Paul English was Willie Nelson's longtime drummer who started playing with him in Fort Worth in 1955, although he did not become Nelson's regular drummer until 1966. In the years in between, he played with Delbert McClinton among others. In the early days, one of his duties was to serve as a strong-arm collection agent for overdue payments from club owners for the band.

English was the titular "Paul" of the Willie Nelson album Me and Paul as well as the title track of that album. English had a role in Nelson's movie Red Headed Stranger (1986).

English joined Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young as the first members of Farm Aid’s board of directors in 1985, and he served as the organization's treasurer for many years.