Early Life and Career
Parker was born in Detroit to Venolia and Ray Parker, Sr. He has two siblings: his brother Opelton and his sister Barbara. His father died on March 12, 1992 at age 82; his mother died on December 18, 1993 at age 83.
Parker is a 1972 graduate of Detroit's Northwestern High School. He was raised in the Dexter-Davison neighborhood on its West Side.
Parker gained his reputation during the late 1960s as a member of the house band at the legendary 20 Grand nightclub. This Detroit hot-spot often featured Tamla/Motown acts, one of which the (Detroit) Spinners, was so impressed with the young guitarist's skills that they added him to their touring group. Parker was also employed as a teenaged studio musician for the emergent Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus/Hot Wax stable and his choppy style was particularly prevalent on "Want Ads", a number one single for Honey Cone.
In 1972, Parker was a guest guitarist on Stevie Wonders funk song "Maybe Your Baby" from Wonder's album Talking Book (1972).
In 1973 he was a sideman in Barry White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra, before creating Raydio, an R&B group, in 1977, with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. Parker appeared briefly in the 1974 film Uptown Saturday Night as a guitar player. Parker also wrote songs and did session work for The Carpenters, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder (an association which prompted a permanent move to Los Angeles), Deniece Williams, Jean-Luc Ponty, Leon Haywood, Temptations, The Spinners, Boz Scaggs, David Foster, Rhythm Heritage, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Honey Cone, Herbie Hancock, Tina Turner and Diana Ross. According to TVOne's UNSUNG documentary, Ray Parker, Jr. originally wrote the number one 70s dance single "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by British popular artist Leo Sayer. But, Ray was never given credit as promised.
Read more about this topic: Ray Parker, Jr.
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