Paul Sheldrick: Talented Beyond His Years, Already Ready for the Row and Radio

He just turned 21, but Paul Sheldrick sings and writes as if he’s been on Music Row and at radio for a long, long time.

Perhaps when we hear what he grew up on musically, we get an idea of why this comparative Nashville newcomer feels so much at home in Music City.

“I fell in love with country music when I was just a little boy,” Sheldrick says in a phone conversation, as he heads into a Music Row recording session in mid-May. “I really listened to Garth Brooks, Keith Whitley, Charley Pride, Vern Gosdin, Conway Twitty, and Hank Sr. a lot. It was called country & Western when it first started, and I believe that traditional country needs to be heard.”

He feels a mission to introduce many kids his own age to the music he’s loved his whole life, since often they don’t hear it in the mass of music they’re exposed to each week.

“Those are songs about cowboys, about drinking whiskey, and getting your heart broken,” Paul says. “Everybody can relate to that. I’ve had that feeling myself.”

Performing came naturally and very early for Paul. His Dad ran a mobile home park in the gorgeous New Hampshire town of Newport, and little Paul would entertain all of the guests with his singing. He was always a huge hit.

“I love to be in front of a crowd,” says Sheldrick, who seems born to do radio tours. “The biggest thing is to sell yourself to the women. You can’t just sing a song. You need to make the people feel what you feel.”

A great deal of Paul’s passion for country came from his Dad, a long-haul trucker. He often took his son on cross-country drives with him, and together the two listened to and discussed music constantly, and young Paul acquired a love for the road along with countless life lessons, courtesy of his Dad.

A pair of leading ladies were also crucial to Paul’s musical development.

A girlfriend of Paul’s Dad named Miss Jeanette lived in Georgia. “She took me in like family, that really kind of got my Southern roots started,” Paul says. “Her son was like a stepbrother to me. We would go muddin’ and that brought me a lot of country roots.”

Miss Jeanette also helped Paul begin singing in bars and honky tonks when he was just 15, after local folks disovered his amazing country voice.

Paul’s grandmother also had major impact.

“My Grandma sings, and she got me listening to older country,” he says. “And my Mom can’t sing a note, but she’s always supported me and my music.”

Paul mentions Tony Stampley, Bobby Pinson, and Garth among his many songwriting influences, and the very first song he wrote after moving to Nashville last year, “Six Feet Down (I Still Love You),” sounds like a very strong debut radio single.

“I’ve seen Garth Brooks in concert seven times,” Sheldrick says. “It’s not just the music. Garth’s merch table and marketing are amazing.”

With that keen head for the business behind the music, Paul plans to emulate Garth’s marketing approaches as he builds his own musical and career brands.

Another reason that Paul figures to attract so many young fans and listeners, as well as veteran country fans, is that he loves to add other, unique influences to his songs. Don’t be shocked, for instance, to not only hear an Eagles flavoring, but also a Lynyrd Skynyrd, or even a Boston touch.

“I kind of like to put it all into one crock,” says Sheldrick, who like many folks his age listens to every kind of music.

But as classic Paul songs like the uptempo “Pickup Man Bad To The Bone” show clearly, his heart is rooted firmly in country and in the magic and mystery of Nashville songwriting, Music Row, and country radio.

With a baritone a little reminiscent of the early Randy Travis and the Garth Brooks of the “When The Thunder Rolls” period, listeners can tell that young Paul has already racked up lots of miles with his music, including stops in Arizona, Hollywood, and Georgia before getting here.

So finally at long last, Paul Sheldrick has reached the town he was destined to come to since Day One—Music City USA. Country fans and country radio are going to love sharing Paul’s journey from here.

By Phil Sweetland | pianopks@gmail.com