Early Work
In the mid-1970s he was a sideman in Barry White's "Love Unlimited Orchestra", before creating Raydio, an R&B group, in 1977, with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. Parker appeared briefly in the 1974 film "Uptown Saturday Night" as a guitar player. Parker also wrote songs and did session work for The Carpenters, Rufus and Chaka Khan,Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Leon Haywood, Temptations, The Spinners, Boz Scaggs, Rhythm Heritage, and Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Raydio
The group scored their first big hit, with Arista Records, "Jack and Jill" off of their self-titled album in 1978. The song was # 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, earning a Gold record in the process.
Their successful follow-up hit, "You Can't Change That" was released in 1979, off of the Rock On album. The song was a Top 10 hit, making it up to # 9 on the Billboard charts during the same year it was released.
In 1980, the group became known as Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio, and the group released two more albums: Two Places at the Same Time in 1980 and A Woman Needs Love in 1981.
During the eighties Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio had two Top 40 hits ("Two Places at the Same Time" - # 40 in 1980 and "That Old Song" - # 21 in 1981) and their last and biggest hit "A Woman Needs Love," released in 1981, went to # 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, and # 1 on the R&B Charts for two weeks in 1981.
The Solo Years and Ghostbusters
Raydio broke up in 1981, while Ray Parker Jr. continued with his solo career, scoring six Top 40 hits, including the hit single "The Other Woman" (Pop # 4) in 1982 and "Ghostbusters" in 1984.
Parker was one the first black artists to venture into the then-fledgling world of music videos. He actually made two different videos for his hit "The Other Woman". The first was Halloween-themed and centered around a haunted castle with dancing corpses and vampires. The second was more performance-oriented, with Parker performing the song against a outer space background with backup singers. MTV initially refused to air either video because, at the time, no videos for black artists were shown and, in the case of the "haunted castle" video, Parker was depicted as having interracial relationships, which MTV didn't want to promote.
"Ghostbusters" was a title track of the Gold-selling soundtrack of the hit movie Ghostbusters (but the song has now sold upwards of 28 million units internationally according to Parker in 2007)[citation needed], starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. The single was at #1 for three weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and at #1 for two weeks on its Black Singles chart. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984 but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red.
He also made an acting appearance on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break starring Nell Carter.
Controversy surrounding Ghostbusters
Parker was accused of plagiarizing the melody from Huey Lewis & the News song "I Want a New Drug" for his 1984 #1 hit theme to Ghostbusters, released only six months after Lewis' hit reached #6 in the Billboard Hot 100. This ended with Lewis suing Parker, and the pair settled out of court in 1995.
They returned to court once again in 2001, as Parker sued Lewis for breaching a confidentiality agreement forming part of their original out of court settlement which prohibited either side from speaking about it publicly. Lewis had revealed in a VH1 Behind The Music special that Parker had paid a financial settlement as part of the original agreement.
Continued Songwriting
Ray Parker Jr. also wrote and produced hits for New Edition ("Mr. Telephone Man"), Randy Hall, Cheryl Lynn ("Shake It Up Tonight"), Deniece Williams ("I Found Love") and Diana Ross. He also performed guitar on several songs on La Toya Jackson's 1980 debut album.
Raydio Discography
* Raydio (1978) #27 US
* Rock On (1979) #45 US
* Two Places at the Same Time (1980) #33 US
* A Woman Needs Love (1981) #13 US
* Greatest Hits (1982)
Ray Parker Jr. Discography
* The Other Woman (1982) #11 US
* Woman Out of Control (1983) #45 US
* Ghostbusters (Soundtrack) (1984) #6 US
* Chartbusters (1984) #60 US
* Sex and The Single Man (1985) #65 US
* After Dark (1987) #86 US
* I Love You Like You Are (1991)
* I'm Free (2006)
In The Heat Of The Night
Ray Parker Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you just give him one more try
Want so bad to believe
Though you know it's just another lie
Wants to know if he can come over
And that he's sorry ‘bout the other night
Though your mind says no
Deep in the night
Promises you love forever
Don't you know better, girl
Than to believe a man
In the heat of the night (Heat of the night)
There's nothin' but promises (Heat of the night)
Heat of the night (Heat of the night)
Be careful, baby (Heat of the night), whoa
He starts with touching you all over
Whispering sweet nothings in your ear
Though you know it's jive
At the time it's what you want to hear
I am intelligent enough to know better
But you just for a moment get weak
As nature takes control
And you start to feel the heat, oh, hoo, hoo
Then the next day you're wondering why
“Why me, oh, why me”
You got caught, baby
With your defenses down
In the heat of the night (Heat of the night)
Nothin' but lies (Heat of the night)
Heat of the night (Heat of the night), whoa
Heat of the night, baby (Heat of the night), whoa
His passion made you think
He loved only you
When he slipped and cried out another woman's name
You shoulda knew
You'll never see the truth
Till he's through (He's just been usin' you)
You should have known better, girl
Than to believe a man
In the heat of the night, baby (Heat of the night)
There's nothin' but promises (Heat of the night)
Heat of the night (Heat of the night)
Baby, why must you get burned to learn (Heat of the night)
In the heat of the night (Heat of the night)
There's nothin' but promises (Heat of the night)
You shoulda known better, girl (Heat of the night)
Than to believe a man in the heat of the night (Heat of the night), whoa
(Heat of the night)
(Heat of the night)
The lyrics to Ray Parker Jr.'s song "In The Heat of the Night" explore the familiar theme of a woman being drawn back into an unhealthy relationship by her emotions. The song describes the man as promising change and expressing remorse for past mistakes, but ultimately the promises are just lies. Despite the woman's knowledge that the man is not trustworthy, her desire for love and attention leads her to lower her defenses and give in to him. The lyrics suggest that in the heat of the moment, people can make poor decisions and ignore their better judgment, but ultimately the truth will come out and they will be left with regret.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the idea that the heat of the night, with its passionate moments and intense emotions, can cloud people's judgment and cause them to make unwise decisions. The warning to "be careful, baby" suggests that the singer knows from experience that giving in to passion without considering the consequences can lead to pain and regret. The bridge of the song describes a specific scenario where the woman discovers that the man has been using her and does not truly care for her. The final repetition of the chorus emphasizes the lesson learned from this experience: that people should know better than to believe someone who promises the world in the heat of the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
He promises you things'll be different
He is making false promises that things will be different after one more chance.
If you just give him one more try
He is asking for another chance to change things despite having a history of false promises.
Want so bad to believe
Despite knowing the man's history of lying, there is a desire to believe him and give him another chance.
Though you know it's just another lie
The listener is aware that the man is not truthful and these are just empty promises.
Wants to know if he can come over
The man wants to come over despite the previous night's events causing issues between them.
And that he's sorry ‘bout the other night
He is apologizing for the previous night's events that caused problems between them.
Though your mind says no
Despite knowing better, the heart is struggling to say no to him.
Your heart tells him it's alright
The heart is disregarding the mind and telling him that everything is okay.
Deep in the night
It is late at night when he makes these promises and tries to come back.
Promises you love forever
He is promising love forever, despite the listener's knowledge that he has previously lied.
Don't you know better, girl
The singer is warning the listener to be cautious and not fall for the man's empty promises.
Than to believe a man
The singer is cautioning the listener to not believe a man who has a history of lying and false promises.
There's nothin' but promises
In the heat of the moment, there is nothing but empty promises and lies.
He starts with touching you all over
The man starts by touching the listener all over, despite her misgivings and knowledge that his promises are lies.
Whispering sweet nothings in your ear
The man is whispering sweet words to the listener, despite the listener's knowledge that he is not truthful.
Though you know it's jive
Despite knowing that it is all false promises and lies, the listener is still swept up in the moment.
At the time it's what you want to hear
The listener is hearing what she wants to hear, even if it is not truthful or genuine.
I am intelligent enough to know better
The listener knows better than to fall for these empty promises and lies.
But you just for a moment get weak
Despite knowing better, the listener's weakness causes her to give him another chance.
As nature takes control
The listener's natural instinct overrides her better judgment and causes her to give in to him.
And you start to feel the heat
The listener is feeling the passion and desire that the man is causing in the moment.
Then the next day you're wondering why
The listener realizes the next day that she has made a mistake by giving him another chance.
“Why me, oh, why me”
The listener is questioning why she always falls for these empty promises and lies, despite knowing better.
You got caught, baby
The listener got caught up in the man's lies and empty promises once again.
With your defenses down
The listener was vulnerable and had her defenses down, allowing the man to sweep her up in the moment.
His passion made you think
The passion that the man showed made the listener believe that he loved only her.
He loved only you
The listener is led to believe that the man only loves her, despite his history of lying and false promises.
When he slipped and cried out another woman's name
The man revealed that he was not truthful by saying another woman's name in the heat of the moment.
You shoulda knew
The listener should have known better than to believe his empty promises and lies.
Till he's through
The listener will not see the truth until the man is finished using her.
He's just been usin' you
The singer is revealing that the man has been using the listener all along despite his empty promises and lies.
Baby, why must you get burned to learn
The singer is asking why the listener must always get hurt before learning that the man is not truthful or genuine.
You shoulda known better, girl
The singer is warning the listener that she should have known better than to believe the man's empty promises and lies.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAY ERSKINE PARKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cbjrcher1
Ray was one of the great songwriters of the 70s-80s timeframe. Great lyrics as well as musicianship
@dolliehyatt7486
Bring back memories when me and my daughters' father were dating in the early 80's. This song is classic. I wonder what Ray Parker Jr. is doing now? I don't hear any of his songs being played on the radio anymore. He was very talented.
@thomwest1724
❤️🎼🎤🎸Sweet Memories📻
@OLIVER949OC2
Very underrated
@marving.harden7840
Love the soulful sounds of #RayParkerJr.. Be careful baby.
Next day you wondering why. talk that talk Ray. You shouldn't known better. than to believe a man in the heat of the night. 🌡✨😎
@monicatranquilli8566
Classe, eleganza, è la musica giusta anche oggi per un incontro speciale.
@tropicaldreams354
This song is awesome yet so true as well
@walterbrown798
WHY must you learn to get burn ? Then after you burn the next guy who tries to love you !
@walterbrown2997
# Ray Parker jr. Vs Brian McKnight now that would be a versus Battle of all-time of the the song makers who could lose the Savage Beast of a Black Women 👍
@ErinElisescorpio
I have been looking for this song forever loved it. Ray parker should be unsung this song brings back great memories.WHAT HAPPEN TO RAY PARKER why did he stop singing where is he?Well anyway miss you ray loved your songs.