Karen Lynn Carroll (January 30, 1958 – March 9, 2016) was an American blues singer. She was born to Mack Carroll and Alberta Simmons Carroll (

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Jeanne Carroll). Her godparents were the jazz guitarist George Freeman and the blues vocalist Bonnie Lee.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Carroll started singing in church at the age of six. In her first appearance on stage, she played guitar with her mother's band at age 14. Early in her career she worked with

Katie Webster Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Career Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband reco ...

and Albert King. She recorded her first song with

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) 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 bef ...

on his album ''Son of a Gun'' in 1983. Carroll went on to tour with

Professor Eddie Lusk Eddie James Lusk, Jr. known professionally as Professor Eddie Lusk (September 21, 1948 – August 26, 1992) was an American Chicago blues musician. An ordained minister, Lusk carved out a successful career in the blues and variously worked with L ...

in Canada after performing on his album ''Professor Strut'' in 1989. She went on to play in prominent Chicago blues

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

. In 1995, she contributed to an album with five other female blues artists, entitled ''Women of Blue Chicago''; which is still played on the radio today. She was offered a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

by Delmark Records in 1995, subsequently making the album ''Had My Fun''. This was followed by another album, ''Talk to the Hand'', in 1997. She wrote and held copyright to some of the tracks on this album. She worked with many Chicago blues musicians, including Carey and

Lurrie Bell Lurrie Bell (born Lurrie C. Bell, December 13, 1958, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American blues guitarist and singer. His father was renowned blues harmonica player Carey Bell. Career Bell started playing guitar at the age of six ...

, Rudy Rotta,

Otis Grand Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

Angela Brown Angela M. Brown (born 1963) is an American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal of Verdi heroines. Early life and education Angela Brown was born in 1963 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is African-American. Her mother, Freddie M ...

, Billy Branch,

Melvin Taylor Melvin Taylor (born March 13, 1959) is an American electric blues guitarist, based in Chicago. Career Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago with his parents in 1962. He joined the Transistors, a popular music group. He s ...

, Eddy Clearwater, Lonnie Brooks, Alvin Lee, Byther Smith and Sugar Blue. Her album ''Be My Guest!'' was released by Indigoteam Records in 2008. The

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

blues programme, the " Paul Jones Show", played several of her tracks by way of an obituary during the 28 March 2016 edition. Carroll died on March 9, 2016, in Georgia, after several long illnesses.

Solo discography

*''Had My Fun'' (Delmark, 1995) *''Talk to the Hand'' (Delmark, 1997) *''Live in Oleśnica'' (Stowarzyszenie Jazz Kanapie, 2007) *''Be My Guest!'' (Indigoteam, 2008) *''Evolution Revolution'' (Gryllus, 2009) *''Ghetto Love'' (unsigned, 2010) *''Karen Carroll's Blues Mix'' (unsigned, 2011)

Collaboration with other artists

*''Son of a Gun'' ( P-Vine, 1984) *''Professor Strut'' ( Delmark, 1989) *''Gospel'' (Hot-Foks, 1990) *''Stock Yards Strut'' (Delmark, 1993) *''Chicago's Finest Blues Ladies'' ( Wolf, 1993) *''Johnny B. Moore, Live at Blue Chicago'' (Blue Chicago, 1994) *''Red Hot Mamas'' (Blue Chicago, 1997) *''Delmark Records 45 Years of Jazz and Blues'' (Delmark, 1998) *''Delmark 50th Anniversary CD Collection'' (Delmark, 2003) *''Wild About That Thing: Ladies Sing the Blues'' (Delmark, 2003) *''First Class Blues (feat. Karen Carroll, Big Jay McNeely)'' (Acoustic Music Records, 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Karen 1958 births 2016 deaths Blues musicians from Illinois American blues guitarists American blues singers American women singers Chicago blues musicians Singers from Chicago Songwriters from Illinois Guitarists from Chicago 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women