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)
Killing Me Softly with His Song
Ray Parker Jr. Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' by these artists:
Afro Blue One, two, three and up Yo, put your hands up Yo, one…
Agnes Chan Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Anne Murray I heard he sang a good song I heard he had…
Anthony Ventura Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Aretha Franklin Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Blossom Dearie I heard he sang a good song I heard he had…
Bounty Killer Ft. The Fugees Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Bright Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Cassandra Wilson Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Cheryl Bentyne I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
Cleo Laine Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his…
Dave McMurray Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Decada Explosiva Romantica Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Flack Roberta Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Flor-de-Lis Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Franco Lorca Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Fugees (The) Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Fugees - Topic Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Graham BLVD Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Haia Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
J.Livingston Orchestra & Singers I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
Jessie J Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Katrina Parker "Killing Me Softly With His Song" Strumming my pain with hi…
Kimberly Caldwell [Chorus] Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life …
Lauryn Hill Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Lynn Anderson I heard he sang a good song I heard he…
Mike Auldridge Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Oilivia Ong I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had…
Olivia Ong I heard he had a style. And so I come to…
Orchester Anthony Ventura Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Park Mi Kyung strumming my pain with his fingers singing my life with his …
Peters & Lee Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Pitingo Ohí, que alguien cantaba una buena canción Una muchacha dul…
Roberta Flack Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Shanti Strumming my pain with his fingers ... Singing my life with …
Shirley Bassey Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his…
Singers Unlimited I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
Sussan Kameron Hindi Go What kind of music do you Want to listen to? Hin…
Sussana kameron I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
Teresa Teng Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
The Fugees Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
The J.W.F. Military Band Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
The Singers Unlimited I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
The Southern Electric Old Band Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
Yuliet Topaz Stroming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his…
Zhavia I heard he sang a good song, I heard he…
莫文蔚 killing Me Softly With His Song 演唱：莫文蔚 i heard he sang a…
邓丽君 Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his…
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