Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Parker sang in small-time amateur English bands such as the Black Rockers and Deep Cut Three, while working in dead-end jobs at a glove factory and a petrol station. In late 1974 he placed an ad in Britain’s "Melody Maker" music mag seeking like-minded musicians and he began performing professionally. In 1975, he recorded a few demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who would shortly found Stiff Records and who connected Parker with his first backing band of note.
Graham Parker & the Rumour (with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitar, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums) formed in the summer of 1975 and began doing the rounds of the British pub rock scene. Their first album, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in 1976 and 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) 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. 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.
Parker preceded the other "new wave" English singer-songwriters, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Early in his career his work was often compared favorably to theirs, and for decades journalists would continue to categorize them together, long after the artists' work had diverged. Characteristically, Parker would not hesitate to criticize this habit with caustic wit.
The first two albums' critical acclaim was generally not matched with LP sales. Graham Parker and the Rumour appeared on BBC television's Top of the Pops in 1976, performing their top 30 hit version of The Trammps' "Hold Back the Night".
At this point, Parker began to change his songwriting style, reflecting his desire to break into the American market. The first fruits of this new direction appeared on Stick To Me (1977). The album broke the top 20 on the UK charts but divided critical opinions.
Energized by his new label, Arista, and the presence of legendary producer Jack Nitzsche, Parker followed with Squeezing Out Sparks (1979), widely held to be the best album of his career. For this album, The Rumour's brass section, prominent on all previous albums, was jettisoned, resulting in a spare, intense rock backing for some of Parker's most brilliant songs. Of particular note was "You Can't Be Too Strong", one of rock music's rare songs to confront the topic of abortion, however ambivalently.
Squeezing out Sparks is still ranked by fans and critics alike as one of the finest rock albums ever made. Rolling Stone named it #335 [1] on their 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In an early 1987 Rolling Stone list of their top 100 albums from 1967-1987, Squeezing Out Sparks was ranked at #45, while Howlin' Wind came in at #54 [2].
Although marginally less intense than its predecessor, 1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in the UK and featured glossy production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless it was Parker's last album with the Rumour, although guitarist Brinsley Schwarz would join most of the singer's albums through the decade's end.
The 1980s were Parker's most commercially successful years, with well-financed recordings and radio and video play. Over the decade, the British press turned unkind to him, but he continued to tour the world with top backing bands, and his 1985 release Steady Nerves included his only US Top 40 hit, "Wake Up (Next to You)". The singer began living mostly in the United States during this time.
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.
Canned Laughter
Graham Parker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rings in my ears the morning after
Canned laughter
Would cans save a big disaster?
Spreads around the room like a tumor
I'm not exactly in good humor
I wish it came just one joke sooner
Canned laughter
I can't crack up and I don't have to
Canned laughter
I'm not too canned to fall in after
Can't disguise the actual gloom
But you can't do nothing but consume
Until there isn't any room for
Anything worthwhile
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
Still echoing in the rafters
Canned laughter
I hang on the morning after
Can't disguise the way you feel
You see the razor blade and the reel
It don't do nothing to conceal
That you're not having fun
Canned laughter
Rings in my ears the morning after
Canned laughter
Don't laugh, baby, you don't have to
I can do without the rumor
I'm not exactly in good humor
It feels like a malignant tumor
Growing in my heart
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
Canned laughter
The song "Canned Laughter" by Graham Parker & The Shot is a reflection on the emptiness and fakeness of televised laughter tracks. The singer despises the canned laughter that is supposed to make him laugh, and claims that it spreads like a disease in the room. He's not in good humour, but he can't help feeling like he should be laughing at the jokes, even though they're not funny.
The singer feels like the canned laughter is everywhere, and he can't escape it. It's ringing in his ears the morning after, and he can't seem to forget about it. He wishes that it came just one joke sooner, but it's too late now. He can't crack up, and he doesn't have to because the canned laughter is doing it for him.
The song makes the argument that canned laughter is a poor substitute for genuine humor, and that it has a way of taking over a room and making everyone feel like they should be laughing, even if they're not. It's a commentary on the way that television has programmed us to laugh on cue, and how this superficial laughter is ultimately unsatisfying.
Line by Line Meaning
Canned laughter
The artificially generated laughs
Rings in my ears the morning after
The sounds still persisting in my ears the next morning
Canned laughter
The same thing again
Would cans save a big disaster?
Can the canned laughter help in avoiding a crisis?
Spreads around the room like a tumor
The canned laughs gradually fill up the entire space, making it suffocating and depressing
I'm not exactly in good humor
The canned laughter hasn't lightened up my mood
I wish it came just one joke sooner
If the laughter had come after the joke, I would have laughed with everyone
Then I'd have to laugh
I would have been forced to laugh with the crowd
Canned laughter
Same thing again
I can't crack up and I don't have to
I don't need to laugh along with the canned laughs just to fit in
I'm not too canned to fall in after
I am still capable of laughing genuinely
Can't disguise the actual gloom
The canned laughs can't make up for the real sadness in the room
But you can't do nothing but consume
All you can do is soak in the canned laughs around you
Until there isn't any room for
Till the entire space fills up with canned laughter
Anything worthwhile
Nothing valuable
Canned laughter
Same thing again
Still echoing in the rafters
The canned laughs are still resonating around the room
I hang on the morning after
The memories of canned laughter still persist the next day
Can't disguise the way you feel
The canned laughs can't portray emotions properly
You see the razor blade and the reel
The truth is portrayed in the cutting edge parts of the show
It don't do nothing to conceal
The canned laughs can't hide the dull reality
That you're not having fun
I am not enjoying the show as much as it looks like
Canned laughter
Same thing again
Rings in my ears the morning after
The canned laughs are still present in my ears the next day
Canned laughter
Same thing again
Don't laugh, baby, you don't have to
Don't force yourself to laugh just to please others
I can do without the rumor
I don't need the falseness of canned laughs
I'm not exactly in good humor
The canned laughter hasn't cheered me up
It feels like a malignant tumor
The canned laughs are like a cancerous growth, making things worse instead of better
Growing in my heart
Affecting me personally: my emotional state
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: GRAHAM THOMAS PARKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind