Paul Hereford Oliver MBE (25 May 1927 – 15 August 2017) was a British architectural historian and writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music. His commentary and research into blues have been influential.
Oliver was born in Nottingham, the son of architect W. Norman Oliver. In the late 1930s, his family lived in Pinner, in North London where he attended Longfield Primary School in Rayners Lane and then went to Harrow County School for Boys between 1938 and 1942. He then attended Harrow Art School, where he also met his wife Valerie. After a period in the War Office, he initially trained as an artist, gaining his Art Teacher’s Diploma at Goldsmith’s College. He then taught art in two secondary schools. He also graduated in 1955 from the University of London. He was Head of Art at Harrow County School for Boys from 1949 to 1960, after which he went on to teach at various institutions.
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As blues historian
Oliver was a leading authority on the blues and gospel music, on which he published his first article in Jazz Journal in 1951. He also designed blues album sleeves, usually uncredited, in the 1950s, before publishing his first book on the blues, a biography of Bessie Smith, in 1959.
His studies of American traditional music did much to spread interest in the blues, and included early research into the influence of Islamic music from North Africa on its origins. His work, which began in the 1950s, included interviews, field work and research in recording and printed sources tracing the origin and development of African-American music and culture from the time of slavery and before. Oliver’s Collection of African American Music and Related Traditions was established in 2007 with the support of the European Blues Association at the University of Gloucestershire.
Oliver’s death at the age of 90 was announced on August 15, 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Oliver
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths… August 2017
16: Jo Walker-Meador, 93, American music executive (Country Music Association), stroke.
15: Pavel Egorov, 69, Russian pianist, cancer; Paul Oliver, 90, British architecture and blues historian.
14: Benard Ighner, 72, American musician, record producer (Who Is This Bitch, Anyway?) and songwriter, lung cancer.
12: Ivo Pavlík (cs), 84, Czech composer and musician, heart failure.
11: Segun Bucknor, 71, Nigerian musician, complications from multiple strokes; Daisy Sweeney, 97, Canadian music teacher.
9: Ed Greene, 82, American sound engineer (Tony Awards); Marián Varga, 70, Slovak organist and composer.
http://www.wikipedia.com