Paul Harris

Kurt L Moore

That’s right. Paul Harris is not just another pretty face in the crowd. You might have another perspective, but in my way of thinking, there’s a lot more to Paul than meets the eye.

Paul, in one way, is a very simple guy. He farms, sings songs, tells jokes, plays a guitar and generally enjoys what he does in life. You can picture him, can’t you? You can see this guy, with a bunch of friends, sitting around a blazing campfire, strumming a guitar, singing ballads of times past and telling stories of life and times experienced. For Paul, life is good. He is likely, while brush-hogging his land, to stop the tractor, get off, jump in his pickup and head for town. Not to get a cup of coffee or grab a beer with the locals at the saloon, but rather he goes to town to entertain a lot of folks, who appreciate his down-home brand of humor. Folks just like you and me.

In another way, Paul is a very complex individual and a very generous man, who likes to give as much as he takes in this world. I have personally witnessed his generosity at benefits, when he dips deep into his own pocket to give to those less fortunate than himself. Paul knows he is a very fortunate guy and when he hears of a need arising, he is one of the first to help in any way possible.

The minute you set eyes on Paul Harris, you know he is a regular guy. You knowalso that he is a real down-home country boy. Not so much from what he wears, cowboy boots, jeans, shirt and western-brimmed hat, but more from his stance. You know, the kind of posture that has been known to lean against the side of a pickup to shoot the breeze or hunker down by the barn to discuss something important, while drawing, something or nothing, with a stick in the dirt. The kind of posture that speaks volumes by letting you know that he is very comfortable and quite confident in his own skin.

The next thing you would notice about Paul is his smile. Paul has a smile that starts bluegrass growing. A smile that dogs like, women would die for and men envy. A wide, warm, easy-going smile that puts you at ease the minute it is laid on you. It is also a sincere smile that is set below a couple of moon pie eyes on a solid, square, granite-like face.

Now Paul, being the type of person he is, likes to look at the fun side of life, or as they would say around Mountain Home, Ark., where his roots run deep, the green side of grass. He actually looks at every side of life and his way of looking at life, is hilarious. He is basically a good ole boy who tells of life back home in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. Life is good there. Life is simple there. Paul is proud of his roots and you can tell it by his soft-spoken approach to the trials and tribulations of life below the border. He does not put down anyone in Arkansas or anywhere else for that matter, but he does have a lot of fun trying not to put them down. Paul tells of the foibles of life as he sees it and sometimes he sees it in a completely different light that most other people. Well, most all the time he sees it differently and it is that difference that puts Paul on the stage telling stories and you and me in the audience listening. In other words, you might say that Paul is the modern day Will Rogers, who just happens to be from Arkansas.

Now Paul has his best friend on the stage with him, Clay Cooper. Clay Cooper started singing at the age of 14 for the Wylie, Texas Opry.

That brings a fascinating sidebar into play. Recently I wrote about Joey Riley and how Joey’s folks ran a little Opry in Texas: Wylie, Texas. Joey Riley and Clay Cooper both would wind up in Branson, at about the same time. Interesting, huh?

Remember the old saying about people crossing other people’s paths for a reason?

Well anyway, back at the ranch. Clay has recorded music and one of his songs went to number 60 on the charts. Clay wears a ten-gallon smile and rides a mile of stage and, just as Paul, is larger than life onstage. He has a smooth, emotional voice that sets a different mood for every song he sings. In other words, the man has pretty much practiced up and knows how to deliver a good piece of music.

Now back to Paul. Paul met Clay when he first came to Branson. Clay asked Paul to bunk in with him, since Paul was new to town and had not yet found a place of his own. They have been closer than two fleas on a Chihuahua ever since. What a combination they make onstage. Their combined talents are stronger than the tremendous single talent of either one and makes for a heck of a show.

You will enjoy the back-home humor that Paul Harris dispenses with each and every show and you will enjoy the wonderful music performed by the people who surround him. Laughter, good music and good old, grass root hootenannies, are the ingredients that make a great life-restoring tonic. Go to the Caravell Theater and try Harris’ magic elixir, guaranteed to cure what ails you. You will feel much better for the experience.

No, Paul Harris is certainly not your average pretty face. Paul Harris is not average in any way you look at it. He thinks outside the box and says pretty much what he thinks. That is good for all of us, because we enjoy listening to him.

Editor’s note: Recently George Burrell, Executive Director of the Branson Academy of Arts and Entertainment, visited the “Paul Harris Show” and presented Paul’s drummer, Dino Phillips, the 2003 OZ “Drummer of the Year Award.” He also presented Terry Bethel, a 2004 inductee into the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame, the 2003 OZ “Steel Guitar Player of the Year Award.” Last and certainly not least, Paul himself was presented with the 2003 OZ Award for being voted the “Best Evening Show.”