourglass with Duane and Gregg Allman. Soon afterward, Paul would accept a studio staff position with Phil Walden at the newly formed Capricorn Records in Macon, Georgia. There, Paul, along with Johnny Sandlin on drums, Pete Carr (former Hour Glass member) on guitar, and Robert Popwell (later with the "Crusaders") on bass, became the rhythm section at Capricorn Studio. After backing some of the great recording artists of the day for a while, Hornsby settled into daily studio work and became studio manager at Capricorn. By this time, Capricorn was up and running as a full blown record label, with the success of the Allman Brothers Band, who had formed and moved to Macon at the same time as Paul. Soon, Capricorn signed a band from South Carolina called the Marshall Tucker Band. It fell Paul's lot to do the production duties. After two months of 15-hour sessions, this band's first album was released, self-titled the "Marshall Tucker Band." The rest is history. Paul produced the next five hit Marshall Tucker LP's for Capricorn. In addition to producing, his distinctive piano style can also be heard on those albums in such standards as "Heard It In A Love Song", "Can't You See, “and others. In the mid 70's Paul left his position as Capricorn staff producer, and went independent. This enabled him to produce outside artists on other labels. One such artist was The Charlie Daniels Band. He recorded four albums with Charlie including the southern anthem "The South's Gonna Do It Again" and "Long Haired Country Boy.” In addition to the four studio albums, there were"3 or 4 of the 'Volunteer Jam' live albums with practically everyone in the world on stage together, including Willie Nelson " He also continued to produce other acts for Capricorn, such as the Wet Willie band and countless others. There suddenly had become a new musical genre, formed out of bands from these environs, dubbed "Southern Rock.” This music had become accepted and loved by countless listeners the world over. It has been a long road since that pioneer southern rock band, "Hour Glass" set out for California in 1967. Paul was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall Of Fame in 2010. To read more about Paul Hornsby including his full length bio, visit his website at www.paulhornsby.com