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Eli "Paperboy" Reed

Eli Paperboy Reed Finds His 'Way Home' — To Gospel

"Somebody once said — I don't know who it was — that gospel music is just the idea that everything is going to be all right," says Eli Paperboy Reed. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Eli Paperboy Reed Finds His 'Way Home' — To Gospel

After a record deal gone sour, the singer turned in earnest to teaching gospel quartet music to Harlem teenagers. His faith-filled new album My Way Home reflects that experience.

Eli Paperboy Reed Finds His 'Way Home' — To Gospel

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Songs We Love: Eli Paperboy Reed, 'My Way Home'

Eli Paperboy Reed's new album, My Way Home, comes out June 10. Roberto Chamorro/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Roberto Chamorro/Courtesy of the artist

Songs We Love

Songs We Love: Eli Paperboy Reed, 'My Way Home'

The Boston-bred soul singer with the meter-pinning voice invokes his gospel schooling in this raw, faith-filled hymn.

06My Way Home

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  • Buy Featured Music

    Song
    My Way Home
    Album
    My Way Home
    Artist
    Eli Paperboy Reed
    Label
    Yep Roc
    Released
    2016

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Music Interviews

'What Is Soul?' New Faces Have Answers

Soul may be a full-fledged style of music or just a flavor, but whether you like it straight-up or blended with other music and innovations, there's a sense that soul is always going to be part of the mix. Newcomers Sharon Jones and Eli "Paperboy" Reed share their thoughts.

'What Is Soul?' New Faces Have Answers

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World Cafe

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed Rolls With Soul

XPN

Blue-eyed soul virtuoso Eli "Paperboy" Reed may have grown up in Massachusetts, but he conveys the heart-wrenching emotion of Southern predecessors such as Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. Hear an interview and performance from WXPN.

Eli "Paperboy" Reed in Studio on World Cafe 7/2/08

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Review

Song Of The Day

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed Channels Soul's Giants

Reed spent his 18th year singing in the juke joints of Mississippi, and Delta DNA must have seeped into his bloodstream. The singer, who owes his nickname to a favorite paperboy-style hat, goes for the sound of Southern soul circa 1968 in "(Am I Just) Fooling Myself."

(Am I Just) Fooling Myself

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Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

From Boston to Clarksdale to Chicago and back, Eli "Paperboy" Reed has found his own voice as a neo-soul revivalist. Perou hide caption

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Music Interviews

Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

Upon the release of Come and Get It, NPR's Jacki Lyden talks to the neo-soul singer about his musical roots. Reed's story has found him in Mississippi Delta juke joints, at Chicago's South Side gospel churches, and now fronting a hot live band, The True Loves.

Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

Listen · 9:17
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Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

From Boston to Clarksdale to Chicago and back, Eli "Paperboy" Reed has found his own voice as a neo-soul revivalist. Perou hide caption

toggle caption
Perou

Music Interviews

Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

Upon the release of Come and Get It, NPR's Jacki Lyden talks to the neo-soul singer about his musical roots. Reed's story has found him in Mississippi Delta juke joints, at Chicago's South Side gospel churches, and now fronting a hot live band, The True Loves.

Journey To The Soul Of Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

Listen · 9:17
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  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/129033427/129047195" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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Martin Sexton And Eli 'Paperboy' Reed In Concert

Eli "Paperboy" Reed. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

Concerts

Martin Sexton And Eli 'Paperboy' Reed In Concert

XPN

Blue-eyed soul singer Eli "Paperboy" Reed conveys the heart-wrenching emotion of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding, while Sexton has spent the past two decades channeling his love of soulful folk, blues, rock and pop music into accessible, emotional songs. Hear both singers perform live from WXPN in Philadelphia as part of the 10th annual NON-COMMvention.

Hear Eli 'Paperboy' Reed's Full Concert

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