Soul and blues guitarist and singer Eli "Paperboy" Reed - real name Eli Husock - was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1983. The son of a music critic, he completed his eclecticism by learning the piano and harmonica. It was on the stages of Mississippi that he made his name, earning the nickname "Paperboy". Discovered by soul singer-turned-pastor Mitty Collier, he formed his own group, The True Loves, after a year's study at Boston's Berklee College. In 2005, he recorded his first independent album, Sings "Walkin' and Talkin' (For My Baby)" & Other Smash Hits, which saw him perform at the South by Southwest festival in Texas. Signed to Q Division Records, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves found critical success with the album Roll with You (2008). His growing reputation led to the recording of the following album Come and Get It (2010) for Capitol, followed by Nights Like This (2014), for Warner Bros. A precursor of the neo-soul movement of the 2000s, Eli "Paperboy" Reed returned to his gospel roots on My Way Home (2016) and recorded 99 Cent Dreams (2019) in Sam Phillips' famous Sun studio. Between these two productions for independent label Yep Roc Records, he signs the live album Eli Paperboy Reed Meets High & Mighty Brass Band (2018). The Ace of Spades and Dream Lover EPs follow in 2020. Back on stage and in the studio after the Covid-19 pandemic, Reed works on his seventh album Down Every Road (2022), followed by the compilation Hits and Misses (2023).
