Paul Delph
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
-based singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, and studio musician whose catalog includes work with many well-known recording artists from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Delph died from complications of HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS in the United States
[[File:New HIV Cases 22 States 2006 CDC.svg|thumb|300px|Estimated Number of New HIV Cases—22 States 2006...
at his parents home in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. His ashes are interred at Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
in Cincinnati. A panel in Delph's name is part of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes...
.
Zoo Drive
From 1980 to 1987 Paul was the keyboardist/vocalist for the band Zoo Drive which also featured John Goodsall (guitar), Doug Lunn (bass) and Ric Parnell (drums). They made their primary living touring and recording as rhythm section for many artists. The best known of these projects was the Word of MouthWord of Mouth (Toni Basil album)
Word of Mouth is Toni Basil's debut album. It was released in 1982. It was certified Gold by RIAA. It featured the #1 worldwide hit "Mickey". The album also contains 3 covers of songs by the band Devo who also performed on the songs...
album by Toni Basil
Toni Basil
Antonia Christina Basilotta , better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born Antonia Christina...
. The song "Mickey
Mickey (song)
"Mickey" is a 1982 U.S. new wave song recorded by singer and choreographer Toni Basil. Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as "Kitty", it was first recorded by UK popular music group Racey during 1979...
" which featured Paul on Farfisa organ went to #1 on the Billboard Magazine singles chart in December 1982.
Zahara
In 1983 he recorded an album with ZaharaZahara (band)
Zahara were a jazz fusion ensemble who released one album for Antilles Records.They consisted of several notable members including Reebop Kwaku Baah , Paul Delph , Bryson Graham , Rosko Gee ....
, a group with several notable members including Reebop Kwaku Baah (percussion), Paul Delph (keyboards), Bryson Graham
Bryson Graham
Bryson Graham was a rock drummer, most notable as a member of Spooky Tooth, Girl and as a session musician.- History :Bryson Graham commenced his professional recording career, at the age of seventeen as a member of Mainhorse Airplane, with David Kubinec . He was later with Mainhorse with...
(drums), Rosko Gee
Rosko Gee
Rosko Gee is a Jamaican bassist who has played with the English band Traffic on their albums When the Eagle Flies and The Last Great Traffic Jam , with the supergroup Go conceived by Stomu Yamashta, which also included Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve, and with the...
(bass). From 1988 to 1991 Paul fronted his own solo project called Walk The Walk.
Collaborators
Artists with whom Delph worked include:Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
, Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
, Peter Banks(Yes, Empire), Toni Basil
Toni Basil
Antonia Christina Basilotta , better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born Antonia Christina...
, Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...
, Richard Burmer
Richard Burmer
Richard Steven Burmer was an American composer, engineer, sound designer and musician. His work with electronic music combined with musical styles and instruments from around the world has formed his own unique and distinct sound.-Personal life:Richard was born September 19, 1955 in Owosso,...
, Mike Chapman, Ava Cherry, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Michael Des Barres
Michael Des Barres
Lord Michael Philip Des Barres is a British actor and rock singer. He is known for playing the recurring role of Murdoc on the television show MacGyver and for replacing the late Robert Palmer in the band Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert...
, Rhett Davies, Bob Esty, Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
, John Goodsall
John Goodsall
John Goodsall is a progressive rock & jazz fusion guitarist most noted for his work with Brand X, Atomic Rooster and Fire Merchants.Goodsall was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in Los Angeles, England, Milan and Minnesota. He began playing guitar at age 7...
, Sam Harris
Sam Harris (singer)
Sam Harris is an American pop and musical theatre recording artist as well as a television, stage and film actor.-Singing:...
, Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...
, Alfonso Johnson, Johnny Mandel
Johnny Mandel
Johnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
, Martin Page
Martin Page
Martin Page is a musician, singer, bass player, session musician, and noted pop songwriter.Martin George Page was born at Southampton, Hampshire, England, September 23, 1959 to Alan Richard Page and Ruth Pamela Page...
, The Pointer Sisters
Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades, their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, disco, jazz, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock.The...
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, Jimmie Spheeris
Jimmie Spheeris
Jimmie Spheeris November 5, 1949 – July 4, 1984) was an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s on the Columbia Records and Epic Records labels.He was of Greek descent...
, Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
, Chester Thomson, Gino Vannelli
Gino Vannelli
Gino Vannelli is an Italian-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and composer.-Early years:Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing...
, The Weather Girls
Weather Girls
The Weather Girls, also known as Two Tons o' Fun , are an American duo comprising two plus-size African-American women...
, Alee Willis and Gary Wright
Gary Wright
Gary Malcolm Wright is an American musician, best known for his song, "Dream Weaver". He was the piano player on Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You".-Early life:...
.
Repertoire
Performances on The Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
and opening concerts for The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, television scores for Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers (TV series)
Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean...
, Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
and film scores for Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and Lorimar Productions
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
were also part of his repertoire.
Delph’s final album, A God That Can Dance, was independently released in 1995. It chronicles the artist’s struggle with HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS in the United States
[[File:New HIV Cases 22 States 2006 CDC.svg|thumb|300px|Estimated Number of New HIV Cases—22 States 2006...
and draws its title from a quote attributed in the liner notes to Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
(1844 – 1900):
- "I would believe only in a God that knew how to dance." — Thus Spoke ZarathustraThus Spoke ZarathustraThus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885...