Ray Parker, Jr.

Ray Erskine Parker Jr born May 1 1954 is an American singer songwriter and record producer As a solo performer he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film Ghostbusters Previously Parker achieved a US top10 hit in 1982 with The Other Woman He also performed with his band Raydio and with Barry White Ray Erskine Parker Jr was born in Detroit Michigan to Venolia Parker and Ray Parker Sr He has two siblings his brother Opelton and his sister Barbara Parker attended Angel Elementary School where his music teacher Afred T Kirby inspired him to be a musician at age six playing the clarinet Parker attended Cass Technical High School in the 10th grade Parker is a 1971 graduate of Detroits Northwestern High School He was raised in the DexterGrand Boulevard neighborhood on its West Side Parker attended college at Lawrence Institute of Technology Parker gained recognition during the late 1960s as a member of Bohannons house band at the 20 Grand nightclub This Detroit hotspot often featured TamlaMotown acts one of which the Detroit Spinners was so impressed by the young guitarists skills that they added him to their touring group Through the Bohannon relationship he recorded and cowrote his first songs at age 16 with Marvin Gaye Parker was also employed as a studio musician as a teenager for the emergent HollandDozierHollands InvictusHot Wax stable and his choppy style was especially prominent on Want Ads a number one single for Honey Cone Parker was later enlisted by Lamont Dozier to appear on his first two albums for ABC Records In 1972 Parker was a guest guitarist on Stevie Wonders funk song Maybe Your Baby from Wonders album Talking Book an association which prompted a permanent move to Los Angeles He also was the lead guitarist for Wonder when Wonder served as the opening act on the Rolling Stones 1972 tour In 1973 he became a sideman in Barry Whites Love Unlimited Orchestra Parker appeared briefly in the 1974 film Uptown Saturday Night as a guitar player in the church picnic scene Parker also wrote songs and did session work for the Carpenters Bill Cosby Rufus and Chaka Khan the Supremes Aretha Franklin Deniece Williams Bill Withers Michael Henderson JeanLuc Ponty Leon Haywood the Temptations Boz Scaggs David Foster Rhythm Heritage Gladys Knight the Pips Herbie Hancock Tina Turner and Diana Ross Parkers first bona fide hit as a writer was You Got the Love cowritten with Chaka Khan and recorded by Rufus The single hit No 1 on the RB charts and No 11 on the pop charts in December 1974 In 1976 he featured as rhythm guitarist on Lucio Battistis album Io tu noi tutti translated as Me you and all of us Parker has stated that he was the original songwriter of Leo Sayers 1976 hit You Make Me Feel Like Dancing but that when he submitted the tune as a demo his accreditation as such was missed Source Article Ray Parker Jr from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30