Deitra Farr | |
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 Chicago Blues Festival, June 10, 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Deitra Farr |
| Born | August 1, 1957 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Blues, soul, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | JSP Records |
| Website | Official website |
Deitra Farr (born August 1, 1957) [1] [2] is an American blues, soul and gospel singer-songwriter.
Farr was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began singing in the mid-1970s with various soul bands. She converted to Catholicism as a child and sang in the gospel choir at Holy Angels Catholic Church on the South Side. [3]
She graduated from Kenwood High School (Academy) in Chicago. She studied vocal music there with Lena McLin and was a member of the Kenwood Choir. At the age of 18, she recorded the lead vocals on "You Won't Support Me" with the Chicago group Mill Street Depo. [2] That song made the Top 100 R&B list with Cashbox magazine in 1976.[ citation needed ] She began singing the blues in the early 1980s. From 1993 to 1996, she was the lead singer for Mississippi Heat and recorded two albums with them, Learned the Hard Way and Thunder in my Heart. [2]
In 1997, she released her first solo album titled The Search is Over, [2] on the British record label, JSP Records.
In 2005, Farr released her second JSP album, Let It Go. The blues guitarist, Billy Flynn, played on Let It Go. [4]
Since 1990, she has toured internationally, so far performing in over 40 countries. Farr is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, [2] with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She has a regular column called "Artist to Artist" in Living Blues magazine.
In October 2015, Farr was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame as a "Legendary Blues Artist". [5] Deitra received "The Koko Taylor Queen of the Blues Award" from the Jus Blues Music Foundation on August 3, 2017. [6]
June 10 was proclaimed Deitra Farr Day in the City of Chicago in 2023. [7]
JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman, releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Kansas City Red, Eddie Taylor, and Big John Wrencher. The label is based in London, England.
Carey Bell Harrington was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist with Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Louisiana Red and Jimmy Dawkins and was a frequent partner with his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell. Blues Revue called Bell "one of Chicago's finest harpists." The Chicago Tribune said Bell was "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter." In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
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