Before establishing himself as a purveyor of muscular American roots music, Tupelo, Mississippi's Paul Thorn was a champion prizefighter who fought Roberto Duran, a professional skydiver, and a factory worker. Since releasing 1997's Hammer & Nail, Thorn has balanced blues, rock, gospel, country, and soul into a singular strain of Americana songwriting that embraces the human condition. 2002's Mission Temple Fireworks Stand garnered his first international exposure, his breakthrough was 2010's charting Pimps & Preachers, and 2014's Too Blessed to Be Stressed offered "positive anthem songs" and placed on rock, indie, and Christian albums charts. Released in 2018, Don't Let the Devil Ride featured several gospel songs that inspired him while growing up, with guest spots by Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In August 2021, Thorn released Never Too Late to Call, recorded at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service Studio.