Wednesday 27 May 2015

Junior Parker born 27 May 1932


Junior Parker, also known as Little Junior Parker or "Mr Blues" (May 27, 1932* –November 18, 1971) was a successful and influential Memphis blues singer and musician. 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 Fame in 2001.
Junior Parker was born in West Memphis, Arkansas as Herman Parker, Jr. 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 harmonica player was Sonny Boy Williamson, with whom he worked before moving on to work for Howlin' Wolf 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.


Little Jr. Parker, standing (far left), Bobby 'Blue' Bland, kneeling (far left),  Pat Hare, standing (far right). South Carolina, 1952.

In 1951 he formed his own band, the Blue Flames, with guitarist Auburn 'Pat' Hare. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. He put out one single on this record label, "You're My Angel." This brought him to the attention of Sam Phillips, and he and his band signed onto Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs: "Feelin' Good" (which reached # 5 on the Billboard R&B charts), "Love My Baby," and "Mystery Train" ,with Floyd Murphy (Matt "Guitar" Murphy's brother) on guitar, later covered by Elvis Presley.For Presley's version of "Mystery Train", Scotty Moore borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby".
 
                              
Later in 1953, Parker toured with Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace, and also joined Duke Records. 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"; re-makes of Roosevelt Sykes' songs, "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Driving Wheel"; Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do"; Don Robey's "Mother-in-Law Blues"; and his own "Stand by Me."

 

Little Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Bobby Blue Bland at the WDIA Goodwill Revue December 7, 1957.
 
His success was limited after he left the Duke label in 1966. He recorded for various labels, including Mercury, Blue Rock, Minit, and Capitol.

Parker died on November 18, 1971, aged 39, in Blue Island, IL during surgery for a brain tumor. (info Wikipedia)
*(There is some disagreement over the details of Parker's birth, but most reliable sources now indicate that he was born in March, 1932 at Eastover Plantation near Bobo, Coahoma County, Mississippi. He moved with his mother to West Memphis, Arkansas, during the 1940s. Other birth dates in 1927 or 1932 have been suggested) 
Before he passed he sailed into the 1970's in promising fashion cutting a pair of terrific albums; You Don't Have To Be Black To Love The Blues circa 1970/1971 for Groove Merchant and I Tell Stories Sad And True for United Artists which was released in 1972. 

3 comments:

D said...

good morning BB. Can I get a copy of Junior Parker. Love the bio. Thanks

boppinbob said...

Hello Denis, Unfortunately I cannot find the album requested, but all is not lost. I have asked a friend if I may borrow his Jasmine 2CD which is much better. Watch this space. It may take a few days.

boppinbob said...

For “LITTLE JUNIOR PARKER - NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME...
AND ALL THE HITS - THE COMPLETE SINGLES 1952-1962” go here:

https://krakenfiles.com/view/PO68ZB6RZz/file.html

Disc 1

1. BAD WOMEN, BAD WHISKEY
2. YOU'RE MY ANGEL
3. FUSSIN' AND FIGHTIN' BLUES
4. FEELIN' GOOD
5. MYSTERY TRAIN
6. LOVE MY BABY
7. CAN'T UNDERSTAND
8. DIRTY FRIEND BLUES
9. SITTIN' DRINKIN'AND THINKIN'
10. PLEASE BABY BLUES
11. I WANNA RAMBLE
12. BACKTRACKING
13. THERE BETTER NOT BE NO FEET (In Them Shoes)
14. DRIVING ME MAD
15. MOTHER IN LAW BLUES
16. THAT'S MY BABY
17. MY DOLLY BEE
18. NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME
19. PRETTY BABY
20. THAT'S ALLRIGHT
21. PRETTY LITTLE DOLL
22. PEACHES
23. SITTING AND THINKING
24. WONDERING
25. WHAT DID I DO
26. BAREFOOT ROCK

Disc 2

1. SWEET HOME CHICAGO
2. SOMETIMES
3. FIVE LONG YEARS
4. I'M HOLDING ON
5. STRANDED
6. BLUE LETTER
7. BELINDA MARIE
8. DANGEROUS WOMAN
9. THE NEXT TIME
10. YOU'RE ON MY MIND
11. THAT'S JUST ALRIGHT
12. I'LL LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN
13. I'LL FORGET ABOUT YOU
14. STAND BY ME
15. DRIVING WHEEL
16. SEVEN DAYS
17. IN THE DARK
18. HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON
19. MARY JO
20. ANNIE GET YOUR YO YO
21. SWEETER AS THE DAYS GO BY
22. I FEEL ALRIGHT AGAIN
23. FOXY DEVIL
24. SOMEONE SOMEWHERE

During the 1950s and early 1960s as the blues entered its period of major transition, a handful of performers retained their popularity with their core audience and continued to be huge concert and club attractions. The most important of these artists were B.B. King, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Little Milton and the subject of this CD, Little Junior Parker.

This 2CD set from Jasmine features the A and B side of every single he released up to1962 and includes the hits: 'Next Time You See Me', 'Annie Get Your Yo Yo' and 'Driving Wheel'. Also included is his original version of 'Mystery Train' which was later revised by Elvis Presley.

As well as being one of the great blues vocalists he was also a significant harmonica player too. Fans of James Cotton, Little Walter or Lazy Lester can't fail to enjoy these classics.(Jasmine notes)