Paul Peek

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This article is about the rockabilly star (1937-2001). For the U.S. politician (1904-1987), see Paul Peek (politician).

Paul Peek (June 23, 1937 – April 3, 2001) was an early rockabilly pioneer. Peek was born in High Point, NC was raised in Greenville, SC and performed (Steel Guitar) with Claude Casey and the Sagedusters on WFBC-TV in 1955, later becoming an early member of Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps, sometimes stealing the limelight. As a member of the Blue Caps, Peek was one of the first rock artists to appear in the movies, appearing in The Girl Can't Help It (1956).

Peek had the distinction of being the first artist recorded for National Recording Corporation out of Atlanta. In 1958, NRC 001 ("Sweet Skinny Jenny"/"The Rock a Round") was recorded at WGST Radio Station. Musicians who appeared on Peek's NRC singles included Joe South, Jerry Reed, and Ray Stevens. Eskew Reeder, Jr, also known as Esquerita was a co-writer and keyboard player on this first single. Reeder, a fellow Carolinian, was instrumental in developing the style popularized by Little Richard. Esquerita's wild recordings for Capitol Records are collector's items.

Peek's NRC recordings have been bootlegged in Europe for years, and have now been re-released on CD by NRC. Although Peek recorded for several major labels some of his most memorable recordings are the NRC singles, Olds-Mo-William and The Rock-Around. Peek's biggest sellers were "Brother-In-Law (He's A Moocher) (1961) produced by Joe South on FAIRLANE RECORDS reaching #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Pin The Tail On The Donkey" (1966), another Joe South Production on CBS Records reaching #91 on the chart.

Although his national recording career waned, Peek continued to play music professionally, establishing a stage persona that made him a wildly popular nightclub performer in Atlanta, GA for decades. In the early 1980s, he and Dickie Harrell, Bobby Jones, Bubba Facenda, and Johnny Meeks, all former Blue Caps, made the first of several appearances at rockabilly festivals in England. The Blue Caps' popularity was, and is, alive and well in Europe. It was only after his health began to decline that Paul Peek gave up performing publicly.

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