Ray Parker
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Ray Parker is an R&B Artist who rose to fame via his hit single, "Ghostbuster".
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About
Ray Parker or "Ray Erskine Parker, Jr." in real life was born on May 1, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan. Ray worked as a teenaged session guitarist playing on sessions for Holland-Dozier-Holland's Hot Wax and Invictus Records. Ray also worked with, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Spinners, Gladys Knight, The Pips, Chaka Khan, Rhythm Heritage and Boz Scaggs.
In the later part of 70's, Ray work with Barry White's album, Love Unlimited Orchestra. He also works playing on sides with, "Leon Haywood", "Gene Page" and "Ronnie McNeir's" debut album, Love's Comin' Down. In 1977, Ray signed a recording contract under Arista Records. He formed a band called "Raydio" in that same year with "Vincent Bohnam", "Jerry Knight" and "Arnel Carmichael".
They released their first single, "Jack and Jill" from their self-titled debut album in 1978. The single, chartered #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. In 1979, they released the single, "You Can't Change That" and their second album, Rock On. They changed their name to "Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio" in 1980. They released their albums, Same Time in 1980 and A Woman Needs Love in 1981.
In the 80's, the group issued two Top 40 hits like "Two Places at The Same Time" in 1980 and "That Old Song" in 1981. Their last album, A Woman Needs Love as a group was released in 1981, which chartered #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and #1 on the US R&B Charts for two weeks. The group split up in 1981. Ray started to venture his solo career.
Ray released his solo hit singles, "The Other Woman" in 1982 which charted #4 in the US Pop Chart and "Ghostbusters" in 1984. The song became the soundtrack of the movie with that same titled. The single chartered #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for three weeks and #1 on Black Singles Chart for two weeks. More albums were released after that. Ray left Arista for Geffen then MCA before returning to Arista because of his relationship with Arista president "Clive Davis".
Awards & Certifications
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Instrumental Performance for "Ghostbusters" |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Jack And Jill | 8 | 5 | Raydio |
| 1978 | Is This A Love Thing | - | 20 | Raydio |
| 1979 | You Can't Change That | 9 | 3 | Rock On |
| 1979 | More Than One Way To Love A Woman | - | 25 | Rock On |
| 1980 | Two Places At The Same Time | 30 | 6 | Two Places At The Same Time |
| 1980 | For Those Who Like To Groove | - | 14 | Two Places At The Same Time |
| 1981 | A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do) | 4 | 11 | A Woman Needs Love |
| 1981 | That Old Song | 21 | 26 | A Woman Needs Love |
| 1982 | The Other Woman | 4 | 2 | The Other Woman |
| 1983 | I Still Can't Get Over Loving You | 12 | 12 | Woman Out Of Control |
News
Tours & Concerts
There are no current tour and concert schedules for Ray Parker.
Announcements
There are no announcements as of this time
Discography
Albums
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Singles
| Date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Jack and Jill | Arista |
| 1978 | Is This A Love Thing | Arista |
| 1979 | You Can't Change That | Arista |
| 1979 | More Than One Way To Love A Woman | Arista |
| 1980 | Two Places At The Same Time | Arista |
| 1980 | For Those Who Like To Groove | Arista |
| 1981 | A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do) | Arista |
| 1981 | That Old Song | Arista |
| 1982 | The Other Woman | Arista |
| 1983 | I Still Can't Get Over Loving You | Arista |
Compilations & Live Releases
 Chartbusters
Arista |
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Other artists
Similar artists
Contemporaries
Trivia
- He was featured in the Bill Cosby/Sidney Poitier comedy classic Uptown Saturday Night.
Reviews
External Links
Categories: Artist | R&B
