PARKER, Little Junior
(b Herman Parker, 3 March
'27, West Memphis AR; d 18 Nov. '71, Blue Island IL) Blues
singer, harmonica player. Some sources say he was born in
Clarksdale MS. Sang in gospel groups as a child, in the street
for tips; worked clubs late '40s--50s throughout the South;
with B. B. King's Beale Streeters in Memphis early '50s, formed
Little Junior's Blue Flames and made a record for Modern '52
with Ike Turner in the band, who was a talent scout for
Modern/RPM. The record was not a hit and Parker recorded for
Sun '53 in Memphis, where Turner also hustled; the first Sun
record 'Feelin' Good' was a no. 5 R&B hit; he wrote 'Mystery
Train', released as a follow-up to the hit on Sun 192, but Sun
209 was Elvis Presley's first record and Sam Phillips suddenly
had more on his mind than R&B hits (see Sun Records). Presley's
fifth release was a cover of 'Mystery Train', his first no. 1
hit (on the country chart), and Phillips then grabbed a
composer credit; he played Parker records to his rockabillies
to get them to play guitar like Parker's Floyd Murphy, and for
Presley's version of 'Mystery Train', Scotty Moore borrowed the
guitar riff from the other side of Parker's 'Mystery Train',
'Love My Baby'. Parker's strong, smooth voice was probably an
influence on Presley, and Parker was more influential than his
number of hits would indicate, incessantly touring like most of
the great R&B performers, e.g. with Bobby 'Blue' Bland in the
Johnny Ace Revue '54 (they kept it on the road after Ace's
death). He recorded for Duke in Houston; total of 15 R&B hits
'57--71 incl. top tens 'Next Time You See Me', 'Driving Wheel',
'In The Dark', 'Annie Get Your Yo-Yo'. From '59 he was billed
as Junior Parker. Other lesser hits on Mercury, Blue Rock,
Minit, Capitol '67--71; he died during surgery for a brain
tumour. CD compilation Junior's Blues '92 on Duke was supposed
to be vol. 1 of the Duke recordings.