Leroy Carr
The term "urban blues" is usually applied to post-World War II blues band music, but one of the forefathers of the genre in its pre-electric format was pianist Leroy Carr. Teamed with the exemplary guitarist Scrapper Blackwell in Indianapolis, Carr became one of the top blues stars of his day, composing and recording almost 200 sides during his short lifetime, including such classics as "How Long, How Long," "Prison Bound Blues," "When the Sun Goes Down," and "Blues Before Sunrise." His blues were expressive and evocative, recorded only with piano and guitar, yet as author Sam Charters has noted, Carr was "a city man" whose singing was never as rough or intense as that of the country bluesmen, and as reissue producer Francis Smith put it, "He, perhaps more than any other single artist, was responsible for transforming the rural blues patterns of the '20s into the more city-oriented blues of the '30s."
Born in Nashville, Leroy Carr moved to Indianapolis as a child. While he was still in his teens, he taught himself how to play piano. Carr quit school in his mid-teens, heading out for a life on the road. For the next few years, he would play piano at various parties and dances in the Midwest and South. During this time, he held a number of odd jobs -- he joined a circus, he was in the Army for a while, and he was briefly a bootlegger. In addition to his string of jobs, he was married for a short time.
Carr wandered back toward Indianapolis, where he met guitarist Scrapper Blackwell in 1928. The duo began performing and shortly afterward they were recording for Vocalion, releasing "How Long How Long Blues" before the year was finished. The song was an instant, surprise hit. For the next seven years, Carr and Blackwell would record a number of classic songs for Vocalion, including "Midnight Hour Blues," "Blues Before Sunrise," "Hurry Down Sunshine," "Shady Lane Blues," and many others.
Throughout the early '30s, Carr was one of the most popular bluesmen in America. While his professional career was successful, his personal life was spinning out of control, as he sunk deeper and deeper into alcoholism. His addiction eventually cut his life short -- he died in April 1935. Carr left behind a enormous catalog of blues and his influence could be heard throughout successive generation of blues musicians, as evidenced by artists like T-Bone Walker, Otis Spann, and Champion Jack Dupree.
© Jim O'Neal /TiVo
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The Essential Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by Columbia - Legacy on May 18, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Whiskey Is My Habit, Good Women Is All I Crave: The Best Of Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by Columbia - Legacy on May 18, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Blues Before Sunrise
Blues - Released by Columbia - Legacy on Oct. 15, 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Scrapper Blackwell, Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by Master Classics Records on Feb. 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
How Long How Long Blues
Blues - Released by Wolf Records International GmbH on Jan. 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 3 (1930-1932)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Apr. 12, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Volume 1: "How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone", CD B
Scrapper Blackwell, Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by JSP Records on Jan. 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All that Jazz, Vol. 129: Hobo on Dusty Roads
Jazz - Released by Jube Legends on Aug. 28, 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 6 (1934-1935)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Apr. 12, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 1 (1928-1929)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Oct. 25, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Figures / Leroy Carr (1928 - 1934), Volume 1
Jazz - Released by Collector Records Greece on Dec. 24, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Volume 1: "How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone", CD C
Scrapper Blackwell, Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by JSP Records on Jan. 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blues of Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by Dobre Records on May 9, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 2 (1929-1930)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Oct. 25, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 5 (1934)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Apr. 12, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Carr Vol. 4 (1932-1934)
Blues - Released by Document Records on Apr. 12, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Travelin' Blues (Recordings of 1929 - 1934)
Blind Willie McTell, Bessie Smith, Leroy Carr
Blues - Released by Blues Classics on Oct. 21, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brown Skin Girl - Treasury Of Jazz No. 61 (Recordings of 1928 - 1942)
Leroy Carr, Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on Dec. 10, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Treasures of North-American Negro Music, Vol. 1 (Mono Version)
Blues - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Piano Blues, Vol. 7
Blues - Released by Roots on Jan. 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo