You Can't Be Too Strong - An Introduction To Graham Parker
Graham Parker and the Rumour (led by British rock musician Graham Parker, w… Read Full Bio ↴Graham Parker and the Rumour (led by British rock musician Graham Parker, with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitars, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums) formed in the summer of 1975 in London, England, and began doing the rounds of the British pub rock scene. The band was also augmented at times by a four-man horn section known as The Rumour Brass: John "Irish" Earle (sax), Chris Gower (trombone), Dick Hanson (trumpet), and Ray Bevis (sax). Throughout their time with Parker, the Rumour were also recording artists in their own right, releasing three albums: Max (1977), Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs And Krauts (1979), and Purity of Essence (1980).

The first album by Graham Parker and the Rumour, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in 1976 and was rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment. A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae-influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences (Motown, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan,Van Morrison) and contained the songs which formed the core of Parker's live shows -- "White Honey", "Soul Shoes", "Lady Doctor", "Fool's Gold", and his early signature tune "Don't Ask Me Questions", which hit the top 40 in the UK.

Parker and the Rumour built a reputation as incendiary live performers: the promotional album Live at Marble Arch was recorded at this time and shows off their raw onstage style. Like the pub rock scene he was loosely tied to, the singer's class-conscious lyrics and passionate vocals signaled a renewal of rock music as punk rock began to flower in Britain.

Bob Andrews left The Rumour in early 1980, and was not officially replaced. However, in studio sessions for the next album (The Up Escalator), Nicky Hopkins and Danny Federici (of The E Street Band) sat in on keyboards.

1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in the UK and featured production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. Significantly, the front cover of the album credited only Graham Parker, not "Graham Parker and The Rumour".

The Up Escalator would prove to be Parker's last album with the Rumour, although guitarist Brinsley Schwarz would reunite with Parker in 1983 and play on most of the singer's albums through the decade's end. As well, bassist Andrew Bodnar would rejoin Parker from 1988 through the mid 1990s, and drummer Steve Goulding would play on Parker's 2001 album Deepcut To Nowhere.

In early 2011, Parker reunited with all five original members of The Rumour to record a new album. The record, titled Three Chords Good, was released in November 2012.
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You Can't Be Too Strong - An Introduction To Graham Parker
Graham Parker & The Rumour Lyrics


Black Honey Oh black honey's in my soul, oh black honey's in…
Don't Ask Me Questions Pre>lead guitar intro em bm a em bm d a…
Fool's Gold Pre>intro as per verse A d a d I been doing my…
Heat Treatment Pre>thanks to robert watson robert@gcmac.demon.co.uk For a c…
Hotel Chambermaid When the lights are low you know I'm going to…
I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down You think you've got it all set up, You think you've…
Lady Doctor Pre>bb f (3 times) G see g see I've got a lady…
Local Girls Sit by my window and look outside, wonder why the…
Love Gets You Twisted Love gets you twisted Love gets you twisted all the way The…
New York Shuffle (Spoken) All right, let's do the New York Shuffle (over…
Saturday Nite Is Dead Everybody just looks ugly now information don't compute I d…
Silly Thing Pre>e a / e a / e a / e…
Soul Shoes Pre>intro g c/g (4 times Verse G c/g g c/g Well I ain't…
The Heat In Harlem I ain't stopping fingers keep bopping Swing band rocking …
White Honey Pre>intro see f see f see f see f see…
You Can't Be Too Strong Did they tear it out with talons of steel And give…


We also have lyrics for these tracks by Graham Parker:


Black Honey Oh black honey's in my soul, oh black honey's in…
Don't Ask Me Questions Pre>lead guitar intro em bm a em bm d a…
Fool's Gold Pre>intro as per verse A d a d I been doing my…
Heat Treatment Pre>thanks to robert watson robert@gcmac.demon.co.uk For a c…
Hotel Chambermaid When the lights are low you know I'm going to…
I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down You think you've got it all set up, You think you've…
Lady Doctor Pre>bb f (3 times) G see g see I've got a lady…
Local Girls Sit by my window and look outside, wonder why the…
Love Gets You Twisted Love gets you twisted Love gets you twisted all the way The…
Saturday Nite Is Dead Everybody just looks ugly now information don't compute I d…
SILLY THING Pre>e a / e a / e a / e…
Soul Shoes Pre>intro g c/g (4 times Verse G c/g g c/g Well I ain't…
The Heat in Harlem Pre> C#m I ain't stopping fingers keep bopping F#m be e Swin…
White Honey Pre>intro see f see f see f see f see…
You Can't Be Too Strong Did they tear it out with talons of steel And give…


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