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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Paul Skelton 1953- 2009
Austin Telecaster twangmaster Paul Skelton passed away Sunday morning after a battle with lung cancer, said Cornell Hurd, his bandleader and friend of 33 years. Skelton was 55.
“He was truly, truly an amazing man,” Hurd said of the “musicians’ musician” who backed several singers and also worked for for Collings Guitar for 13 years. Skelton first toured with Cornell Hurd and the Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra in 1977, on the heels of novelty hit “Bicentennial Boogie.”
“He could play anything from jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to country, but he never overplayed,” says singer Penny Jo Pullus, who hired Skelton to play on her three albums. “We wouldn’t need to practice (before a gig). You’d just tell Paul the key and he was ready to go.”
Skelton moved from California to New York City in the 1980s and worked in quality control for ESP Guitars, then worked assembling and repairing guitars for Matt Umanov’s shop in Greenwich Village. “Paulie was very skilled,” says Umanov. “We always thought he was a native New Yorker because he was so ornery, which we loved.”
Skelton and Hurd reunited musicially in 1987, when Skelton joined the Cornell Hurd Band. He held that post for 22 years until he recently became too ill to perform.
Besides playing with Hurd, Skelton played on most of the Wayne “the Train” Hancock records and with Texana Dames, Ted Roddy, Libbi Bosworth, Mandy Mercier and many more. Skelton was also a regular at the annual birthday bash for Buck Owens at the Coninental Club.
“He was kind of a Walter Matthau character, with his surly, sarcastic wit,” says Steve McCreary, general manager of Collings. “But he was a real sweetheart.”
Born in El Paso, Skelton moved to the San Jose area with his family as a kid. It was there in his early twenties that he met Hurd.
“I’ve lost Danny Roy Young and Paul Skelton in the past few months,” said Hurd, also referring to his beloved rubboard player. “And I don’t think as long as I live I’ll meet another person like the two of them.”
Skelton is survived by wife Anne and 16-year-old son Jess. The funeral will be held 2 p.m. Thursday at Austin Memorial Park at 2800 Hancock Drive.
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Buddy Miller suffers heart attack
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