Joe Sun

Born on 25 September 1943 in Rochester, Minnesota, James J. Paulson absorbed the sounds of country and blues stations, which lent a pronounced blues flavor to his own country recordings. Relocating to Chicago in the early 1970s for computer work, he spent evenings in the folk venues along Wells Street, where John Prine and Steve Goodman left a lasting mark. Gaining assurance as a live act, he first performed under the name Jack Daniels before joining the Branded Men. While working as a disc jockey in Minneapolis, he became captivated by Mickey Newbury’s “Are My Thoughts With You?” and resolved to head for Nashville.

He reached the city in 1972, launched the graphics firm The Sun Shop, and drew on his radio background to work as a record promoter. In that role he aided the revival of Bill Black’s Combo. Joining the newly created country department at Ovation Records in 1977, he championed the Kendalls’ B-side “Heaven’s Just A Sin Away,” which climbed to number 1 on the US country chart. The label then offered him studio time, and his version of Hugh Moffatt’s “Old Flames (Can’t Hold A Candle To You)” reached number 14 on the country listings. Subsequent successes included “High And Dry,” “I Came On Business For The King,” and the duet “What I Had With You” with Sheila Andrews. “Shotgun Rider” crossed onto the pop charts, while his reading of “The Long Black Veil” opens with spoken remarks from its composers, Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin.

Following Ovation’s bankruptcy he signed with Elektra Records, yet his hard-rocking approach received scant support. Fronting the Solar System he began regular European tours, returning two or three times annually. The album Hank Bogart Still Lives stands as a salute to his influences. Among his own songs, he has singled out “The Sun Never Sets” as his favorite, remarking, “I don’t think I’ll do much better than that.”