Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. (born May 1, 1954), is an American guitarist, songw… Read Full Bio ↴Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. (born May 1, 1954), is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.
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)
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)
It's Now or Never
Ray Parker Jr. Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'It's Now or Never' by these artists:
Beegie Adair Once I laughed when I heard you saying That I'd be…
Ben I remember other days how I used to weep Over…
Captain G.Q. - Hello - Hi, it's me - What you want? - I just…
Chris Isaak It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
Chris Spedding & Robert Gordon It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
CLAUDE CHALLE & JEAN-MARC CHALLE Can I come home What do you call it now An empty-nestin'…
Connie Smith It's now or never come hold me tight kiss me…
Curtis Holbrook It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me, my…
Curtis Holbrook Nikki M. James Michael X. Martin Ensemble It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me, my…
David and The High Spirit There, she's walking right there Next to some other guy And …
Dr. Ammondt In this Game of Life, I'm a long-time Contender Your Crown's…
Eddie Peregrina It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
El Vez It's now or never, come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, …
Elvis It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Elvis Presley It's Now Or Never Performer：Elvis Presley & The Jordanaire…
Elvis Presley The Jordanaires It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
Elvis Presley & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Elvis Presley & The Jordanaires It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
Elvis Presley & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra It's Now Or Never Performer：Elvis Presley & The Jordanaire…
Elvis Presley ( with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
Elvis Presley Elvis Presley It's Now Or Never Performer：Elvis Presley & The Jordanaire…
Elvis Presley feat. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Elvis Presley The Jordanaires It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, …
Elvis Presley(엘비스 프레슬리) It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
EnsembleCurtis HolbrookeNikki M. James It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me, my…
Foster & Allen It all comes back to me now, A starry summer…
Guylaine Tanguay It′s now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Jackson Baby used to stay out all night long He made me…
Jimmy London It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
João Suplicy It's now or never, come hold me tight Kiss me my…
John Schneider Its now or never; Come hold me tight. Kiss me,…
Josh Groban It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
K-RA & ERA feat. TEIXI It's over now, it's over now I lost it all I bet…
Make Me Famous Hey! Go. lose your fear and show your rage Raise your fist…
Mario Lanza Never till now Were those rainbows there Did the skylark sin…
Micke Muster Wally Gold, Aaron Schroder, Eduardo di Capua…
Nikki M. James Ain't it funky now? Ain't it funky now? Ain't it funky now? …
Nikki M. James Ensemble & Curtis Holbrooke It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me, my…
Pino Daniele It's now or never, come hold me tight Kiss me my…
Robert Gordon & Chris Spedding It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
Rock-Olga It's in the air yeah Gotta give it a chair yeah I…
Santo & Johnny DID WE LOSE WHAT EVERYONE’S WANTED YOU KNOW WE HAD…
The Hunters Looking back on the people that slipped through my hands Too…
The Jordanaires It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
The Magic Time Travelers It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling, Be…
The Van-Dells I toss, I turn, I weep It's taking over me I don't…
Tim Barton & Friends The blood that Jesus shed for me Way back on Calvary The…
Tony Evans And His Orchestra Who's the one I'm glad to see? She never keeps me…
V.A. It's like It's like fuck my health Ima fuck it up We stay…
Various Artists Sixteen, sixteen minutes left better get it done! Sixteen, s…
Victor Wood It's now or never, Come hold me tight Kiss me my darlin…
♪♫ Elvis Presley It's now or never Come hold me tight Kiss me my darling Be…
エルヴィス・プレスリー & The Jordanaires It's Now Or Never Performer：Elvis Presley & The Jordanaire…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Ray Parker Jr.:
A Woman Needs Love Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo Mmm-mmm-mmm A woman needs a love (just …
Bad Boy I've been a Bad Boy Now I want to come back…
Christmas Time Is Here Hang up the mistletoe And turn the lights down low Let's fee…
Don't Think That Man Should sleep Alone I don't think that man should sleep alone I don't think…
Ghost Busters Ghostbusters If there's something strange in you neighborho…
Ghostbuster Ghostbusters! If there's something strange in you neighborh…
Ghostbusters (Ghostbusters) If there's something strange In your neighbor…
Ghostbusters (From Ghostbusters! If there's something strange In your neigh…
Ghostbusters (Instrumental Version) GHOSTBUSTERS If there's something strange in your neighborh…
Girls Are More Fun Girls are more fun, ooh, ooh Girls are more fun The party…
I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone I don't think that man should sleep alone I don't think…
I Got You I'm all confused And I don't know what to do Cause I…
I Still Can I'm all confused and I don't know what to do Cause…
I Still Can't Get Over Loving You I'm all confused And I don't know what to do Cause I…
In The Heat Of The Night He promises you things'll be different If you just give him…
Intro It's neither touch nor taste But silvery lines, the cute fr…
It's Time to Party Now Everybody* up it's time to party now Turn up the music…
Jack and Jill Jack (Jack)- wanting someone to feel (feel) Sat upon the hil…
Jamie Jamie used to be my girl She used to be my…
Let Her Go We've been goin' out for awhile now baby We've had…
Loving You I'm all confused And I don't know what to do Cause I…
Old Pro (Oooooo) Loving you, was everything I needed and more But li…
Over You I'm all confused And I don't know what to do Cause I…
So Into You "So Into You" All my life I′ve elected To keep my feelings …
That Old Song A good song and a love affair Go hand in hand…
The Other Woman Oh, yeah I'm in love (I'm in love) With the other woman My…
The Past I was wrong when I hurt you Did you have to…
The People Next Door I wanna bang on the walls Rock on the floor I wanna…
Two Places At The Same Time Doo, doo, doo Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo First time…
Woman Out Of Control Mmm I've got a woman out of control A woman…
You Can Mm, hm Honey, I'll always love you I promise I'll always lo…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found