Ray Parker Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ray Parker Jr.
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Parker in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ray Erskine Parker Jr. |
| Born | May 1, 1954 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
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Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for writing and performing the famous theme song for the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. He also created music for The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. Before Ghostbusters, Parker had a big hit in 1982 called "The Other Woman". Ray Parker Jr. was born and grew up in Detroit. He also played with his band, Raydio, and with Barry White in the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
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Early life
Ray Parker Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Venolia and Ray Parker Sr. He has two siblings, Opelton and Barbara. When he was six, his music teacher, Alfred T. Kirby, at Angel Elementary School, inspired him to become a musician. He started by playing the clarinet.
Parker went to Northwestern High School in Detroit and graduated in 1971. He also studied at Lawrence Institute of Technology.
Music career
Ray Parker Jr. became known in the late 1960s. He was part of the house band at the 20 Grand nightclub in Detroit. Many famous Motown artists played there. The band Spinners liked his guitar skills so much that they asked him to join their touring group.
When he was 16, Parker recorded his first songs with Marvin Gaye. He also worked as a studio musician for labels like Invictus and Hot Wax. His unique guitar style was heard on "Want Ads" by Honey Cone. Later, he played guitar for Stevie Wonder on the song "Maybe Your Baby" in 1972. This led him to move to Los Angeles. He was also Stevie Wonder's lead guitarist when Wonder opened for the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour. In 1973, he joined Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra.
Parker played guitar for many other famous artists. These included Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, and the Temptations. He co-wrote "You Got the Love" with Chaka Khan, which became a number one R&B hit for Rufus in 1974.
In 1977, Parker started his own R&B group called Raydio. The group included Vincent Bonham, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. Their first big hit was "Jack and Jill" in 1978. This song reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It helped their first album sell very well. Their next hit, "You Can't Change That", came out in 1979 and also reached the Top 10.
In 1980, the group changed its name to Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio. They released two more successful albums: Two Places at the Same Time (1980) and A Woman Needs Love (1981). Both albums sold a lot of copies. Their biggest hit, "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)", came out in 1981. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was number 1 on the R&B chart for two weeks.
Raydio broke up in 1981, and Parker started his solo career. He had many more hits, including "The Other Woman" (number 4 in 1982) and "Ghostbusters" in 1984. "Ghostbusters" was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks! It was also nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Original Song. Parker won a Grammy Award for "Ghostbusters" in 1984. Other popular songs from this time were "I Still Can't Get Over Loving You" and "Jamie".
Parker continued to play guitar, write songs, and produce for other artists. Some of these included New Edition ("Mr. Telephone Man") and Diana Ross. He also sang the theme song for the 1984 TV show Pryor's Place. In 2006, Parker released a new CD called I'm Free. In 2014, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2022, Ray Parker Jr. appeared on the TV show The Masked Singer as "Sir Bug a Boo". After being eliminated, he performed the Ghostbusters theme song.
Ghostbusters theme song lawsuit
In 1984, another musician named Huey Lewis sued Columbia Pictures and Ray Parker Jr. Lewis claimed that the "Ghostbusters" theme song sounded too much like his band's song, "I Want a New Drug". The two sides settled the disagreement in 1995. They agreed not to talk publicly about the details of the settlement.
Music videos
Ray Parker Jr. was one of the first Black artists to make music videos. In 1978, producer Thom Eubank made several videos for Raydio's first album. The video for "Jack & Jill" was one of the first to be shown on The Midnight Special TV show. These videos were also shown in movie theaters in Europe.
He made two different videos for his hit song "The Other Woman". One was Halloween-themed, with dancing skeletons and vampires. The other showed Parker performing the song in space. His "Ghostbusters" video, directed by the film's director Ivan Reitman, was very popular on MTV. It was one of the first music videos based on a movie to become a big hit.
Acting
Besides his music, Ray Parker Jr. has also appeared in movies and TV shows. He was in the 1974 film Uptown Saturday Night. He also appeared on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break and the kids' show Pryor's Place. He had roles in Berrenger's (1985), Disorderlies (1987), and Enemy Territory (1987). He also made guest appearances on 21 Jump Street and Kids Incorporated.
In 2009, Parker was in a TV ad for a British phone directory service called 118 118. He sang a special version of the Ghostbusters theme song for the ad. In 2014, he appeared in an episode of the TV show A to Z, singing the "Ghostbusters" theme song at a Halloween party.
Images for kids
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Parker in 2013
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Parker at the Montreux Jazz Festival 2009, Montreux, Switzerland
See also
In Spanish: Ray Parker, Jr. para niños
