Born in Nashville, Leroy Carr came to Indianapolis at a young age . He taught himself to play the piano. He left school to make ends meet on the street. Since the music wasn't bringing in enough, he had to take on a wide variety of jobs. He was also in the circus and in the army. At times he was also married.
In 1928 Carr and Blackwell made their first recordings for Vocalion, including the hit How Long How Long Blues . In the years leading up to Carr's death, the duo were among the most popular blues performers in the United States and recorded numerous blues classics. Besides "How Long ..." there were " Alabama Woman Blues ", "Midnight Hour Blues", "Blues Before Sunrise", "Hurry Down Sunshine", "Shady Lane Blues" and many others. Carr, however, succumbed to the lure of alcohol. His alcohol addiction eventually led to his premature death in April 1935.
Leroy Carr is considered the composer of over 200 blues tracks, including How Long How Long Blues (later recorded by T-Bone Walker and Eric Clapton ), We're Gonna Rock You ( edited by Memphis Slim ), Naptown Blues ( by Wes Montgomery jazzed up), Prison Bound Blues , When The Sun Goes Down , Blues Before Sunrise and many more. The All Music Guide lists 497 hits for How Long How Long Blues alone . He influenced numerous blues musicians, including greats like Robert Johnson , Otis Spann and champion Jack Dupree , to name a few.
