Leroy Carr

Biography

Leroy Carr (March 27, 1904 or 1905 – April 29, 1935) was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. Music historian Elijah Wald has called him "the most influential male blues singer and songwriter of the first half of the 20th century". He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues", his debut recording released by Vocalion Records in 1928.

Life and career

Leroy Carr was born March 27, 1905 in Nashville, Tennessee. His parents were John Carr, a laborer at Vanderbilt University, and Katie Lytle, a domestic worker. After his parents separated, Carr moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with his mother. Carr was a self-taught piano player. After dropping out of high school, Carr travelled with a circus, and in the early 1920s served in the U.S. Army. Carr returned to Indianapolis and worked in a meat-packing plant. He was married and had one daughter. Carr was convicted of bootlegging and served a year at the Indiana State Penitentiary.
Carr had a longtime partnership with the guitarist Scrapper Blackwell. His light bluesy piano combined with Blackwell's melodic jazz guitar attracted a sophisticated black audience. The two recorded with Vocalion Records beginning in the 1920s. His first hit was "How Long, How Long Blues", recorded in 1928. Elijah Wald described Carr's music as "carefully written, blending soulful poetry with wry humor, and his music had a light, lilting swing that could shift in a moment to a driving boogie. Rather than Smith's vaudeville jazz combos or Jefferson's idiosyncratic country picking, Carr sang over the solid beat of his piano and the biting guitar of his constant partner Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell. The outcome was a hip, urban club style that signaled a new era in popular music".
Carr was among the most prolific and popular blues artists between 1928 and 1935. His recording career was cut short by his early death, but he produced a large body of work. Some of his most famous songs include "Papa's on the House Top" (1931), "When the Sun Goes Down" (1931), "Blues Before Sunrise×Blues Before Sunrise1962 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracksA1Midnight Hour Blues3:05A2Mean Mistreater Mama2:50A3Hurry Down Sunshine (See What Tomorrow Bring)3:35A4Corn Likker Blues3:45A5Shady Lane Blues3:42A6Blues Before Sunrise3:13A7Take a Walk Around the Corner (Courtroom Blues)3:03A8My Woman's Gone Wrong2:27B1Southbound Blues2:48B2Barrelhouse Woman2:51B3I Believe I'll Make a Change2:56B4Bobo Stomp2:46B5Big Four Blues3:53B6Hustler's Blues2:35B7Shining Pistol3:54B8It's Too Short2:55" (1932), "Midnight Hour Blues" (1932), and "Hurry Down Sunshine×Hurry Down Sunshine1995 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks1Papa Wants a Cookie2:452How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone?2:533Midnight Hour Blues3:074Mean Mistreater Mama2:565Blues Before Sunrise3:346Barrelhouse Woman No. 22:437Prison Bound Blues3:088Good Woman Blues3:019When the Sun Goes Down2:5910Rocks in My Bed3:0711Tight Time Blues2:5812Low Down Dog Blues2:4813Sloppy Drunk Blues2:5914Hurry Down Sunshine3:3615Carried Water for the Elephant3:0416Straight Alky Blues, Part 13:2317Straight Alky Blues, Part 23:2318Just a Rag3:1319Tired of Your Low Down Ways3:1320How Long, How Long Blues3:0921Going Back Home3:1722Six Cold Feet in the Ground3:06" (1934). He recorded for Vocalion until he signed with Victor's Bluebird imprint, where he made his final recordings.

Last recordings and death

Carr had a severe alcohol addiction. His last recording session was held in Chicago on February 25, 1935, in which the reportedly temperamental Blackwell stormed out before the session was finished and Carr recorded his final song, "Six Cold Feet in the Ground", as a solo.
Two months after the session, and a month after his 30th birthday, he died of nephritis and was buried in Floral Park Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Legacy

Carr's vocal style moved blues singing toward an urban sophistication, influencing such singers as T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Ray Charles, among others.
Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing recorded some of Carr's songs, and Basie's band shows the influence of Carr's piano style.
Carr's music has been recorded by a long list of artists, including Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, Big Bill Broonzy, Moon Mullican, Champion Jack Dupree, Lonnie Donegan, Long John Baldry, Memphis Slim, Barrelhouse Chuck and Eric Clapton.
Carr was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982.