Charlie Parr
Encyclopedia
Charlie Parr is an American
country blues
musician, born in Austin, Minnesota
, United States
. He started his music career in Duluth, Minnesota
. His influences include Charlie Patton
, Bukka White
, Reverend Gary Davis
, and Dave Van Ronk
. He plays a National resonator guitar
, a fretless open-back banjo
, and a 12-string guitar in the Piedmont blues
style. He is married (to Emily Parr, who occasionally adds back vocals to Charlie's music) with two children.
As of May 2008, the song "1922" has been featured in an Australian and New Zealand Vodafone
television advertisement
. As a consequence Parr's album, 1922, was re-released in Australia on the Level 2 record label
in Melbourne
. In 2009, Parr toured Australia with Paul Kelly
.
Parr played at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival in Oregon
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
musician, born in Austin, Minnesota
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He started his music career in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. His influences include Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
, Bukka White
Bukka White
Booker T. Washington White , better known as Bukka White, was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. "Bukka" was not a nickname, but a phonetic misspelling of White's given name Booker, by his second record label .-Biography:Born between Aberdeen and Houston, Mississippi, White was the...
, Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
, and Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
. He plays a National resonator guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
, a fretless open-back banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, and a 12-string guitar in the Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
style. He is married (to Emily Parr, who occasionally adds back vocals to Charlie's music) with two children.
As of May 2008, the song "1922" has been featured in an Australian and New Zealand Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
television advertisement
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
. As a consequence Parr's album, 1922, was re-released in Australia on the Level 2 record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In 2009, Parr toured Australia with Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
.
Parr played at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Albums
- Criminals & Sinners (2002; Shaky Ray Records SRR027. Re-released in UK in 2004 on Misplaced Music MM104, both versions are out of print)
- 1922 (2002; self released. Multiple versions, all out of print: 2002 original jewel case version; 2008 version in a handmade, letterpress sleeve with new artwork on cover and CD, 2009 version on Level Two Music label (Australia) with different cover art borrowed from 'Roustabout', as well as bonus tracks from a few of Parr's other albums.)
- King Earl (2004; Misplaced Music MM107, out of print)
- Rooster (2005; Little Judges LJ001 (jewel case), Eclectone Records ECL012 (digipak). Jewel case re-released in 2008. Out of print as of April 2011)
- Backslider (2006; self released, live album, out of print)
- Jubilee (2007; Little Judges)
- Roustabout (2008, Misplaced Music MM113. A limited February 2009 vinyl release in UK (500 copies); out of print).
- When the Devil Goes Blind (2010, Nero's Neptune Records 016, out of print, also on vinyl)
Collaborations
- Glory in the Meeting House (2010, with the Black Twig Pickers as a full backing band, House of Mercy Recordings MR024)
- EastMont Syrup (2011, Thrill Jockey 268. Black Twig Pickers with Charlie Parr, Other side of LP is Glenn Jones Even to Win is to Fail. Record Store Day 2011 regional release 12" vinyl lp, limited to 1000 copies. Liner notes include a recipe section titled "Cooking with Charlie", including recipes (the term is used loosely) for stew, bread, and a nut snack).
Compilation albums
- Too Much Liquor, Not Enough Gasoline (2009. Independent Records Ireland INDCD80. Limited edition compilation featuring tracks from previous albums. Out of print).
Promotional singles
- "Charlie Parr" (2010. Level Two Music. Australian two-track CD supporting release of When the Devil Goes Blind. Contained "I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night" and "Turpentine Farm". In a cardboard sleeve.)
- "1922 Blues" (2010. Tin Angel Records. Two track promotional CD from the United Kingdom. Includes "1922 Blues" and "God Moves on the Water". In plastic sleeve with paper insert.)
7" singles
- "Worried Blues" (2008; End of the Road Records EOTR0007. A 7" LP single limited to 500 copies. Featured "Worried Blues" (from King Earl) and "Write Me a Few Lines" (previously unreleased).
- "Where You Gonna' Be (When the Good Lord Calls You Home?" (2010; Great Pops Supplement GPS59. A 7" LP single limited to 400 copies. Title track from Glory in the Meeting House, unreleased B-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
traditional titled "Step Back Cindy". Autumn 2010 UK tour release with The Black Twin Pickers).
Contributions to other compilations
- Iron Country (2003; Spinout Records SOR104. Parr played on track 3: "Right Between the Eyes")
- Misplaced Pets (2004; Misplaced Music MM105. Parr played on track 22: "Roses While I'm Living")
- Keepsake Volume 2: Covers (2005; Keepsake Records KR14. Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies with handmade, sewn packaging. Parr played on track 5: "Pretty Polly" (by Doc Boggs). Out of print)
- Concert For Kateri (2005. Limited to 100 hand-numbered CD-Rs; a 4 track EP. From a benefit at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, celebrating Native American women in recovery. Parr played on track 4: "Green Rocky Road". The Brass Kings and The Intangibles also contributed music to this disc, which is also out of print)
- Who Killed Cock Robin? (2005. Soundtrack to Who Killed Cock Robin?Who Killed Cock Robin?Who Killed Cock Robin? may refer to:*"Cock Robin", a nursery rhyme*"Who Killed Cock Robin?" , an episode of the British television series Randall and Hopkirk ...
). Parr, who also acted in the movie, played on tracks 2 ("Who Killed Cock Robin?") and 15 ("1917"; from the album, King Earl). Out of print) - Duluth Does Dylan Revisited (2006; Spinout Records SOR116. Parr played on track 1: "Blind Willie McTell").
- Treasure Chest (2006; Benefit album for Pearl Swanson. Parr playsed on track 1: "Green Rocky Road". Other artists included Craig Minowa (of Cloud CultCloud CultCloud Cult is an experimental indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota led by singer/songwriter Craig Minowa. The name originated from the ancient prophecies of indigenous North Americans.-History:...
), and Black Eyed SnakesBlack Eyed SnakesThe Black-eyed Snakes is an American blues rock band from Duluth, Minnesota. Since releasing their debut album "It's the Black-eyed Snakes" in 2001, the band has toured the U.S. with Charlie Parr. Front man Alan Sparhawk also performs with Low and Retribution Gospel Choir.The Black-eyed Snakes...
) - Rough Trade Shops: Singer Songwriter 1 (2006; Mute Records CDStumm273. Two disc set. Parr played on track 13 of disc 2: "To a Scrapyard Bustop" (from the album 1922). Other artists included Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, and Cat PowerCat PowerCharlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
.) - The Lot: Echolocations Disc 6.1 (2008. This was the last of the subscription-only compilation discs pressed by EchoLocations (formerly InRadio) before the company folded. Parr played on track 8: "Coffee's Gone Cold" (from the album Jubilee). Also out of print)
- Think Out Loud: Music Serving the Homeless in the Twin Cities. (2010. Ezekiel Records. Parr provided instrumentation and possibly backing vocals on two tracks. Other artists included Cloud CultCloud CultCloud Cult is an experimental indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota led by singer/songwriter Craig Minowa. The name originated from the ancient prophecies of indigenous North Americans.-History:...
, Pieta Brown, Trampled By TurtlesTrampled By TurtlesTrampled By Turtles is a progressive bluegrass band from Duluth, Minnesota. The group is most famous for its high-tempo, fast-paced songs but also features lead vocalist Dave Simonett's lyric writing abilities in slower ballads. Their high-energy concerts have attracted an ever-growing,...
, and Chris Koza.) - Old Stage Tapes (2010. Old Stage Presents. Two live tracks by Parr. Tracks 1 ("Wild Bill Jones") and 13 ("Cheap Wine"). Recorded live April–October 2006 at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota. Other artists included The Brass Kings and Pert Near SandstonePert Near SandstonePert Near Sandstone is a bluegrass band from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The band has recorded four full length albums since 2004, and have toured the United States extensively. In 2008 they performed on A Prairie Home Companion. In 2010 they won the Band Competition at Yonder Mountain String...
.) - Local Current Volume 1 (2011. 89.3 The Current. Features Minnesota artists. Parr played on track 12: "Where You Gonna Be (When the Good Lord Calls You Home?)". Other artists included Trampled By TurtlesTrampled By TurtlesTrampled By Turtles is a progressive bluegrass band from Duluth, Minnesota. The group is most famous for its high-tempo, fast-paced songs but also features lead vocalist Dave Simonett's lyric writing abilities in slower ballads. Their high-energy concerts have attracted an ever-growing,...
and Jeremy Messersmith).
External links
- MinnPost.com - "How a Duluth bluesman's tribute to his train-hopping father became the soundtrack for a corporate giant"
- Parr's website