Willie Nelson’s longtime friend and bandmate Paul English has died, his publicist confirmed in a statement to Rolling Stone.
English was born in Texas in 1932 and first crossed paths with Nelson in Fort Worth in 1955, when the two began playing music together. Though their friendship started early, English didn’t officially join Nelson’s band until 1966, when he became his regular and trusted bandmate — a role he would hold for decades.
Before music changed his life, English was deeply entangled in the criminal underworld, serving as a gang leader while performing on the side. In a candid 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, he reflected on that turning point. “If I hadn’t gone with Willie, I would be in the penitentiary or dead,” he said. “I was running girls and playing music at the same time.”
Nelson later described English as a loyal protector in his autobiography It’s a Long Story: My Life, calling him “wild” and “street-smart,” and crediting him with having his back through countless scrapes and close calls.
Their bond was immortalized in Nelson’s thirty-second studio album, Me & Paul, which he named as a heartfelt tribute to the friend who stood by his side for a lifetime.