Leroy Carr 78 How Long Blues 1928 DEBUT VOCALION LISTEN
$
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Description
Ultra rare blues 78 from 1928, the dawn of Urban Blues, before electricity! This is an acoustic moaning blues two-sider from the legendary Leroy Carr, Leroy is on Piano and vocals with Acoustic guitar accompaniment from Scrapper Blackwell. This is the duo's debut and is extremely rare as an original. I made a copy for my archive and the version you will find on the link here is from the actual record that I saved. There is also an interesting tag on the label from the St Louis MO store that sold this record in 1928. Usually label detracts from the value of the record, but this one gives it a little history, so you decide! I've included some of the wiki on Leroy and it's great reading for this ultra rare original document.
(record is in good condition, some fine scuff, no serious scratches and the grooves are pretty nice. I recorded this version using a slightly smaller than normal 78 stylus to get down a little deeper in the groove with out the ticks on top, the result is a little more hiss, but cleaner sharper program. I've been archiving for many years and can usually find a good happy medium... the program is pretty tight, the bass response is clear down to 60hz or lower, given that Vocalion had started recording electronically at this time, giving them a leg up on the sparse competition with higher fidelity and better recording of acoustic music.)
1 1928 Leroy Carr
- How Long - How Long Blues (IND-623-A) #
- My Own Lonesome Blues (IND-622-A)
rec. June 19, 1928 in Indianapolis, Ind.; Leroy Carr, voc, p; Scrapper Blackwell, g
Vocalion 1191
Leroy Carr Born March 27, 1905(1905-03-27) Nashville, Tennessee Origin Indianapolis, Indiana Died April 29, 1935 (aged 30) Indianapolis Genre(s) Chicago Blues, Piedmont blues Instrument(s) Piano Leroy Carr (March 27, 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 artists like Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928 for which he wrote the music.
Carr was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1905 and grew up in the black section of Indianapolis, Indiana. Here he partnered with jazz guitarist Scrapper Blackwell and their work showed a distinctive urban influence that was unlike the intensely emotional vocals and heavyily rhythmatic guitar back up, often bottleneck guitar style, of the Mississippi bluesmen. He was one of the first Northern bluesmen. Vocalion Records recorded him in 1928 and his first release "How Long, How Long Blues" was an immediate success. The innovation was in the sophisticated piano-guitar accompaniment and the wistfully sad mood. Music had moved from the lone guitarist in the fields to clubs with pianos for ready entertainment.
The success of his first release resulted in more Vocalion recordings. Although the depression of the early 1930s slowed down the record business, Carr's success continued, reaching a peak number of releases in 1934. His sudden death in 1935 at the age of 30 was surrounded with rumour and mystery. Today most historians believed he died of nephritis.[1] [edit] Legacy Although his recording career was cut short by his early death, Carr left behind a large body of work in his blues recordings. His partnership with guitarist Blackwell combined his light bluesy piano with a melodic jazz guitar that attracted the sophisticated urban black audience. His vocal style moved blues singing toward an urban sophistican and influenced such singers as T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Jimmy Witherspoon, Ray Charles among others.[1] Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing used some of Carr's songs and Basie's band shows the influence of Carr's piano style.[3] His music has been covered by notable artists such as Eric Clapton, Big Bill Broonzy, and Memphis Slim.
Here is the link for an audio sample of this disc. This will not hurt your computer, simply click on the link with the name of the track on the download page: Download Leroy Carr - How Long How Long Blues (1928 guitar piano 78 Vocalion).mp3
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