Leroy Carr

Leroy Carr was a seminal figure in the transition from rural country blues to the smoother, more sophisticated urban blues style that would dominate the 1930s and 1940s. With his longtime musical partner, guitarist Scrapper Blackwell, Carr recorded a string of hugely influential sides for Vocalion beginning with 'How Long, How Long Blues' in 1928, which became one of the best-selling blues records of its era. The Carr-Blackwell partnership was not merely singer-plus-accompanist but one of the foundational duet sounds in recorded blues: their interplay defined a template. Carr's relaxed, melancholic vocal style and elegant piano playing deeply influenced later urban blues and piano-vocal stylists, from Nat King Cole to Charles Brown to Ray Charles. His compositions 'In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)' and 'Blues Before Sunrise' became enduring standards. Carr's career was tragically cut short when he died of nephritis, exacerbated by severe alcoholism, at age 30 in 1935, at the peak of his commercial success.