Deitra Farr (born August 1, 1957) is an American blues,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singer-songwriter.

Life and career

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and Farr began singing in the mid-1970s with various soul bands. Deitra 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, Farr recorded the lead vocals on "You Won't Support Me", with the Chicago group Mill Street Depo. That song made the Top 100 R&B list with '' Cashbox'' magazine. She began singing the blues in the early 1980s. From 1993 to 1996, she was the lead singer for

Mississippi Heat Mississippi Heat is an American blues band based in Chicago, led by harmonica player Pierre Lacocque. Formed in 1991, the band has toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with occasional performances in South America and North Africa. M ...

and recorded two albums with them, ''Learned the Hard Way'' and ''Thunder in my Heart''. In 1997, she released her first solo album titled ''The Search is Over'', on the British record label,

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. In 2005, Farr released her second JSP album, ''Let It Go''. The blues guitarist, Billy Flynn, played on ''Let It Go''. Since 1990, she has toured internationally, so far performing in over 40 countries. Farr is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She has a regular column called "Artist to Artist" in ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' magazine. In October 2015, Farr was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame as a "Legendary Blues Artist". Deitra received " The Koko Taylor Queen of the Blues Award" from the Jus Blues Music Foundation on August 3, 2017.

Discography

Singles

*" You Won't Support Me" (1976) – lead vocals with Mill Street Depo – Stang/

All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer Sylvia Robinson and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry. All Platinum and its subsidiary labels, includin ...

Solo albums

*''The Search is Over'' (1997) –

*''Let It Go'' (2005) – JSP Records

Compilation and other albums

* ''Our Course has Run'' (1991) –

Dave Spector is an American ''gaijin tarento'', television producer, author, and actor based in Japan. Originally from Chicago, he moved to Japan in 1983 after visiting as a producer with the American television program '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!''. H ...

– ''Bluebird Blues'' –

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a record ...

* ''Chicago Blues Nights'' (1991) – Various artists – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''Burnin Chicago Blues Machine'' (1991) – Various artists (duets) – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''My Ancestors'' (1991) – Chicago Beau – (duet and background vocals) – GBW DIW/Tokyo Records * ''Vinir Dora'' (1993) – Various artists – Straight Ahead Records * ''Chicago's Finest Blues Women'' (1995) – Various artists – Wolf Records * ''Learned the Hard Way'' (1994) –

– Van Der Linden Records * ''Thunder in My Heart'' (1995) – Mississippi Heat – Van Der Linden Records * ''Undiscovered Gems'' (1998) – lead vocalist on "You Won't Support Me" –

* ''Bop Brother's and Sister's'' (2000) – Jon T-Bone Taylor – duet on "Like a Fish" – Abacabe Records, London * ''Shoulder to the Wind'' (2000) – Matthew Skoller Band – guest spot on "One More Flower" – Tongue 'N Groove Records * ''I Believe in America'' (2002) – Various artists – lead vocals on "Homesick Blues" – Bradley House Records * ''Bob is Back in Town'' (2006) –

Bob Stroger Bob Stroger (born December 27, 1930) is an American electric blues bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has worked with many blues musicians, including Eddie King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Lo ...

– background vocals – Airway Records * ''The Real Deal'' (2011) – Sharon Lewis – background vocals – Delmark Records * ''Soul Gift'' (2012) – Raphael Wressnig and Alex Schultz -lead vocal on – " All That I've Got" and duet with Tad Robinson on " Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing " – Pepper Cake Records * ''Delta Bound'' (2012) – Mississippi Heat – lead vocals on "Look-A-Here, Baby","What's Happening to Me" and "Sweet Ol' Blues" – Delmark Records * ''Blues from Below'' (2013) – Brother Jacob – duet and background vocals – Schulz Records * ''Moodprints'' (2015) – Ruud DeVries – vocals on "Talk About Love" – JazzTracks Records * ''Captured Live'' (2017) – Raphael Wressnig – vocals on "All That I've Got" – Pepper Cake Records * ''Lonesome Highway'' (2017) – Billy Flynn – duet on "Good Navigator" and "Hold On" – Delmark Records * ''Soul Santa'' (2017) – Mr. Keith Little – duet on "A Christmas Party" and "Too Many Baby Daddy's" * ''Doin' What I'm Supposed to Do'' (2022) –

Demetria Taylor Demetria M. Taylor (born February 28, 1973) is an American Chicago blues singer and songwriter. Her father was Eddie Taylor, a fellow Chicago blues musician. Her step-brother Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and her brother Eddie Ta ...

– duet on "Blues Early This Morning" - Delmark Records * ''Oscar's Motel'' (2023) – The Cashbox Kings – duet on "I Can't Stand You" - Alligator Records

References

Bibliography

*''Today's Chicago Blues'', Karen Hanson, Lake Claremont Press, 2007, *''Exploring Chicago Blues'', Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, The History Press, 2014,

External links

Deitra Farr's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, Deitra 1957 births Living people American blues singers American women singer-songwriters American blues singer-songwriters Soul-blues musicians Electric blues musicians Singers from Chicago JSP Records artists Singer-songwriters from Illinois 21st-century American women