Deitra Farr biography

Chicago native Deitra Farr began her career in 1975, singing with local soul bands, before starting her blues career in the early 1980s. From 1993 to 1996, Deitra Farr was the lead singer with Mississippi Heat, recording two CD’s with this all-star group. In 1997, Deitra Farr resumed her own solo career, continuing to sing blues, while reaching back to her soul music roots. After recording on eight previous CD projects with others, she recorded her first solo CD, The Search is Over, for the London-based JSP records. In 2005, Deitra released her second JSP CD Let it Go! The multi-talented Deitra Farr is also a published writer, poet, and songwriter. A graduate of Columbia College (Bachelor of Arts in Journalism), Deitra Farr has recorded many of her own compositions and has written articles for the Chicago Daily Defender, The Chicago Blues Annual, and the Italian blues magazine il Blues. Currently she has a column “Artist to Artist” in Living Blues Magazine. In 1990, Deitra Farr represented the Chicago Tourism Bureau in Düsseldorf, Germany and has toured England, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Israel, Austria, Latvia, and Portugal. Deitra Farr toured Europe with the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival with Lil’ Ed Williams and the Blues Imperials. In 2003, Deitra Farr completed a six week British tour with Otis Grand and Bobby Parker, as the American Festival of the Blues II. She did the 2004 Chicago Blues Festival European tour with Jody Williams and Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones. Deitra Farr is considered one of Chicago’s top vocalists, according to Living Blues Magazine (May 1997). Fiery, energetic, and soul-stirring describes this woman, who has over the years been nominated for Traditional Female Blues artist of the year by the W.C. Handy Awards, Female Blues Artist of the year by the Living Blues Critics Awards, and the British Blues Connection Awards. The Italian newspaper, The Pistoia La Nationale, proclaimed Deitra Farr “Regina del Blues”. Be a witness.