{"id":4399,"date":"2013-11-02T16:09:51","date_gmt":"2013-11-02T21:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=4399"},"modified":"2013-11-02T16:11:45","modified_gmt":"2013-11-02T21:11:45","slug":"bobby-parker-1937-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=4399","title":{"rendered":"Bobby Parker 1937 – 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Example\"
\n<\/strong>
\nBobby Parker<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Greetings all<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a previously unscheduled post, prompted when word came down the line that the mighty Bobby Parker<\/strong>, creator of the 45 you see before – only one of the greatest ever<\/em> – had slipped the surly bonds of earth and passed on to his great reward at the age of 76.<\/p>\n

I first posted ‘Watch Your Step’ no less than eight years ago (!?!) when Funky16Corners<\/strong> was in its early days.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t let the man’s passing go without re-posting this remarkable 45.<\/p>\n

I’ll see you on Monday.<\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Originally Posted 9\/19\/05<\/strong><\/p>\n

>>I hope you\u2019ve had your coffee….<\/p>\n

Because this record is a floor filling, foot stomping, ass kicking, brain melting slice of blues power from which the faint of heart will not soon recover….<\/p>\n

No, really… it\u2019s that good.<\/p>\n

This is one of those records that I\u2019d read about for years (having been a major Beatles fan as a kid), but never got to hear until a few years ago (I only scored the 45 in the last month).<\/p>\n

Did you download the track yet?<\/p>\n

Go ahead…I\u2019ll wait…<\/p>\n

There. Now listen to that opening riff \u2013 ring any bells???<\/p>\n

Hmmmm…. How about \u2018I Feel Fine\u2019 and \u2018Day Tripper\u2019 by the Beatles<\/strong> (or dare I say \u2018Moby Dick\u2019 by Led Zeppelin<\/strong>)??? This is the \u201cUR\u201d riff, from whence those songs sprung (after being reprocessed by John Lennon<\/strong> and Jimmy Page<\/strong> respectively).<\/p>\n

I have to tell you. When I was 12 years old I used to play \u2018I Feel Fine\u2019 two or three times a day (It\u2019s still one of my fave Beatle tunes), mainly because of the guitar riff, and to be honest, Bobby Parker\u2019s original carries the Beatles version out into the alley and kicks the crap out of it.<\/p>\n

Back in 1961, when Parker first unleashed this beast on the world, it didn\u2019t make much of a dent in the charts*. That didn\u2019t stop it from becoming a favorite of those in the know, spawning covers by The John Barry Seven, Spencer Davis Group, Billy Harner, Adam Faith, Tony Jackson, Manfred Mann, The Undertakers<\/strong> and The Walker Brothers<\/strong> (on their Japanese live LP)**, and making a lasting impression on the Beatles, Robert Plant<\/strong>, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana<\/strong> who reportedly decided to play the guitar after seeing Parker play.<\/p>\n

That said, it would be unfair to end the story there, because no matter how many people stole the riff, no matter how many people cite Parker as a seminal influence (and he\u2019s still playing today), to focus solely on the peripheral aspects of \u2018Watch Your Step\u2019 is to dance around the fact that it is an absolutely shit-hot record that in a just world would have been a huge hit.<\/p>\n

Bobby Parker was born in Louisiana and raised in California (where he worked with Don & Dewey<\/strong> and Johnny Otis<\/strong> among others). He spent the 50\u2019s touring with the likes of Bo Diddley, Jackie Wilson,<\/strong> and Paul \u2018Hucklebuck\u2019 Williams<\/strong> , and recorded his first record \u2018Blues Get Off My Shoulder\u2019 for VeeJay in 1958 (this is the record that Robert Plant has cited as the reason he started singing).<\/p>\n

He relocated to Washington, DC in 1961, where he would build a rep playing local clubs. He waxed \u2018Watch Your Step\u2019 for Philadelphia\u2019s V-Tone label (associated with the Len label) in 1961 (it was actually released twice in the UK, on London in 1961 and Sue in 1964).<\/p>\n

The record opens with a fanfare (as any disc this mighty should), which is followed (after a short dramatic pause) by Parker\u2019s smoking guitar, and the rolling, Latin-flavored drums (another part of \u2018Watch Your Step\u2019 that would end up in \u2018I Feel Fine\u2019).<\/p>\n

Parker\u2019s vocal \u2013 sounding like Ray Charles<\/strong> and Bobby Bland<\/strong> had a rocking baby \u2013 wails powerfully through the verses, being chased by the horn section. The tempo builds through the song as Parker is joined by backing vocals and a hot little sax solo. Parker has been described as a cross between Buddy Guy<\/strong> and James Brown<\/strong>, and it\u2019s not hard to imagine him working up a sweat on stage with this one.<\/a><\/p>\n

Parker would record sporadically through the 60\u2019s, waxing a 45 (\u2018I Won\u2019t Believe It Till I See It\u2019 as Little Bobby Parker<\/strong>) for the ultra-rare DC soul label Shrine, where the Cautions<\/strong> would record a version of \u2018Watch Your Step\u2019.<\/p>\n

He also toured in the UK where he would record for the Blue Horizon label in 1968 (the same label that released the earliest Fleetwood Mac<\/strong> albums).<\/p>\n

Though he toured relentlessly (and was a major hit in DC area blues clubs), he wouldn\u2019t record again until the early 90\u2019s for the Blacktop label.<\/p>\n

Keep an eye peeled for a PBS special called \u2018John Lennon\u2019s Jukebox\u2019 which features a recent interview with Parker as part of a fascinating look into what Lennon was listening to during the Beatles peak years.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Keep the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*I was stunned to discover that ‘Watch Your Step’ did not hit the national R&B charts at all, hitting the pop charts regionally, almost exclusively on the west coast<\/strong><\/p>\n

*\u2019Watch Your Step\u2019 was also covered in the 70\u2019s by Dr. Feelgood, in the 80\u2019s by Santana, and in the 90\u2019s by the Kaisers<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

___________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to go to the ordering page.<\/strong><\/a>
\nAlso, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bobby Parker Listen\/Download Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step Greetings all This is a previously unscheduled post, prompted when word came down the line that the mighty Bobby Parker, creator of the 45 you see before – only one of the greatest ever – had slipped the surly bonds of earth and passed on to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[72,58,14,121,67,69,64,12,18],"tags":[166,173,164],"class_list":["post-4399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beatles","category-cover-songs","category-funky16corners","category-mod-soul","category-obituary","category-original-versions","category-rb","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-funky16corners","tag-rb","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-18X","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4399"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4402,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399\/revisions\/4402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}