Paul Chrisman
Encyclopedia
Paul Chrisman better known by his stage name Woody Paul, is an American
singer, fiddler, and composer, best known for his work with the Western swing
musical and comedy group Riders in the Sky. With the Riders, he is billed as "Woody Paul — King of the Cowboy Fiddlers".
Chrisman began playing fiddle when he was 11 years old. He played with Sam McGee
and others regularly at the Grand Ole Opry
in the mid-sixties. He attended Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, TN and has a Ph.D. in theoretical plasma physics from MIT, where he wrote his thesis, "Inertial, Viscous, and Finite-Beta Effects in a Resistive, Time Dependent Tokamak Discharge", Thesis Nuc. Eng. 1976, PhD, supervised by James E. McCune. He returned to Nashville and began playing recording sessions and recorded and toured with Loggins & Messina.
It was in Nashville that he met Douglas B. Green
and formed Riders in the Sky.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, fiddler, and composer, best known for his work with the Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
musical and comedy group Riders in the Sky. With the Riders, he is billed as "Woody Paul — King of the Cowboy Fiddlers".
Chrisman began playing fiddle when he was 11 years old. He played with Sam McGee
McGee Brothers
The McGee Brothers were an American old-time performing duo consisting of brothers Sam McGee and Kirk McGee . Sam typically played guitar and Kirk usually played banjo or fiddle, although they were both proficient in multiple string instruments...
and others regularly at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
in the mid-sixties. He attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville, TN and has a Ph.D. in theoretical plasma physics from MIT, where he wrote his thesis, "Inertial, Viscous, and Finite-Beta Effects in a Resistive, Time Dependent Tokamak Discharge", Thesis Nuc. Eng. 1976, PhD, supervised by James E. McCune. He returned to Nashville and began playing recording sessions and recorded and toured with Loggins & Messina.
It was in Nashville that he met Douglas B. Green
Douglas B. Green
Douglas B. Green , better known by his stage name Ranger Doug, is an American musician, arranger and award-winning Western music songwriter, best known for his work with the Western music and comedy group Riders in the Sky in which he plays guitar and sings lead and baritone vocals. He is also an...
and formed Riders in the Sky.