Cletis Carr - a brief bio

Singer-songwriter Cletis Carr knows a good yarn. Especially when paired with a good melody and some gritty slide guitar.

A careful student of the human condition, Carr's story-songs play out like mini-movies. Tales of joy, heartbreak, redemption, ordinary madness and everyday heroes are framed in a rich tapestry of acoustic steel-string guitar, dobro and lap slide.

Raised in America to a family of professional country musicians, Carr first tasted success in 1980 with his new wave band Sneakers, launching a solo career that’s taken him all over the planet and has seen the release of six solo albums and numerous band projects.

An intended brief vacation in Australia found Carr touring with members of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, the Easybeats, Bondi Cigars and the Saints. His bands Big Whiskey and Hillbilly Moon (with Paul Norton and the late Rose Tattoo legend Peter Wells) both met with considerable critical acclaim.

In the mid-90’s he moved behind the scenes as an award-winning producer of new and emerging artists. Moving to Nashville in the late 90’s, Carr performed at legendary venues such as the Bluebird Café, Douglas Corner and the Broken Spoke before returning to Australia in 2001 for a promo stint with one of Australia’s top record labels.

After spending most of the last decade running three café / acoustic music venues, Carr has now returned to his recording career, with a new album promised by the end of the year. Most of his back catalog is again available, and “Footsteps”, a retrospective collection from his earlier recordings is now available on CD or online through iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon and others.

Cletis Carr lives in Sydney Australia. He was a contributing writer to Rockrgrl Magazine, is an obsessive cook, and knows some great jokes. He tries to collect Australian wines, but they never seem to stay in the rack very long.
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