"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.^[1] The song is commonly referred to as "How Long Blues" and is a blues standard that has been recorded by many artists, not only in blues, but also country and western, pop, and jazz.

[edit] Song

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.^{[2] [3]}

The song has been recorded with many lyrical variations, but most versions begin with the line: "How long, how long, has that evening train been gone?"

[edit] 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.^[2] Blackwell's jazz single string guitar lines helped pave the way for the electric guitarists such as Eddie Durham and Charlie Christian.^[3]

A version appeared on Lonnie Donegan's 1956 album, Lonnie Donegan Showcase.

On 1 October 1962, the song was recorded by Lou Rawls for his album Black and Blue.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ "Leroy Carr - By Dave Penny". http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/leroycarr.txt. Retrieved 2006-11-26. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ^{a b} Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-02-061740-2. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Rowe, Mike (1973). Chicago Blues. New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-306-80145-0. 

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