Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Only two spots remained by the time Rudy Parris took the stage during the blind auditions on The Voice.

But the guy who started playing music in 1976 because he liked the rock band Kiss was hoping this was his chance to “go national.”

Seems as though Rudy had chances to broaden his musical horizons in the past.

But the 46-year-old from the Bakersfield area in California decided to stay local.

He got married at 25 and had a daughter, he explained to The Voice.

“My parents got divorced when I was like 4 years old. I know what it’s like not to have a father. I said, ‘I’m going to raise my daughter and do what’s best for her.'”

Now the daughter is 22 and has a child of her own.

“Now that she’s older, she said, ‘Dad, go for it. Do your music.’ … I feel like this is a good thing coming back to me.”

So he headed for The Voice stage and what he called his biggest audition in 28 years of performing music.

He did a country-tinged version of “Every Breath You Take,” and both coaches still needing team members — Cee Lo and Blake — turned around.

After joking that he wanted Rudy’s hair, Cee Lo said Rudy’s experience was evident in the quality of his performance.

Said Blake: “You damn sure don’t look country at all, but country’s still in there. I don’t know what you’re going to do about that, other than pick me as your coach.”

Which is precisely what Rudy did, “because my roots are so deep in country music.”

What the show didn’t show: At 46, Rudy is the oldest of The Voice contestants. He says he’s been playing music for 28 years. Fifty-two of the 62 solo artists on The Voice are younger than 28. Just a little perspective there. Now, as for experience, Rudy indeed has a lot. He spent eight years performing at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, according to his Facebook bio. He’s also opened for Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bo Didley and played guitar while on tour with Hank Williams III. Along the way, he’s released three CDs — “The Blue Room,” “Modern Day Cowboy” and “Under the Influence” — all of which can be purchased from his website. “Modern Day Cowboy” is his only country CD to date and was released in 1994. Want to hear more from Rudy? You can hear full-length versions of six songs on his Facebook page and get a free download of his “Let’s Stay Together” cover. And you can find a mix of originals and covers on two YouTube channels, here and here. The latter also includes clips from when he was performing with brother Abel as The Parris Bros.

Editor’s Note: Check back for live blogs once the battle rounds begin on The Voice.

Rudy singing “Let’s Stay Together”