Under The Fretboard: Paul Thorn
Welcome back, Blues Rock Review readers! With each Under The Fretboard article, we focus a little more deeply on lesser-known artists who have their roots within the familiar boundaries of blues, rock, Americana, soul, and roots music. Often, the musicians we feature are newer artists just gaining recognition outside of a small but loyal fan base. With this edition, we uncover someone who has been quietly building an impressive career while somehow staying just outside the mainstream blues rock spotlight. Paul Thorn has been making his blend of Mississippi blues and gospel-flavored storytelling for nearly three decades.
Paul Thorn – Mississippi Grit, Gospel Roots and Americana Storytelling
Thorn started making records with his 1997 debut, Hammer & Nail, yet his artistic path reads more like a Walter Mitty story than the typical musician biography. Born the son of a Pentecostal minister, Thorn’s journey began humbly as a furniture factory worker. Then things get interesting. He spent time as a professional skydiver before taking up boxing. He was good enough to become a professional middleweight, at one point finding himself in a nationally televised bout against Roberto Durán. Fortunately (for us), he would trade the gloves for a guitar and become a down-to-earth songwriter who spun tales of ordinary people, family contradictions, faith, heartbreak, and hard-earned wisdom that make you laugh one minute and contemplate life the next.
Music has been a part of his life since he was a three-year-old singing in his father’s church. Thorn was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, but raised in Tupelo, Mississippi. There, he grew up surrounded by gospel and roots music. His early musical indoctrination wasn’t limited to his father’s church. He also spent time at the African American Okolona Sunrise Church of Prophecy, an experience that helped shape his vocal style and rhythmic sensibility. Gospel became the foundation.
He also absorbed the sounds coming from outside the church, including Elvis Presley, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Elton John, Huey Lewis, and even comedy records. That unlikely combination of influences and life experiences flows through the unpredictable character of Thorn’s music. His admiration for Elvis runs particularly deep, as they both came from Tupelo, and Elvis also frequented the same local churches. You can hear the influence of Elvis’s gospel recordings in many of Thorn’s songs.
He blends that with songwriting filled with blue-collar life experiences. Thorn’s storytelling rarely feels like it comes from unfamiliar places. His characters are recognizable. They’re the people we encounter at work, in bars, churches, family gatherings, and roadside diners. His songs tell tales of relatable people and situations, giving them an observational quality that feels more conversational than structured.
This is where the influence of John Prine becomes apparent. Prine was more than an influence; he became a friend and mentor to Thorn. Prine’s ability to turn everyday observations into funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human songs clearly resonates in Thorn’s work. Thorn even credits Prine with inspiring the title of his latest album, 2025’s Life Is Just a Vapor.
This most recent release finds Thorn doing what he has always done best: combining gospel, blues, Southern rock, country, soul, and Americana with stories that feel too worn and familiar for a newer album. The album includes some notable appearances, with Luther Dickinson on “Geraldine & Ricky” and Joe Bonamassa on “I’m Just Waiting.” The title track is a sobering song of perspective, while “Wait” adds a touch of humor. The album also features the Tupelo gospel group New Testament, along with Muscle Shoals singers Cindy Richardson and Marie Lewey.
The catalog Paul Thorn has amassed over the decades is extensive, starting with his 1997 debut, Hammer & Nail, released on A&M Records. The album features some noteworthy early tracks. The title track provides basic words of wisdom, “I’d rather be the hammer than the nail,” while “800 Pound Jesus” provides a flavor of Thorn’s rural comedic side. Meanwhile, “A Heart With Four Wheel Drive” and “I Bet He Knows” reveal the blues artist.
His sophomore effort, 2001’s Ain’t Love Strange, is noteworthy in that it marks the beginning of Thorn’s Perpetual Obscurity Records era. The title track is another chuckle-and-grin piece, but the two top-streamed songs, “I Have a Good Day” and “Burn Down the Trailer Park,” along with personal favorite “Black Rainbow,” are also worthy of a listen.
The following pair of albums are thematic, with Mission Temple Fireworks Stand (2002) driven by gospel influences and Are You With Me? (2004) taking a more mellow approach with some R&B influences. “Mission Temple Fireworks Stand” is by far the most-streamed song of Thorn’s early work.
Four years would pass before A Long Way From Tupelo came out in 2008. The title track would get some traction and speak to the life of touring away from home. The album features a mix of live and studio tracks, including a live version of “800 Pound Jesus” and a live version of the hilarious tune “It’s a Great Day to Whup Somebody’s Ass,” which has garnered well over 4 million streams on Spotify.
Perhaps the best introduction to Thorn’s catalog is 2010’s Pimps and Preachers. The record digs directly into Paul’s family history and the two worlds that helped shape him: faith and the hard realities of working-class Southern life. The title track speaks for itself and has well over a million streams, but the most-streamed song is “I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love,” which speaks to the frustrations of dealing with family relationships. A couple of personal favorites from the album include “Tequila Is Good for the Heart” and “Weeds in My Roses.”
In 2012, Thorn released What the Hell Is Goin’ On?, a collection of covers that reflect the influences on his musical journey. Standouts include a gritty, guitar-driven take on Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Snake Farm,” Free’s “Walk in My Shadow,” Buddy Miller’s “Shelter Me Lord,” and Wild Bill Emerson’s “Bull Mountain Ridge.” All are worth a listen as Thorn-flavored versions of these classics.
Paul returned to originals on Too Blessed to Be Stressed (2014), which explores themes of trying to stay positive in adverse situations, as the title suggests. Top tracks here include “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” “Old Stray Dogs & Jesus,” and “Mediocrity Is King.” “I Backslide on Friday” is a relatable track for all those who tend to cut loose on weekends.
Thorn would release a greatest-hits-style compilation coupled with a set of live acoustic tracks on 2016’s The Best of Paul Thorn, followed by another live album in 2017, Hammer & Nail Live, featuring live versions of songs from his debut album 20 years earlier. What might be the best track on this album was not on the 1997 release: “Joanie the Jehovah Witness Stripper,” which is as funny as it sounds.
Thorn would return to his gospel roots in 2018 with Don’t Let the Devil Ride, adding some of gospel’s most prominent voices, with the Blind Boys of Alabama, Bonnie Bishop, and the McCrary Sisters lending their vocal talents to the record. Preservation Hall Jazz Horns also add their talents to fill out the sound of another standout album in the catalog.
The album contains a mix of covers of obscure releases from small Southern gospel labels and blues classics. Highlights include “What Should I Do,” with its swampy slide guitar, Blind Willie Johnson’s “Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin’ Bed,” and “Keep Holdin’ On.” However, the most notable cover is a transformative take on The O’Jays’ classic “Love Train,” turning a disco flag-bearer into a deeply soulful statement.
Never Too Late to Call came out in 2021 with 11 original tracks made up of mostly acoustic reflections, featuring the title track honoring Thorn’s relationship with his late sister. Family is also featured in “Sapphire Dream,” on which he sings with his daughter, who was 12 at the time. Thorn’s wife lends backing vocals to “Breaking Up for Good Again,” a tongue-in-cheek look at marital tribulations.
On the lighter side, with a more electric sound, we have “You Mess Around & Get a Buzz,” “Sapalo,” and personal favorite “Here We Go.” The album closes with a fun little rocker, “Holy Hottie Toddy.”
Add to this the aforementioned 2025 release, Life Is Just a Vapor, and there is a lot of Paul Thorn to discover. Pimps and Preachers is a good starting point for an autobiographical feel. Then dig into Don’t Let the Devil Ride for the gospel connection, and Life Is Just a Vapor for the latest chapter. From there, enjoy hopping around the rest of his catalog and discovering the stories, wisdom, and a little laughter.
The humor in Thorn’s writing isn’t slapstick or shock comedy. There’s usually something grounded underneath it. The same goes for the gospel influence. His songs aren’t sermons, even when they wrestle with faith, morality, temptation, and redemption. Instead, Thorn seems more interested in letting his characters figure things out for themselves.
He doesn’t need to pretend that life is cleaner or easier than it is. His characters screw up. Families disagree. Faith gets complicated. Love requires work. Tough times happen. Sometimes you do need to laugh at the absurdity of it all just to get through the day. Paul Thorn can certainly help put that into perspective.