Lee Roy Parnell
Parnell has garnered the respect of fans and industry veterans alike with his soulful vocals and award-winning slide guitar playing. His music runs the gamut of diversity: blue-eyed soul, Deltablues, road house rock, Southern boogie, Texas swing, and gospel defying conventional classification. He draws from a broad range of music sources and combines them with seamless dexterity.
Born December 21, 1956, in Abilene, Texas, and raised on a ranch near Stephenville, Texas, Lee Roy’s exposure to music came early on, literally at the knee of “Uncle Bob” Wills. His father Roy grew up with Bob in west Texas and remained life long friends. Both traveled in their teens performing “Black face” in medicine shows. Bob would regale young Lee Roy with tunes, tales and records from his collection during the Parnells’ frequent visits to Wills’ home in nearby Fort Worth. In fact, Lee Roy’s singing debut came at the age of six with Bob and the Texas Playboys on radio station KFJZ. By theage of 14, he was playing Texas dance halls and
