Paul Oscher, who moved to Austin eight years ago after a career that included many years in blues legend Muddy Waters' band, died Sunday at age 71. He had been hospitalized with COVID-19 for several weeks, his former manager, Nancy Coplin, confirmed Monday.
Oscher moved to the South Austin community of Manchaca in 2013 and began performing there at the now-shuttered Railroad BBQ. Soon Coplin was managing him and he'd gained a weekly residency at C-Boy's Heart & Soul on South Congress Avenue that lasted for several years.
Born April 5, 1950, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Oscher was still in his teens when he began playing harmonica with Waters in 1967. He performed with Waters at the short-lived but influential downtown Austin venue Vulcan Gas Company in the late 1960s.
Glad I got to spend time with Paul at Amandas Rollercoaster-a blues giant ! Godspeed Paul.
I saw his one-man band show a few years back where he played guitar, harps, keyboard as well as vocals and plenty of entertaining stories in between songs. It was a masterful show. He had devised his own amplified harp rack that sounded awesome. His talent was deep and was under appreciated IMHO. RIP Paul.
Last Edited by mr_so&so on Apr 23, 2021 6:55 PM
Paul Oscher, Blues Musician in Muddy Waters’s Band, Dies at 74 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/obituaries/-2021-04-26-obituaries-paul-oscher-dead-coronavirus.html?referringSource=articleShare
