Lee Roy Parnell
(born December 21, 1956) is an American country music artist. 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 #2. Four more of his singles have charted in the Top Ten as well. Besides his own work, Parnell has played slide guitar and National guitar on several other country recordings.
|
LEE ROY PARNELL TICKETS
|
Biography
Parnell was born in
Abilene,
Texas, in 1956.
[1] His parents were friends of country superstar
Bob Wills, and Parnell began his music career on Wills's local radio show at the age of six.
[2] [3] During his teens, he played drums and guitar in some local bands, and he played in
Kinky Friedman's Texas Jewboys band during the early 1970s.
[4] He continued to play in local clubs throughout Texas until 1987, when he moved to
Nashville [5] and became a regular performer at the Bluebird Café.
Career
Lee Roy Parnell
Parnell released his self-titled debut album for
Arista Records in 1990.
[6] 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.
Love Without Mercy
Following this album was his breakthrough release, 1992's
Love Without Mercy
. Although its lead-off single "The Rock" also fell short of Top 40, its next three singles all reached Top Ten: "
What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" at #2, the title track at #8, and finally "Tender Moment" also at #2. These three songs were all Top Ten hits on the
RPM
charts in Canada.
On the Road
1993's
On the Road
, his third album and final release for Arista proper also produced two top-10 hits: the
title track and "I'm Holding My Own", at #6 and #3 respectively. The album also contained a #17-peaking rendition of the
Hank Williams song "Take These Chains from My Heart", which Parnell recorded as a duet with
Ronnie Dunn of
Brooks & Dunn, although Dunn was not credited on the charts. The final single from
On the Road
, "The Power of Love", peaked at #51.
We All Get Lucky Sometimes
His fourth album, 1995's
We All Get Lucky Sometimes
, was also his first for Career Records, then a newly-formed subsidiary of
Arista Nashville. This album's lead-off single "A Little Bit of You" was the third single of his career to reach #2. Following it were the #12 "When a Woman Loves a Man" (featuring background vocals from
Trisha Yearwood), the #3 "Heart's Desire" and another #12 in "Giving Water to a Drowning Man". The album's title track, which was its fifth single, peaked at #46.
Every Night's a Saturday Night
and Hits and Highways Ahead
Every Night's a Saturday Night
was his final release for Career Records. This was the first album of his career not to produce a Top Ten hit, and only three singles were released from it: "Lucky Me, Lucky You" at #35, "You Can't Get There From Here" at #39 (his final Top 40 hit), and "All That Matters Anymore" at #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 #57, and by the year's end, he exited Arista's roster.
Tell the Truth
and Back to the Well
Parnell signed to
Vanguard Records in 2000,
[6] releasing the album
Tell the Truth
that year. This album's only single, "South by Southwest", failed to chart, and he soon left the label as well. His final album,
Back to the Well
, came in 2006 on
Universal South Records, although it also produced only one non-charting single in "Daddies and Daughters."
External contributions
Besides playing
slide guitar and
National guitar 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 and "
That's My Story" by
Collin Raye, from 1992 and 1993 respectively. In 1994, he and
Steve Wariner collaborated with
Diamond Rio on a cover of
Merle Haggard's "
Workin' Man's Blues", credited to Jed Zeppelin and recorded for a tribute album
Mama's Hungry Eyes
. This rendition peaked at #48 on the country charts. He played slide guitar on
Mary Chapin Carpenter's late-1994 Number One hit "
Shut Up and Kiss Me", and appeared in the song's
music video. His final chart entry was in late 2004, when he was credited for playing slide guitar on
David Lee Murphy's #46-peaking single "Inspiration", from the album
Tryin' to Get There
.
Personal life
Parnell has two children. Son Blake (1980) was born to Parnell's first wife, Kristin. Daughter Allison (1985) was born to second wife Kerry Pryor
[8]. He married third wife Kimberlie in 1990.
[9] In March 2008, Parnell announced his engagement to a fan named Julie.
[10]
Discography
Albums
Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
|
US Country
| US
| CAN Country
|
1990
| Lee Roy Parnell
- Released: April 10, 1990
- Label: Arista
| —
| —
| —
|
1992
| Love Without Mercy
- Released: April 28, 1992
- Label: Arista
| 66
| —
| —
|
1993
| On the Road
- Released: October 26, 1993
- Label: Arista
| 59
| —
| 17
|
1995
| We All Get Lucky Sometimes
- Released: August 1, 1995
- Label: Career/Arista Nashville
| 26
| 173
| —
|
1997
| Every Night's a Saturday Night
- Released: June 17, 1997
- Label: Career/Arista Nashville
| 53
| —
| —
|
1999
| Hits and Highways Ahead
- Released: August 24, 1999
- Label: Arista Nashville
| 63
| —
| —
|
2001
| Tell the Truth
- Released: June 12, 2001
- Label: Vanguard
| —
| —
| —
|
2006
| Back to the Well
- Released: March 7, 2006
- Label: Universal South
| —
| —
| —
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
US Country
| CAN Country
|
1990
| "Crocodile Tears"
| 59
| 90
| Lee Roy Parnell
|
"Oughta Be a Law"
| 54
| —
|
"Family Tree"
| 73
| —
|
1992
| "The Rock"
| 50
| 47
| Love Without Mercy
|
"What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am"
| 2
| 3
|
"Love Without Mercy"
| 8
| 10
|
1993
| "Tender Moment"
| 2
| 10
|
"On the Road"
| 6
| 12
| On the Road
|
1994
| "I'm Holding My Own"
| 3
| 2
|
"Take These Chains from My Heart"
| 17
| 21
|
"The Power of Love"
| 51
| 64
|
1995
| "A Little Bit of You"
| 2
| 2
| We All Get Lucky Sometimes
|
"When a Woman Loves a Man"
| 12
| 20
|
1996
| "Heart's Desire"
| 3
| 3
|
"Givin' Water to a Drowning Man"
| 12
| 10
|
"We All Get Lucky Sometimes"
| 46
| 83
|
1997
| "Lucky Me, Lucky You"
| 35
| 57
| Every Night's a Saturday Night
|
"You Can't Get There from Here"
| 39
| —
|
1998
| "All That Matters Anymore"
| 50
| 95
|
1999
| "She Won't Be Lonely Long"
| 57
| 61
| Hits & Highways Ahead
|
2001
| "South by Southwest"
| —
| —
| Tell the Truth
|
2006
| "Daddies and Daughters"
| —
| —
| Back to the Well
|
Other charted songs
Year
| Title
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
US Country
|
1997
| "Please Come Home for Christmas"
| 71
| Star of Wonder
|
Guest singles
Year
| Title
| Artist
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
US Country
|
1994
| "Workin' Man's Blues" (with Diamond Rio and Steve Wariner; credited themselves as Jed Zeppelin)
| Jed Zeppelin
| 48
| Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard
|
2004
| "Inspiration"
| David Lee Murphy
| 46
| Tryin' to Get There
|
Music videos
Year
| Video
| Director
|
1990
| "Oughta Be a Law"
| Marius Penczner
|
"Family Tree"
|
1991
| "Mexican Money"
| Dean Lent
|
1992
| "The Rock"
| Steven Goldmann
|
"Love Without Mercy"
| John Lloyd Miller
|
1993
| "Tender Moment"
| Michael Merriman
|
"On the Road"
| Michael Oblowitz
|
"I'm Holding My Own"
|
1994
| "Workin' Man's Blues" (with Diamond Rio and Steve Wariner; credited as Jed Zeppelin)
| Deaton-Flanigen
|
1995
| "A Little Bit of You"
| Jim Yukich
|
"When a Woman Loves a Man" (feat. Trisha Yearwood)
| Steven Goldmann
|
1996
| "Catwalk" (feat. Flaco Jimenez)
|
|
1997
| "Lucky Me, Lucky You"
| Michael McNamara
|
1998
| "All That Matters Anymore"
|
|
1999
| "She Won't Be Lonely Long"
| Peter Zavadil
|
References
- Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 on-line. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.
- "Where there's a Wills. " People Weekly 1 Oct. 1994: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009.
- Rusty Russell. "Lee Roy Parnell: The country-blues connection. " Guitar Player 1 Oct. 1997: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009.
- http://www.intrepidartists.com/leeroyparnell.html
- Cronin, Peter. "Parnell slips into the mainstream. " Billboard 13 Nov. 1993: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009.
- Rusty Russell. "Lee Roy Parnell: A Nashville hitmaker breaks out. " Guitar Player 1 Dec. 2001: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009.
- Rusty Russell. "Lee Roy Parnell: A Nashville hitmaker breaks out. " Guitar Player 1 Dec. 2001: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009.
- Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 on-line. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.
- Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Marriage Index, 1966-2002. Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas.
- News - Lee Roy Parnell