Junior Parker was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Memphis bluesThe Memphis blues is a style of blues music that was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Memphis-area musicians like Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie...
singer and
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth". He was posthumously inducted into the
Blues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
in 2001.
One
music journalistMusic journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
noted, "For years Junior Parker deserted downhome harmonica blues for uptown blues-soul music".
Biography
Junior Parker was born in either
Clarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
, or
West Memphis, ArkansasWest Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...
.
He sang in gospel groups as a child, and played on the various blues circuits beginning in his teenage years. His biggest influence as a
harmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player was
Sonny Boy WilliamsonWillie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
, with whom he worked before moving on to work for
Howlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
in 1949. Around 1950 he was a member of Memphis's ad hoc group, the Beale Streeters, with Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King.
In 1951 he formed his own band, the Blue Flames, with the guitarist
Pat HareAuburn "Pat" Hare was an American Memphis blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:He was born in Cherry Valley, Arkansas. He recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, serving as a sideman for Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland and other artists...
. Parker was discovered in 1952 by
Ike TurnerIsaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
, who signed him to
Modern RecordsModern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
. He put out one single on this
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, "You're My Angel." This brought him to the attention of
Sam PhillipsSamuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
, and he and his band signed onto
Sun RecordsSun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
in 1953. There they produced three successful songs: "Feelin' Good" (which reached # 5 on the
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
), "Love My Baby," and "
Mystery Train"Mystery Train" is a song written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips. It was first recorded in Phillip's Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Raymond Hill plays tenor sax and Matt Murphy plays lead guitar with Bill Johnson on piano, Pat Hare on...
", later
coveredIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. For Presley's version of "Mystery Train",
Scotty MooreWinfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby".
Later in 1953, Parker toured with Bobby Bland and
Johnny AceJohnny Ace , born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound....
, and also joined
Duke RecordsDuke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey Fat Girl", issued on Duke R-1, later amended to R-101.After forming a partnership...
. Parker and Bland headed the highly successful Blues Consolidated Revue, which became a staple part of the southern blues circuit. He continued to have a string of hits on the R&B chart, including the smooth "
Next Time You See Me"Next Time You See Me" is a blues song recorded in 1956 by Junior Parker . The song was Parker's first record chart appearance after joining Duke Records and one of his most successful singles in both the R&B and pop charts...
" (1957); re-makes of
Roosevelt Sykes'Roosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
song "
Driving Wheel"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song recorded by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936...
" (1961), Robert Johnson's "
Sweet Home Chicago"Sweet Home Chicago" is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. It was first recorded and is credited to have been written by Robert Johnson...
",
Guitar SlimEddie Jones , better known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist, from the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song, produced by Johnny Vincent at Specialty Records, "The Things That I Used to Do"...
's "
The Things That I Used to Do"The Things That I Used to Do" is a blues song written by Guitar Slim and his 1953 recording of it in New Orleans, was arranged and produced by a young Ray Charles. It was released on Specialty Records in 1954 to become a bestseller...
" (1963), and
Don Robey'sDon Robey was an American record label executive, songwriter and record producer, who used criminal means as part of his business model...
"Mother-in-Law Blues" (1956); plus his own "Stand by Me" (1961).
His success was limited after he left Duke in 1966. He recorded for various labels, including
MercuryMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, Blue Rock,
MinitMinit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law by Ernie K-Doe. A number of Allen Toussaint productions were issued on Minit, including...
, and
CapitolCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Parker died on November 18, 1971, at age 39, in
Blue Island, IllinoisBlue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...
, during surgery for a
brain tumorA brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
.
Tributes
On his 1974 album
...Explores Your MindAl Green Explores Your Mind is the eighth album by soul singer Al Green. Unlike previous Al Green albums, this album only featured one major hit, the U.S. #7 hit "Sha-La-La ", but did contain the original version of "Take Me to the River", a song which went to #26 on the Billboard chart when...
,
Al GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
dedicated his original version of the song "Take Me To The River" to Parker, who he describes as "a cousin of mine who's gone on, and we'd kinda like to carry on in his name."
Singles
- "Sittin' at the Window" - Little Junior's Blue Flames - (Sun UNISS 1951)
- "Sittin' at the Bar" - Little Junior's Blue Flames - (Sun UNISS 1951)
- "You're My Angel" / "Bad Women, Bad Whiskey" (with Ike Turner) - Little Junior Parker & His Blue Flames - (Modern 864 1952)
- "Feelin' Bad" - Little Junior's Blue Flames - (Sun UNISS 1952)
- "Feelin' Good" / "Fussin' and Fightin' Blues" - Little Junior's Blue Flames - (Sun 187 1953) (R&B # 5)
- "Mystery Train
"Mystery Train" is a song written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips. It was first recorded in Phillip's Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Raymond Hill plays tenor sax and Matt Murphy plays lead guitar with Bill Johnson on piano, Pat Hare on...
" / "Love My Baby" - Little Junior's Blue Flames - (Sun 192 1953)
- "Can't Understand" / "Dirty Friend Blues" - Little Junior Parker & Bill Johnson's Blue Flames - (Duke 120 1954)
- "Please Baby Blues" / "Sittin' Drinkin' and Thinkin'" - Little Junior Parker & Bill Johnson's Blue Flames - (Duke 127 1954)
- "Bachelor's Blues" - Little Junior Parker & His Orchestra - (Duke UNISS 1955)
- "Can You Teach Me Baby" - Little Junior Parker & His Orchestra - (Duke UNISS 1955)
- "Backtrackin'" / "I Wanna Ramble" - Little Junior Parker & His Orchestra - (Duke 137 1955)
- "Driving Me Mad" / "There Better Not Be No Feet (In Them Shoes)" - Little Junior Parker & His Orchestra - (Duke 147 1955)
- "Mother-In-Law Blues" / "That's My Baby" - Little Junior Parker and Bill Harvey's Band - (Duke 157 1956)
- "Next Time You See Me
"Next Time You See Me" is a blues song recorded in 1956 by Junior Parker . The song was Parker's first record chart appearance after joining Duke Records and one of his most successful singles in both the R&B and pop charts...
" / "My Dolly Bee" - Little Junior Parker and Bill Harvey's Band - (Duke 164 1957) (pop # 74, R&B # 7)
- "Pretty Baby" / "That's Alright" - Little Junior Parker & His Combo - (Duke 168 1957)
- "Peaches" / "Pretty Little Doll" - Little Junior Parker & The Al Smith Orchestra - (Duke 177 1957)
- "Sittin' And Thinkin'" / "Wondering" - Little Junior Parker & His Band - (Duke 184 1957)
- "Barefoot Rock" / "What Did I Do" - Little Junior Parker & His Band - (Duke 193 1957)
- "Sweet Home Chicago
"Sweet Home Chicago" is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. It was first recorded and is credited to have been written by Robert Johnson...
" / "Sometimes" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 301 1958) (R&B # 13)
- "Five Long Years
"Five Long Years" is a song written and recorded by blues vocalist/pianist Eddie Boyd in 1952. Called one of the "few postwar blues standards [that has] retained universal appeal", Boyd's "Five Long Years" reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart...
" / "I'm Holding On" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 306 1959) (R&B # 13)
- "Stranded" / "Blue Letter" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 309 1959)
- "Dangerous Woman" / "Belinda Marie" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 315 1959)
- "Stand By Me" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 330 1961) (R&B # 11)
- "Driving Wheel
"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song recorded by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936...
" - Junior Parker - (Duke 335 1961) (pop # 85, R&B # 5)
- "In The Dark" (R&B # 7) / "How Long Can This Go On" - Little Junior Parker (Duke 341 1961) (R&B # 28)
- "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo"/"Mary Jo" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 345 1962) (R&B # 6)
- "Someone Somewhere" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 357 1962)
- "Yonders Wall
"Look on Yonder Wall", or "Get Ready to Meet Your Man" as it was first named, is a blues song first recorded in 1945 by James "Beale Street" Clark. Clark, also known as "Memphis Jimmy", was a blues pianist from Memphis, Tennessee...
" - Little Junior Parker - (Duke 367)
- "Strange Things Happening" - Little Jr. Parker - (Duke 371 1962) (pop # 99)
- "The Things I Used to Do
"The Things That I Used to Do" is a blues song written by Guitar Slim and his 1953 recording of it in New Orleans, was arranged and produced by a young Ray Charles. It was released on Specialty Records in 1954 to become a bestseller...
" - Junior Parker - (Duke 376 1963)
- "Jivin' Woman" - Junior Parker - (Duke 384 1964)
- "Crying For My Baby" - Junior Parker - (Duke 389 1965) (R&B # 36)
- "Man Or Mouse" - Junior Parker - (Duke 413 1966) (R&B # 27)
- "You Can Make it If You Try" - Junior Parker - (Mercury 72651 1967)
- "I Can't Put My Finger On It" - Junior Parker - (Mercury 72699 1967) (R&B # 48)
- "Ain't Gon' Be No Cutting Loose" - Junior Parker - (Blue Rock 4080 1969) (R&B # 48)
- "Worried Life Blues
"Worried Life Blues" is a song that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. Originally recorded by Major "Big Maceo" Merriweather in 1941, "Worried Life Blues" was an early blues hit and Maceo's most recognized song...
" - Little Jr. Parker - (Minit 32080 1969) (R&B # 34)
- "Drownin' On Dry Land" Junior Parker - (Capitol 2997 1971) (pop # 114, R&B # 48)
Albums
- Driving Wheel Duke vinyl LP 76 (1961)
- Track listing: "Driving Wheel"; "I Need Love So Bad"; "Foxy Devil"; "Someone Broke This Heart of Mine"; "How Long Can This Go On"; "Yonders Wall"; "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo"; "Tin Pan Alley"; "Someone Somewhere"; "Seven Days"; "The Tables have Turned"; "Sweet Talking Woman"
- Love Ain't Nothin' But A Business Goin' On Groove Merchant (1971)
- Track listing: Love Ain't Nothin' But a Business Goin' On; "The Outside Man"; "Darling Depend on Me"; "Taxman"; "Rivers Invitation"; "I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone"; "Just to Hold My Hand"; "You Know I Love You"; "Lady Madonna
"Lady Madonna" is a song by The Beatles, primarily written by Paul McCartney . In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light." The song was recorded on 3 and 6 February 1968 before the Beatles left for India...
"; "Tomorrow Never Knows"
External links