Paul Cockrum

Paul Cockrum was originally from San Bernardino, California. By the age of 15 he was performing concerts. His band won the opportunity to play the warm-up decks by winning a battle of the bands. He played on stage with Jim Morrison and with David Crosby and The Birds the following week. At 17, Paul's family moved to Beaufort, Missouri for his father's job. Paul eventually met Tom Pehle and Rich Bay, who would become his business partners for a Union-based lighting business. The three of them started a lighting company, where Paul used skills he learned from setting up lights at his own concerts. Pehle is now the head electrician stagehand at The Fox Theatre, St. Louis. The two became his “roadie and manager” for his band, Parchment Farm. The three of them started a lighting company, where Paul used skills he learned from setting up lights at his own concerts. The business first started using the lights from Parchment Farm for another band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, or BTO.- As the rock band began touring, Paul, Tom and Rich began touring with them to set up lights on the stage. From there, Paul went on the road with Kansas, and Tom Pehle continued with BTO. It was through the lighting company that Paul got to work for bands such as Heart, Styx, Oakridge Boys, Charlie Daniels, Waylon Jennings, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Millsap and others. He worked for Kansas for about four years as their electrician before going to work for Ronnie Millsap. He ended his touring career in 1987 with the rock band U2. Between Kansas and Ronnie Millsap, Paul joined the Macks Creek Band. The band did an album in the ’80s for which he wrote all the songs. That band toured all over the United States.