Charlie Parr

Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr playing in downtown Duluth in 2004
Background information
Birth name	Charlie Parr
Origin	Duluth, Minnesota, United States
Genres	Piedmont blues, blues-rock
Occupations	Musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Misplaced Music, Little Judges, Shaky Ray Records
Website	www.charlieparr.com
Notable instruments
National resonator guitar Fretless open-back banjo

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.^[1]

Parr played at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival in Oregon.^[2]

Discography

Albums

Criminals & Sinners

• 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).^[3]
• "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-side 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?). 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").^[4]
• Treasure Chest (2006; Benefit album for Pearl Swanson. Parr playsed on track 1: "Green Rocky Road". Other artists included Craig Minowa (of Cloud Cult), and 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 Waits, Elvis Costello, and Cat Power.)
• 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 Cult, Pieta Brown, Trampled By Turtles, 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 Sandstone.)
• 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 Turtles and Jeremy Messersmith).

References

1. ^ Donovan, Patrick (2009-04-17). "Bluesman gets mobile on the back of a hit ad". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/bluesman-gets-mobile-on-the-back-of-a-hit-ad/2009/04/16/1239474994872.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
2. ^ "An Interview with Charlie Parr". Natural Beardy. http://www.naturalbeardy.com/2011/07/interview-with-charlie-parr.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
3. ^ Endoftheroad.intrabench.com
4. ^ Mnartists.org

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

Persondata
Name	Parr, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description	American country blues musician
Date of birth
Place of birth	Austin, Minnesota, United States
Date of death
Place of death