Deitra Farr (born August 1, 1957) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer-songwriter.

Life and career

Farr was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began singing in the mid-1970s with various soul bands. She converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a child and sang in the gospel choir at Holy Angels Catholic Church on the South Side. She graduated from Kenwood High School (Academy) in Chicago. She studied vocal music there with Lena McLin and was a member of the Kenwood Choir. At the age of 18, she recorded the lead vocals on "You Won't Support Me" with the Chicago group Mill Street Depo. That song made the Top 100 R&B list with '' Cashbox'' magazine in 1976. She began singing the blues in the early 1980s. From 1993 to 1996, she was the lead singer for Mississippi Heat and recorded two albums with them, ''Learned the Hard Way'' and ''Thunder in my Heart''. In 1997, she released her first solo album titled ''The Search is Over'', on the British record label,

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. In 2005, Farr released her second JSP album, ''Let It Go''. The blues guitarist, Billy Flynn, played on ''Let It Go''. Since 1990, she has toured internationally, so far performing in over 40 countries. Farr is a graduate of

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

, with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She has a regular column called "Artist to Artist" in ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' magazine.

Awards and recognition

In October 2015, Farr was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame as a "Legendary Blues Artist". Deitra received "The Koko Taylor Queen of the Blues Award" from the Jus Blues Music Foundation on August 3, 2017. June 10 was proclaimed Deitra Farr Day in the City of Chicago in 2023.

Discography

Singles

*" You Won't Support Me" (1976) – lead vocals with Mill Street Depo – Stang/

All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer Sylvia Robinson and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry. All Platinum and its subsidiary labels, includi ...

Solo albums

*''The Search is Over'' (1997) –

*''Let It Go'' (2005) – JSP Records

Compilation and other albums

* ''Our Course has Run'' (1991) –

Dave Spector is an American '' gaijin tarento'', television producer, author, and actor based in Japan. Originally from Chicago, he moved to Japan in 1983 after visiting as a producer with the American television program ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!''. He ...

– ''Bluebird Blues'' –

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

* ''Chicago Blues Nights'' (1991) – Various artists – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''Burnin Chicago Blues Machine'' (1991) – Various artists (duets) – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''My Ancestors'' (1991) – Chicago Beau – (duet and background vocals) – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''Vinir Dora'' (1993) – Various artists – Straight Ahead Records * ''Chicago's Finest Blues Women'' (1995) – Various artists – Wolf Records * ''Learned the Hard Way'' (1994) – Mississippi Heat – Van Der Linden Records * ''Thunder in My Heart'' (1995) – Mississippi Heat – Van Der Linden Records * ''Undiscovered Gems'' (1998) – lead vocalist on "You Won't Support Me" –

* ''Bop Brother's and Sister's'' (2000) – Jon T-Bone Taylor – duet on "Like a Fish" – Abacabe Records, London * ''Shoulder to the Wind'' (2000) – Matthew Skoller Band – guest spot on "One More Flower" – Tongue 'N Groove Records * ''I Believe in America'' (2002) – Various artists – lead vocals on "Homesick Blues" – Bradley House Records * ''Bob is Back in Town'' (2006) – Bob Stroger – background vocals – Airway Records * ''The Real Deal'' (2011) – Sharon Lewis – background vocals – Delmark Records * ''Soul Gift'' (2012) – Raphael Wressnig and Alex Schultz -lead vocal on – " All That I've Got" and duet with Tad Robinson on " Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing " – Pepper Cake Records * ''Delta Bound'' (2012) – Mississippi Heat – lead vocals on "Look-A-Here, Baby","What's Happening to Me" and "Sweet Ol' Blues" – Delmark Records * ''Blues from Below'' (2013) – Brother Jacob – duet and background vocals – Schulz Records * ''Moodprints'' (2015) – Ruud DeVries – vocals on "Talk About Love" – JazzTracks Records * ''Captured Live'' (2017) –

Raphael Wressnig Raphael Wressnig (born October 14, 1979 in Graz, Austria) is a jazz, blues, funk organist, songwriter and producer. He recorded 17 albums of his own, as well as appearing on some 35 others as a guest. In 2013 and 2015 he received a nomination fo ...

– vocals on "All That I've Got" – Pepper Cake Records * ''Lonesome Highway'' (2017) – Billy Flynn – duet on "Good Navigator" and "Hold On" – Delmark Records * ''Soul Santa'' (2017) – Mr. Keith Little – duet on "A Christmas Party" and "Too Many Baby Daddy's" * ''Doin' What I'm Supposed to Do'' (2022) –

Demetria Taylor Demetria M. Taylor (born February 28, 1973) is an American Chicago blues singer and songwriter. Her father was Eddie Taylor, a fellow Chicago blues musician. Her step-brother Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and her brother Eddie Ta ...

– duet on "Blues Early This Morning" - Delmark Records * ''Oscar's Motel'' (2023) – The Cash Box Kings – duet on "I Can't Stand You" -

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

* ''Exile- The Chicago Blues Sessions'' (2025) – Dov Hammer – duet on "Just Your Fool"

References

Bibliography

*''Today's Chicago Blues'', Karen Hanson, Lake Claremont Press, 2007, *''Exploring Chicago Blues'', Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, The History Press, 2014,

External links

Deitra Farr's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, Deitra 1957 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century Roman Catholics African-American Catholics American blues singer-songwriters American Roman Catholics American women singer-songwriters Catholics from Illinois Electric blues musicians JSP Records artists Singer-songwriters from Illinois Soul-blues musicians