Background
Thorn was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin but raised in Tupelo, Mississippi after a family move when he was an infant.
Thorn was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin but raised in Tupelo, Mississippi after a family move when he was an infant.
Before his professional music career began he was a professional boxer. Paul was subsequently signed to a recording contract with Agricultural and Mechanical Records and recorded his first album, Hammer & Nail, in 1997. Paul Thorn"s 2010 album Pimps and Preachers debuted at Number.
83 on the Billboard 200 chart, his highest chart position to date.
His 2012 album What the Hell Is Going On was the 12th Most Played Album of 2012 on the Americana Music Association Year-End Chart. What the Hell Is Going On was Thorn"s second record to debut on the Billboard Top 100 during its first week of release.
Thorn has toured as an opening act for Huey Lewis & the News, Sting, John Prine, Marianne Faithfull, Mark Knopfler, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Toby Keith and Jeff Beck, Jerry Jeff Walker. In 2014, Thorn released Too Blessed to Be Stressed, which he described as a collection of "positive anthem songs.".
Boxing career highlights include winning the Mid-South Middleweight Championship in Memphis, Tennessee and a nationally-televised bout with former world champion Roberto Durán, After a few years of working in a Tupelo furniture factory and playing in local clubs he was discovered by music professional Miles Copeland (brother of The Police drummer Stewart Copeland).
