What you Always Wanted to Know . . . .
Popular music has a history of defining its artists by their biggest successes. Many search for years to find that rare combination of words, music and magic that results in a "career song," a stylistic calling card that will forever fix their public identity. By contrast, Lee Roy Parnell's musical self was clearly defined long before his songs topped the charts, years before his distinctive vocal and guitar sounds became vibrant colors in the American musical tapestry. "I knew real early on that I'd be playing music all my life," he recalls. "It was almost like a calling. I knew about life on the ranch, because that's how I grew up, but at the little school I went to in Texas, athletics was the important thing. I wasn't athletic, but-playing the guitar gave me something I could do. It gave me a sense of identity."He grew up in Stephenville, Texas. Bob Wills was a neighbor and a family friend. At six, Parnell performed with Wills on a radio show. Wills and his Texas Playboys often came by the Parnell ranch for a visit. At fourteen, and a son of musical parents, Lee Roy was already playing in clubs, and in his later teens was a member of Kinky Friedman's Texas Jewboys. (You didn't have to be Jewish to be a Texas Jewboy.) By then he'd also become a dedicated student of a number of musical styles. Western swing was almost a birthright, thanks to neighbor and close family friend Bob Wills, but Lee Roy also immersed himself in the history of other styles, most notably country and blues. Like seemingly many country musicians, music was in his blood from the start. In the early 70's, Parnell trekked to Nashville to check out the scene. He didn't stay too long- about 18 months. He played the clubs for another 10 years before heading up north again to Nashville.
Lee Roy's penchant for understatement aside,
things have worked out very well, as a matter of fact. As he built his recording career, other
Nashville artists called on him to spice up their own tracks. His slide solos can be heard on songs
by Trisha Yearwood, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Delbert McClinton and others. He also found success as a songwriter, and,
of course, as a vocalist, and his reputation as an "artist's artist" grew with each album he recorded. Lee Roy also penned the song "That's My Story" which Collin Raye mad popular.
His self-titled debut in 1990 yielded several mid-charting singles including "Crocodile Tears" and "Oughta Be a Law." Even then, Parnell did most of the writing, helping write 7 of the 10 songs.
The follow-up disc "Love Without Mercy: found Parnell baring his Texas country and near the top of the charts with "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" and "Tender Moment." His career was headed on the right track with "On The Road" with a few more hits: the title track and "I'm Holding My Own."
He used
his own band, The Hot Links, on his
fourth album, We All Get Lucky Sometimes. The disc yielded the #1 singles "A
Little Bit Of You" and Lee Roy's own "Heart's Desire" (co-written with Chris Moore). That
success further secured his place as one of the industry's most highly-regarded performers,
respected not only for his singular talents, but for his unwavering musical integrity as well. It is
that principled approach that he brings to Every Night's A Saturday Night both
as an artist and a producer. This-album rings with sincerity.
bio pieces taken from Great American Country
& Country Standard Time
Thanks to Laura Zanone for this picture which she took at a show in Ft Lauderdale, FL
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