Leroy Carr

Leroy Carr (b. Nashville, Tennessee, March 27, 1905 – d. Indianapolis, April 29, 1935) – Pianist and singer. Although born in Nashville, Carr moved to Indianapolis as a child and, along with guitarist Scrapper Blackwell (his musical partner since the mid 1920s), was one of the most significant bluesmen of the 1920s and 1930s. After dropping out of school as a teenager, Carr hit the road as a performer and eventually returned to Indianapolis, where he met up with Blackwell and recorded over 100 sides with him (and another 100 sides without him). Their best known hit was “How Long, How Long Blues,” recorded on Vocalion in 1928. Extreme alcoholism led to his early death at age thirty; however, his work helped transform the blues from a vocally rough, rural expression (Country Blues) to a vocally smooth, indoor form of entertainment (Urban Blues). One such place where this indoor type manifested itself was Indiana Avenue’s Paradise, where Carr and Blackwell had a regular gig.