It’s possible that you’ve never heard of Paul Pena before, he penned the song “Jet Airliner,” which was recorded and made famous by Steve Miller. Pena’s roots trace back to San Francisco during the late sixties and early seventies where he opened for the likes of the Grateful Dead and other bands noteworthy of that scene.

In 1973 Paul recorded his album New Train along with heavyweights like Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, but due to disputes with his record label it never saw a release until 2000. It was sometime in 2001, kicking up sand on Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, that I first heard Night Train, and became enamored with the album, and, in particular, the opening track “Gonna Move.”

The song captures the internal longing for relocation while building the courage to actually make the change. My friends and I must have listened to that song countless times, on every road trip – loud. Paul Pena remains, at least to me, one of the most under appreciated musicians of his era. Had Night Train been released after it’s recording in 1973, I have no doubt that Paul Pena would have become a household name like Cat Stevens and other singer-songwriters of his day.

Never one to rest his laurels, Paul starred in and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 for the film Genghis Blues, which featured Paul performing Tuvan throat-singing.

MP3: Paul Pena – “Gonna Move”