Yesterday,I pulled out some of my old vinyl albums.I was in the mood to hear Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio.Back in the late 70s-early 80s,they were all over the radio with jams like "Jack and Jill" (1978),"You Can't Change That"(1979),"A Woman Need Love (Just Like You Do)"(1981) and many more.Some of my favorites are the songs that never really became hits,such as...

***"More Than One Way To Love A Woman"(1978)---"there's 12 positions in the Zodiac signs...I'll try them all baby,just to keep you mine"

***"Tonight's The Night"(1980)---this steamy slow jam features Herbie Hancock on keyboards,and it really deserved to be released as a single.

***"For Those Who Like To Groove"(1980)---originally,this instrumental jam appeared on the B-side of their "Two Places At The Same Time" single.But radio DJs flipped the record over and it rightfully became a hit in it's own right.



There was alot of humor in Ray Parker Jr's lyrics.Many of his songs (with or without Raydio) feature silly ad libs and verses,such as...

**"I trained her just the way I wanted her...I taught her every trick in the book... now it ain't fair for her to give it all to somebody else" (from "Jamie",1984)

**"to those of you who've gone the other way...girls are more fun!" (from "Girls Are More Fun",1985)

***"I'll take out the trash...spank me,whoop me,let me come back home...break out the leather,baby" (from "Bad Boy",1983)




But as the 80s wore on,there was also some criticism.Some people were accusing Ray of "borrowing" many musical ideas from other people's songs.Consider...


***Ray's late-1983 single "I Still Can't Get Over Loving You" is a chilling tale of a stalker who can't give up on his former lover.In case you're wondering where he got the inspiration from,the song includes this familiar line..."every breath you take,I'll be watching you girl".

***His 1984 "Ghostbusters" theme song sounds suspiciously like Huey Lewis And The News' 1983 hit "I Want A New Drug".In fact,they sued him over this,and the case was settled out of court.

***In late 1987,Ray made a comeback of sorts with the soulful "I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone".But more than one critic has observed that it sounds alot like Patti Austin's 1986 smash hit "The Heat Of Heat".


But there is no denying Ray's talent.As a member of Raydio and as a solo artist in the 80s,he gave us some of the greatest jams ever.I'm just waiting for some kind of career retrospective or box set.



Your thoughts?
[This message was edited Wed Jan 21 4:54:39 PST 2004 by DavidEye]

that would be cool if Arista put something together like that jack n Jill was tha hot shit. i still pull that out from time to time.

TheRealFiness said:

Or at the very least,remaster some of the old albums.The 1980 album 'Two Places At The Same Time' is essential.

Jack and Jill! Whoa that was a cut!!! So was You Can't Change That. "You can't change a dollar bill". Hey David, do you remember Randy Hall? I think he recorded a song written by Ray Parker Jr. called "I've Been Watching You". I think it might have been subtitled "Jamie's Girl". I then remember that same year or around then Ray recorded "Jamie".

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

yeah,I remember Randy Hall.I think Ray wrote and produced his song? He also appeared in the video,where they were fighting over the same girl.

DavidEye said:

I haven't heard either one of these songs in ages, but I never thought one sounded like the other. Ray's attitude about Stevie Wonder was appalling, but I thought all his best work was as a session musician, as opposed to his solo work or Raydio.

DavidEye said:

This cut makes me want to get my Electric Slide on!

i aint heard a darn damn one of these songs..

except for the ghostbuster thingie...

and i didnt think any of those lines were funny either...


me thinks ray parker is...well, forgotten for a reason.

Supernova said:

What was Ray's attitude about Stevie?

I've mentioned this before, but never in a thread devoted to Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio.

Anyway, to keep it very brief... Years ago I worked in this clothing store in the Village. Ray Parker, Jr. came in. I might've asked for his autograph, but I was turned off by the "Ghostbusters" button he was wearing. To me, it was like he was saying "Hey, I wrote that catchy song!" Maybe, he wasn't trying to make a connection, but I couldn't help feeling turned off, anyway.

A little bit off topic, but anybody remember that Bobby Brown had a small part in Ghostbusters?

DavidEye said:

I'm curious too!!!

Where is he?I'm so surprised he doesn't put out records anymore.He started session work at like,16,didn't he?He was huge in the late '70's and early '80's then disappeared.

WHO REMEMBERS GOIN THRU SCHOOL & LOVE!

The only Raydio song I know is "You Can't Change That".

I really like that hooky synth riff!

I'm sort of predisposed to liking this song though...
In my parents basement, we used to have an 8-track player, and my sisters and I only played a couple different 8-tracks. One was the Beatles red album (1962-1966). The other was a compilation called Hitline that was as old as I was [1980], and it had Blondie, Anita Ward, Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar, and I remember it included that song by Raydio.

I'm predisposed to liking anything off of those 8-tracks because I was exposed to those songs probably from birth until I could actually put the 8-track in by myself.

And y'all already know I had mad love for "Ghostbusters"..


The other most-familiar Ray Parker Jr song is "The Other Woman" (Must be from about 1981 because my family had it on a mix alongside "Bette Davis Eyes" and "Let It Whip").

Im cryng again!

rdhull said:

Why, rd?

CinisterCee said:

he gets nostalgic whenever we discuss old music

I was a huge Raydio fan but only luke warm on Ray Parker as a solo artist. Ray lost his "funk" once he and the boys split.I also missed Arnell Carmichael's voice once Ray went solo. They way they played off each other vocally was fantastic! Their best work was the stuff with Herbie Handcock. "Tonight's the Night" will always be one of my favorite songs. Ray was a very good song writer and producer. I'm impressed that so many here remember Randy Hall. I remember buying that album due to Ray's name on the credits. I was dissappointed to say the least. There was a rumor he was Ray's cousin but I think that's due more to them both being light skinned "pretty boys". How many remember JR Tucker? I think he was 14 or 15 years old when Ray produced him. For those that don't remember, Ray wrote and produced "Mr Telephone Man" for him a couple of years before New Edition re-recorded it and made it a hit.

I knew I like the Org 4 more than Prince...Ray and Raydio kicked butt...I still catch myself singing their songs quite often--I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You, Stay the Night, That old song, I'm so in2 U, 2 places at the same time,U can't change that, Let me go, It's our own affair, U can't fight what U feel, It's all in the way U get down and Old Pro are some really great songs...On a side and related note...I was deployed to Japan last year for a 2 week field training /excercise where I met this young man about 18-20...I started talking old skool music 2 him and he ask if I've ever heard of Ray Parker Jr. Of course I said yea since I'm completly schooled on Ray. Turns out this kid's father was the bassist 4 Raydio...He's never met his dad and had only recently spoke with him on the phone...But get this, he knew absolutly nothing about what his dad and the other guys had done in music..I spoke highly of his pop's talents...Hopefully this kid did some research and got to know his roots...Aloha~

I have that Randy Hall album on vinyl too, but must admit I didn't listen to it for years... good ocassion do dig it up again

yeah, Ray did many splendid grooves along the years, I lost a bit of interest when he headed to cross over & Top 40 audience trying to follow up Ghostbusters. but he DID put out some fine stuff even after that. anybody know when he released his last album? i kinda lost track on him during the 90's

Yeah,Ray's career went downhill after "Ghostbusters".He was chasing pop success and I think his music suffered as a result.His 1985 album 'Sex and The Single Man' was disastrous.But he did make a comeback of sorts with his 1987 release 'After Dark'.That album was a return to form,and featured some of his most soulful music in years.

I think his last album was released in 1993.

yep, After Dark was a great CD, and "I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone" was his most soulful in years, even a minor hit after all. The last album I have is from 1991 "I Love You Like You Are", but nothing after. seems to me he kinda retired
[This message was edited Fri Jan 23 2:44:02 PST 2004 by Dancelot]

Yes,'After Dark' is a very good album,isn't it? First single "I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone" is one of his finest singles.It has a smooth,Marvin Gaye feel to it.The album also includes "Over You",a wonderful duet with Natalie Cole.They both sound great together.Other strong tracks include "You Shoulda Kept A Spare","Perfect Lover" and the playfully suggestive title track ("I'll break the company rule...let you play with my tool...after dark").

That album should have been a career rebirth for him but for some reason,he faded away not too long after it's release.

Ray Parker Jr. was featured in the Detroit 300 Concert Celebration a couple of years ago with Stevie Wonder and others. He looked good and sounded good.