Paul Wiley
Paul Wiley (September 3, 1935–July 6, 2020) was an American bluegrass banjo player. Born in Argillite, Kentucky, he relocated to Washington in 1964, settling in Alderwood Manor. He was a member of the Tall Timber Boys (later Tall Timber), performing alongside pioneering Northwest fiddle virtuoso Vivian Williams and mandolinist Phil Williams. His career reached a major milestone in May 1967 when Bill Monroe’s tour bus broke down in the region; Wiley was enlisted alongside his Tall Timber bandmates to act as stand-in members of the Blue Grass Boys for a series of historic concerts in Seattle and Centralia. He was a finalist at the prestigious 1969 Bean Blossom Banjo Contest in Indiana.
In the newsletter
- No. 8 Summer 1996