Ray Parker, Jr.

Ray Parker, Jr.

Biography

Ray Parker, Jr. (b. 1 May 1954, Detroit, Mich.) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Parker attended Angel Elementary School where his music teacher, Alfred T Kirby, inspired him to be a musician at age six playing the clarinet. Parker is a 1971 graduate of Detroit's Northwestern High School and attended college at Lawrence Institute of Technology.

Parker gained his reputation as a member of the house band at Detroit’s 20 Grand Club.  One of the visiting groups, The Spinners, was so impressed with his guitar playing that they added him to their group.  He also worked as a studio musician for the fledgling Invictus/Hot Wax label and on two Stevie Wonder albums.  This association prompted his move to Los Angeles, where he continued his session work with many leading vocalists. 

In 1977, Parker formed the group, Raydio, with several other musicians from Detroit.  In 1984, he had a multi-million-selling single with his theme for the movie Ghostbusters.

Parker was one of the first black artists to venture into the then-fledgling world of music videos. In 1978, Hollywood producer Thom Eubank produced several music videos of songs from Raydio's first, eponymous album on Arista Records. The single Jack & Jill was the first released to air on Wolfman Jack's Saturday night television show, The Midnight Special.

Works for Winds

• Everything Is Awesome (arr. Ford) (2015)
• Ghostbusters (arr. Story) (1984/2016)
• Symphonic Theme from "The Adventures of Tintin" (arr. Bernstein) (2015)

Resources

• Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Parker Jr., Ray." Accessed 24 October 2022
• Ray Parker, Jr. Wikipedia. Accessed 24 October 2022