Ray Erskine Parker Junior is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor born in Detroit (Michigan) on May 1, 1954. Son of Ray Parker Sr. and Venola Parker, Ray has two siblings: Opelton and Barbara. He attended Angel Elementary School, college at the Lawrence Institute Of Technology and graduated in 1971 from Northwestern High School in Detroit. Raised in the Dexter-Grand Boulevard neighborhood on the West Side, Ray began his journey into the world of music when, as a child, he began taking clarinet and saxophone lessons before moving on to the guitar, an instrument that would make him famous. He was noticed in Detroit musical circles and at the age of thirteen he was visited by drummer Hamilton Bohannon, who proposed that he join the band of the Twenty Grand Club at the 20 Grand nightclub (one of the most famous night clubs in Detroit). Detroit). Through his friendship with Hamilton Bohannon, Ray recorded and co-wrote his first songs at the age of 16 with Marvin Gaye. In 1972, Parker was the guitarist on Stevie Wonder's funk song "Maybe Your Baby," from the Talking Book album. In 1973 he became a sideman in Barry White's band "Love Unlimited Orchestra". Ray Parker's first real success as a writer was "You Got the Love", co-written with Chaka Khan and recorded by Rufus. The single reached number one on the US R&B chart and number eleven on the pop chart in December 1974. In 1977, Parker created the group "Raydio" with Vincent Bonham, Jerry Knight and Arnell Carmichael. The Raydio band achieved their first big success with the single "Jack and Jill", taken from their 1978 self-titled album on Arista Records. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and earned a gold single and a gold album. Their next hit, "You Can't Change That", was released in 1979 from the album “Rock On”. The song became another Top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 on the Billboard Charts and selling one million copies. In 1980, the group was renamed as "Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio". The band released two more albums: "Two Places at the Same Time" (1980) and "A Woman Needs Love" (1981), both gold records. Their last great success was achieved in 1981 with the single "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" (fourth position on the "Billboard Hot 100" first position on the "Billboard R&B" chart). “Raydio” disbanded in 1981 and Ray Parker continued his solo career, scoring other hits such as "The Other Woman " (No. 4 Billboard Pop) in 1982 and the 1984 soundtrack to the movie "Ghostbusters" (No. 1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100). With the track "Ghostbusters", Ray won a Grammy Award in 1984 and the song was nominated for an "Academy Award" for Best Original Song (won by Steve Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" from the film "The Woman In Red”).
Album
1978 - Raydio - Raydio
1979 - Raydio - Rock On
1980 - Ray Parker Jr. And Raydio - Two Places At The Same Time
1981 - Ray Parker Jr. And Raydio - A Woman Needs Love
1982 - Ray Parker Jr. - The Other Woman
1983 - Ray Parker Jr. - Woman Out Of Control
1984 - Original Sountrack - Ghostbusters (Track 1 - Main Title)
1985 - Ray Parker Jr. - Sex And The Single Man
1987 - Ray Parker Jr. - After Dark
1991 - Ray Parker Jr. - I Love You Like You Are
2006 - Ray Parker Jr. - I'm Free !
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