Blues pianist, singer, and songwriter Leroy Carr was born in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27, 1905, although some reports state his year of birth as 1904. Unlike his raw blues contemporaries, Leroy Carr had a smoother style that influenced artists such as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. After dropping out of high school and performing in a circus in the early 1920s, Leroy Carr enlisted in the US Army. He then moved back to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he and his mother had moved and then served a year at the Indiana State Penitentiary for bootlegging. After striking up a musical partnership with guitarist Scrapper Blackwell, he began his prolific but short recording career. Signing to the Vocalion Records label, Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell recorded a series of singles beginning with several 1928 titles including “Mean Old Train Blues,” “How Long,” and “Tennessee Blues.” His output continued with many singles including “You Got to Reap What You Sow” (1929), “Sloppy Drunk Blues” (1930), “Papa Wants a Cookie” (1931), “Gone Mother Blues” (1932), “Barrel House Woman” (1934), and “Take a Walk Around the Corner” (1935). In February 1935, Leroy Carr recorded his final session, “Six Cold Feet in the Ground,” without Scrapper, who had walked out of the session. An alcoholic, Leroy Carr died of nephritis on April 29, 1935. Since his death, his music has been reissued and repackaged many times over the years and his reputation as a blues icon has remained intact.
