How Long, How Long Blues

How Long, How Long Blues is a traditional eight bar blues song made famous by Leroy Carr on his 1928 Vocalion Records recording with guitarist Scrapper Blackwell. [cite web
url=http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/leroycarr.txt
title=Leroy Carr - By Dave Penny
publisher=
accessdate=2006-11-26 ]

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Carr wrote the music for the song which is a sad tale of life gone wrong. He played an impressive blues piano and accompanied himself aided by Blackwell's single string jazz guitar lines in the role of a responsorial voice as well as providing chords. In contrast to the rural bluesmen of the time, Carr's vocals were emotionally detached, high-pitched and smooth, with clear diction.cite book
first= Arnold
last= Shaw
year= 1978
title= Honkers and Shouters
edition=
publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company
location= New York
pages= p. 8-9
id= ISBN 0-02-061740-2] cite book
first= Mike
last= Rowe
year= 1973
title= Chicago Blues
edition=
publisher= Da Capo Press
location= New York, N.Y.
pages= p. 12-13
id= ISBN 0-306-80145-0]

Legacy

This is the first successful recording reflecting the Northern urban blues style resulting from the black migration north. Carr's partnership with guitarist Blackwell combined his light bluesy piano with a melodic jazz guitar that attracted the sophisticated urban black audience in clubs. His vocal style moved blues singing toward an urban sophistican and influenced such singers as T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Jimmy Witherspoon, Ray Charles among others. Blackwell's jazz single string guitar lines helped pave the way for the electric guitarists such as Eddie Durham and Charlie Christian.

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