Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. His highest-charting hits are " What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" (1992), " Tender Moment" (1993), and " A Little Bit of You" (1995), all of which peaked at No. 2. Four more of his singles have charted in the Top Ten as well. Parnell made a shift in the early 2000s back to the bluesier sounds of his early works, releasing two blues albums on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

and Universal South. Besides his own work, Parnell has played slide guitar and

National guitar The National String Instrument Corporation was an American guitar company first formed to manufacture banjos and then the original resonator guitars. National also produced resonator ukuleles and resonator mandolins. The company merged with Dobr ...

on several other country and blues recordings.

Early years

Parnell was born in Abilene, Texas, but raised in Stephenville, Texas. His father had performed with

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

, and Parnell gave his first performance at age six on Wills' radio show. Parnell played guitar and drums in various bands during his teenage years. He moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, in 1987 and he signed with the

Arista Nashville Arista Nashville is an American record label that serves as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks ...

recording company two years later.

Career

''Lee Roy Parnell''

Parnell released his self-titled debut album for Arista Records in 1990.Rusty Russell. "Lee Roy Parnell: A Nashville hitmaker breaks out. " Guitar Player December 1, 2001: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. July 14, 2009. This album produced three chart singles in "Crocodile Tears", "Oughta Be a Law" and "Family Tree", none of which charted in the Top 40 on the '' Billboard'' country charts. A video for "Mexican Money" was created and released, but the song was not released to radio.

''Love Without Mercy''

'' Love Without Mercy'' was Parnell's breakthrough album, released in 1992. Although its lead-off single "The Rock" fell short of Top 40, the next three singles all reached Top Ten: " What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" at No. 2, the title track at No. 8, and finally "Tender Moment" also at No. 2. These three were also Top Ten hits on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' charts in Canada.

''On the Road''

1993's '' On the Road'', Parnell's third album for the Arista label, also produced two top-10 hits: the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

and "I'm Holding My Own", at No. 6 and No. 3 respectively. The album also contained a No. 17-peaking rendition of the Hank Williams song "Take These Chains from My Heart", which Parnell recorded as a duet with

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled deb ...

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

, although Dunn was not credited on the chart. The final single from ''On the Road'', "The Power of Love", peaked at No. 51.

''We All Get Lucky Sometimes''

Parnell's fourth album, 1995's '' We All Get Lucky Sometimes'', was also his first for Career Records, then a newly formed subsidiary of

. This album's lead-off single "A Little Bit of You" was the third single of his career to reach No. 2. Following it were the No. 12 "When a Woman Loves a Man" (featuring background vocals by

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

), the No. 3 "Heart's Desire" and another No. 12 in "Giving Water to a Drowning Man". The album's title track, which was its fifth single, peaked at No. 46.

''Every Night's a Saturday Night'' and ''Hits and Highways Ahead''

'' Every Night's a Saturday Night'' was Parnell's final release for Career Records. This was his first album since his debut release that did not produce a Top Ten hit, and only three singles were released from it: "Lucky Me, Lucky You" at No. 35, "You Can't Get There From Here" at No. 39 (his final Top 40 hit), and "All That Matters Anymore" at No. 50. After Career Records was merged back into Arista Nashville, Parnell released his final album for the Arista label, 1999's '' Hits and Highways Ahead''. This album's only single, "She Won't Be Lonely Long", peaked at No. 57, and by the year's end, Parnell exited Arista's roster.

''Tell the Truth'', ''Back to the Well'' and ''Midnight Believer''

In 2000 Parnell signed to

and released the album ''Tell the Truth''. This album's only single, "South by Southwest", failed to chart, and he soon left the label as well. Parnell's next album, ''Back to the Well'', came in 2006 on

Universal South Records Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...

, although it also produced only one non-charting single in "Daddies and Daughters."

External contributions

Besides playing slide guitar and

on his albums and co-writing several of his own songs, Parnell has co-written two Top 40 country hits for other artists: "Too Much" by

Pirates of the Mississippi Pirates of the Mississippi were an American country music band founded in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee. The original members were Bill McCorvey (lead vocals, guitar), Rich Alves (lead guitar, background vocals), Jimmy Lowe (drums), Pat Severs (st ...

and "

That's My Story ''That's My Story'' is a studio album by American blues musician John Lee Hooker, released in April or May 1960 on Riverside Records. The album was recorded in one session on February 9, 1960 at Reeves Sound Studio in New York City. It was prod ...

" by

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

, from 1992 and 1993 respectively. In 1994, he and

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...

collaborated with

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was fou ...

on a cover of

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

's " Workin' Man's Blues", credited to Jed Zeppelin and recorded for a tribute album '' Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard''. This rendition peaked at No. 48 on the country charts. He played slide guitar on

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

's late-1994 Number One hit " Shut Up and Kiss Me", and appeared in the song's music video. Parnell added slide guitar to

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

's "Sending Me Angels" in 1997, and in late 2004, he was credited with playing slide guitar on

David Lee Murphy David Lee Murphy (born January 7, 1959) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known for his #1 country hits " Dust on the Bottle" and " Everything's Gonna Be Alright", as well as the hit songs " Party Crowd", " Out with ...

's No. 46-peaking single "Inspiration", from the album '' Tryin' to Get There''.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As a featured artist

Other charted songs

Music videos

Notes

*A ^ Jed Zeppelin was an all-star group featuring

, Lee Roy Parnell, and

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Lee Roy 1956 births American country guitarists American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Living people People from Abilene, Texas Resonator guitarists Slide guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas Arista Nashville artists Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists People from Stephenville, Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians