Ray Parker: A Driving
m & Blues
SATURDAY, AUGUST21i 19JB2-IHE CAROLINA TIMES 3
Rhyth
Dynamo Of Soul,
Emotion
A Review By
Sheila Bumpass
and -Melissa
James
GREENSBORO Ray
Parker, Jr. 'kills himself 19
hours a day because he loves
his music.
Working ! with popular
recording stars, such as Stevie
Wonder, Barry White, the
Rolling Stones, Boz Scaggs,
and Parker's own group,
Raydio, the tall, handsome,
hard driving artist is successful ;
today and still climbing. .
The success was pleasantly
apparent a couple of weeks
ago when Parker, along with
Rick James and Dazz, held
forth in grand fashion in the
Greensboro Coliseum.
The show was a sellout, and
Parker, togged in brown shirt,
white shoes and a pair of fine
ly creased, dazzling white
pants, his trademark for his
current highly successful
album, gave the crowd all they
came for and more.
With the consummate skill
that, comes with some IS years
Sunday
August 22, 1982
of musical experience, Parker,
; who at 28 says he's getting
younger every year, performed
beautifully.
At one point, while singing
one of his current hits, "A
Woman Needs Love Like You
Do," Parker kneeled near the
i edge of the stage and skillfully
slipped an envelope from the
hands of one of the crowd of
, practically swooning women
who screamed wildly during
the whole show. Moving
smoothly in front of the
flashing lights, Parker slid ex-
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pertly through several songs
off his latest album, as well as
some of his previous hits with
the group, Raydio.
The lights dimmed sug
gestively as Parker shifted to
"Let Me Go," another hit cut
off his album and the women
screamed a decibel higher as
the talented vocalist's soulful
ly mellow voice carressed each
' note.
The screaming - crowd
jumped to its feet when, to
close his act, Parker went back
to "The Other Woman,"
drawing out the melody and
bathing the people in the sexy
suggestiveness of the lyrics.
Parker, in this one of a
series of shows during his first
road tour in four years, prac
tically had the crowd of
screaming fans eating out of
his hands. Now that's success.
But it didn't come easy.
It's the result of unerring
dedication and hard work that
began when the Detroit native,
was 13 and elected a band class
for gym because he thought he
was awkward.
"I actually thought I was
too tall for my age," he said,
"and so I wanted to make up
for that by playing the coolest
instrument around."
According to Parker, the
coolest instrument at the time
was the guitar, but he didn't
start out in the band with the
guitar; he started with the
clarinet. It wasn't long before
the talented youngster, who is'
probably a musical prodigy if
the truth were known, switch
ed to the guitar. And now he
plays more than a dozen in
struments." In Detroit, Parker played
electric guitar for several local
bands before signing up with
Motown in 1969, when that
.recording company was just
hitting its peak. Three years
later, Parker was playing with
the Stevie Wonder band and
the talented guitarist credits
that experience with sparking
a cord of inspiration that has
held him in good stead over
the years.
"It was mostly Stevie's
creativity and versatility," he
said, "that inspired me."
In 1977, after forming his
own group, Raydio, and join
ing the Arista label, Parker
released his first alburn,
followed by a string of 12 hit
singles and four gold albums
before leaving the group this
year to go it alone.
And if his first solo album
"The Other Woman" - is
any indication, this producer,
songwriter, arranger, musician
and vocalist faces a bright
future. The title song off that:
album, for example, hit the
I top five on both the R&B
(rhythm and blues) and Pop
charts. .. , :
, Getting maximum use of his
wide-ranging talent, Parker-
not only wrote all the songs on
the album, but he also played
the guitar, the synthesizer, the
bass, the drums and the piano.
He also handled engineering,
mixing and other production
duties for the album.
Because Parker works so
hard for so long, there are
those close to him who believe
that the young man is driven
by some dark force.
With a bright smile, Parker
says: "I am driven by the
desire to be happy, and the
fear of being poor."
Parker says that young peo
ple who want to be successful
must also be driven. "They
have to kill themselves," he
said with a smile. "No, not
really, but they do have to
believe in themselves and what
they are doing. They have to
stay away from drugs and go
to church every Sunday."
One of Parker's favorite
subjects is the black woman,
, whom he feels has gotten a
raw deal from society.
"The mass media have
perpetuated the status and
social divisions of inequality
between the olack man of suc
cess and the black woman,"
Parker said. "Black women
may never get a shot at it (lux
uries of a wealthy black family
environment). But I intend to
marry a black woman,". he
continues, leaning forward to
emphasize his point, "unless,
of course, I slip and fall in
love."
That last part was a line
from one of his recent hits,
and Parker delivered it with a
big smile, and a mischievous
twinkle in his eye.
But then that's Parker, a lit
tle shy, he says about himself,
but also hardworking,
dedicated, and just a little
mischievous.'
This notwithstanding,
Parker's main focus is his
music, a style he calls, "Ray
Parker, Jr.'s music," a com
bination of soul, rock and roll
and Vpure emotion."
; They got a shot of it in
Greensboro, and from all in
dications, it will be around for
quite a while.
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