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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Lee Roy Parnell| image = LeeRoyParnellAug04.jpg| caption = Parnell performing in August 2004| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| birth_date = birth date and age|1956|12|21| origin = Stephenville, Texas , USA | instrument = singing|Vocals Electric guitar Slide guitar National String Instrument Corporation|National guitar | genre = country music|Country | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 1990–present| label = Arista Records|Arista Career/ Arista Nashville Vanguard Records|Vanguard Universal South Records|Universal South | associated_acts = Ronnie Dunn David Lee Murphy | website = 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 (magazine)|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 String Instrument Corporation|National guitar on several other country recordings.
Biography
Parnell was born in Stephenville, Texas|Stephenville , Texas , in December 1956.cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|page=155|isbn=0-89820-177-2 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."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. 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. http://www.intrepidartists.com/leeroyparnell.html He continued to play in local clubs throughout Texas until 1987, when he moved to Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville Cronin, Peter. "Parnell slips into the mainstream. " Billboard 13 Nov. 1993: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 2009. 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.Rusty Russell. "Lee Roy Parnell: A Nashville hitmaker breaks out. " Guitar Player 1 Dec. 2001: General Interest Module, ProQuest. Web. 14 Jul. 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 (magazine)|Billboard country charts. A video for "Mexican Money" was created and released, but the song was not released to radio.
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 (magazine)|RPM charts in Canada.
On the Road
1993's On the Road (Lee Roy Parnell album)|On the Road , his third album and final release for Arista proper also produced two top-10 hits: the On the Road (song)|title track and "I'm Holding My Own", at #6 and #3 respectively. The album also contained a #17-peaking rendition of the HankWilliams 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. The album also included an instrumental "Mama Screw Your Wig On Tight" which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Country Instrumental.
''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 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 #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.
Parnell signed to Vanguard Records in 2000, 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 (song)|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 (Mary Chapin Carpenter song)|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.Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 database 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. He married third wife Kimberlie in 1990.Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Marriage Index, 1966-2002. Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas. In March 2008, Parnell announced his engagement to Julie Albertson. They are expecting their first child in the fall of 2011. http://www.leeroyparnell.com/news-detail.php? pageid=1354& newsid=1556 News - Lee Roy Parnell
Parnell has a brother, Rob Roy Parnell, who excels in the harmonica. In the latter 1990s, Parnell helped to revive the musical career of his friend Jay Boy Adams of Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock after Adams in 1982 had left the musical scene for nearly fifteen years.cite web|url= http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/jay-boy-adams-perform-texas-theatre|title=Jay Boy Adams to perform at Texas Theater|publisher= Sweetwater Reporter , March 5, 2011|accessdate=September 3, 2011
Lee Roy Parnell Persondata | NAME = Parnell, Lee Roy | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = December 21, 1956 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Lee Roy Category:1956 births Category:American country guitarists Category:American male singers Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from Abilene, Texas Category:Resonator guitarists Category:Slide guitarists Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Arista Records artists
