Leroy Carr (March 27, 1904 or 1905 – April 29, 1935) was 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 ...

singer, songwriter and pianist who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

. 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 Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pi ...

in 1928.

Life and career

Leroy Carr was born March 27, 1905 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. His parents were John Carr, a laborer at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, and Katie Lytle, a domestic worker. After his parents separated, Carr moved to

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

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

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" (1932), "Midnight Hour Blues" (1932), and "Hurry Down Sunshine" (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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy. Types * Glomerulonephritis is inflammation ...

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 James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

, and

, among others.

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

and

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

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 Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

, Ray Charles,

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

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, Champion Jack Dupree,

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

, Long John Baldry,

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, Barrelhouse Chuck and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

. Carr was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982.

Partial album discography

*''Blues Before Sunrise'' (Columbia, 1962) *''Masters of the Blues'', vol. 12 (Collector's Classics, 1971) *''Leroy Carr 1928–34'' (K.O.B., 1971) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell: Naptown Blues 1929–1934'' (Yazoo, 1973) *''Singin' the Blues 1937'' (Biograph, 1973) *''Leroy Carr'', vol. 2 (Collector's Classics, 197?) *''Don't Cry When I'm Gone'' (''The Piano Blues'', vol. 7) (Magpie, 1978) *''Leroy Carr 1928'' (Matchbox, 1983) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell: Great Piano-Guitar Duets (1929–1935)'' (Old Tramp, 1987) *''Leroy Carr 1929–1934'' (Document, 1988) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell 1929–1935'' (Best of Blues, 1989) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell 1930–1958'' (RST, 1989) *''Naptown Blues'' (Aldabra, 1992) *''Leroy Carr'', vols. 1–6 (Document, 1992) *''Leroy Carr'', vols. 1–2 (''The Piano Blues'' series) (Magpie, 1992) *''Southbound Blues'' (Drive, 1994) *''Hurry Down Sunshine'' (Indigo, 1995) *''Naptown Blues'' (Orbis, 1996) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell: How Long Blues 1928–1935'' (Blues Collection, 1997) *''American Blues Legend'' (Charly, 1998) *''Sloppy Drunk'' (Catfish, 1998) *''Prison Bound Blues'' (Snapper, 2001) *''P-Vine Presents 21 Blues Giants: Leroy Carr'' (P-Vine, 2001) *''The Essential Leroy Carr'' (Document, 2002) *''Whiskey Is My Habit, Women Is All I Crave'' (Columbia, 2004) *''Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell: The Early Recordings of an Innovative Blues Master'', vol. 1, ''1928–1934'' (JSP, 2008) *''How Long How Long Blues'' (Wolf, 2008) *''When the Sun Goes Down 1934–1941'' (JSP, 2011)

References

Bibliography

* Wald, Elijah (2004). ''Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues''. HarperCollins. . *

External links

Illustrated Carr discography

Leroy Carr Biography
on Blues Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Leroy 1900s births 1935 deaths African-American pianists American blues singers American blues pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee RCA Victor artists Vocalion Records artists Deaths from nephritis 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American pianists