More than one artist is known as Paul Kelly: one is Australian, another American 1. Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter, based in Melbourne, and widely considered as an icon of Australian music. He has released music under his own name and as Paul Kelly and The Messengers, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, and Paul Kelly and The Stormwater Boys. His output has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles folk, rock, and even some country.
1. Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter, based in Melbourne, and widely considered as an icon of Australian music. He has released music under his own name and as Paul Kelly and The Messengers, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, and Paul Kelly and The Stormwater Boys. His output has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles folk, rock, and even some country. His lyrics, simply and laconically voiced, have managed to speak to Australian experiences and history perhaps more broadly and directly than any other artist.
2. Paul Kelly (born Paul Laurence Dunbar Kelly in Overtown, Miami, Florida, USA on 19 June 1940) is an American soul singer, musician and producer. He is best known for the song "Stealing in the Name of the Lord", which was a hit in 1970. And in 1974 another hit with "Hooked, Hogtied & Collared" from the album with the same title. He also wrote "Personally", which has been widely-covered, and was a hit for soul singer Jackie Moore, as well as country singers Karla Bonoff and Ronnie McDowell. Other songs have been covered by gospel artists, including The Mighty Clouds Of Joy and The Staple Singers.