Rob Roy Parnell Interview

Singer, songwriter, and performer, Rob Roy Parnell has been mixing rockin' blues, boogie woogie, R&B and soul for over thirty years playing for audiences throughout the United States. Parnell was born into a music family. His father played guitar and sang in vaudeville shows as a kid. His mom was an opera singer. Bob Wills was a family friend and had a great influence on Parnell’s desire to play music. As a young man he first played trumpet, excelling as a jazz improvantionists receiving awards at jazz festivals for his solos in jazz performances. At age seventeen his brother Lee Roy (www.leeroyparnell.com) introduced Rob Roy Parnell to the harmonica. With the encouragement of his friend Jack Pearson (guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band), Parnell played harmonica in front of an audience live for the first time at the age of 18. As a sophomore in college Parnell began supporting his self though school playing country and blues harp in bands. During the 1990s Parnell worked as a sidemen for Lee Roy traveling the United States playing with many great acts such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Brooks and Dunn, Patty Loveless, Hal Ketchum, Travis Tritt, Martina McBride, New Grass Revival, Hank Williams Jr. just to name a few. At the end of the 1990s Parnell desired to work on his own material and put together a band and began performing with some of Austin, TX most notable musicians. In 1999 Parnell released “Jacksboro Highway” which featured his friend Waylon Jennings performing some of his last recorded work before his passing. Over the years Parnell has played all over the United States and was the first performer to play for the Armed Forces at camp delta at “Gitmo” Cuba. For 11 straight years he has played before the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma Red River Shoot Out game and has become part of this long standing tradition at America’s largest state fair. He remains busy touring, songwriting and session work in the studio. One of his songs was recently cut and will be on the new Delbert McClinton CD with Jimmie Vaughn playing guitar on the cut. For seven years now, he has been part of the teaching staff at the Kerrville Folk Festival’s harmonica workshop serving as the musical director of the workshop. In addition, Parnell has played with some of the harmonica greats including Kim Wilson, James Cotton, Sam Meyers, Norton Buffalo, Delbert McClinton, Gary Primich, Peter “Mad Cat” Ruth, Adam Gussow, Mickey Raphael, Jimmy Hall, Tom Ball, Jimi Lee, Michael Rubin, Sonny Boy Terry, Dave Nevling and many others. Videos Include: Rob Roy’s Early Years; Rob Roy’s Recordings; Songwriting; Accompaniment Playing; Tongue Blocking and Words of Encouragement; Bending; 1st Position Playing; 3rd Position Playing; Music Theory; What Rob Likes to Hear in Other Harmonica Players; Rob Roy’s Harps; The Kerrville Folk Festival; Closing