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If you are a Southern Rock fan like I am, this will be a must read! Southern Rock pioneer Henry Paul is ready to share his story. The singer, songwriter, and founding member of the Outlaws, The Henry Paul Band, and multi-Platinum trio Blackhawk will release his memoir, The Last Outlaw, on Tuesday, September 9 via Mirror Lake Publishing (hardcover and e-book).
Co-written with music industry veteran Gary Hertz, and featuring a foreword by Academy Award® winner Billy Bob Thornton, The Last Outlaw traces Paul’s remarkable 50-year career — from growing up on a farm in New York’s Hudson Valley to becoming one of the most enduring voices in Southern Rock, Country, and beyond.
The book details Paul’s early days as a Greenwich Village folksinger, his role in co-founding the Outlaws — the very first rock band signed to Clive Davis’ Arista Records — and the release of their groundbreaking 1975 debut album featuring the iconic anthem “Green Grass and High Tides.” From there, Paul’s journey took him on tours with legends including Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Charlie Daniels Band, The Who, and The Rolling Stones.
But Paul’s story is as much about challenges as triumphs. The Last Outlaw pulls no punches, reflecting on internal conflicts, struggles with addiction, and ultimately being asked to leave the very band he founded. His resilience carried him forward with the Henry Paul Band, releasing acclaimed albums on Atlantic Records and scoring a pop radio hit with “Keepin’ Our Love Alive” in 1981. In the 1990s, Paul co-founded Blackhawk, whose first three albums on Arista Nashville sold over seven million copies before the untimely loss of bandmate Van Stephenson.
Today, Paul continues to lead both the Outlaws and Blackhawk while also spearheading the Van Stephenson Cancer Foundation in his late bandmate’s honor.
The book is timed with the 50th anniversary of the Outlaws’ debut release. Paul has crosses paths with Tom Waits, Keith Moon, Barry Gibb, Dick Clark, psychotic Southies, armed radicals, and even Bette Davis’s cat — weaving a life as colorful as the songs he’s written. Stay tuned for the Nashville.com book review.
–Jerry Holthouse
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