Bobby Parker (guitarist)

Bobby Parker ( born August 31, 1937 in Lafayette, Louisiana, † October 31, 2013 in Bowie, Maryland) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Parker was named by a number of well-known musicians as a model, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and especially Carlos Santana.

Parker, born in Louisiana, grew up in Los Angeles. He saw performances by jazz and blues greats such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, T -Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson and Johnny Guitar Watson, and he opted for a career as a blues musician.

Bobby Parker played in the 1950s as a guitarist among others, Otis Williams and the Charms, Bo Diddley, Paul " Hucklebuck " Williams, Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers. In 1961 he moved to Washington, DC, where he began a solo career.

That same year, Parker had a hit with Watch Your Step, which was later re-recorded, among others, by the Spencer Davis Group, Santana and Dr. Feelgood. After international success in the 1960s, it was in the 1970s and 1980s a little quieter around Bobby Parker. It occurred mainly in the area around Washington.

In the 1990s, Parker recorded his first albums, Bent Out of Shape ( 1993) and Shine Me Up (1995). In his performances and tours, he mainly plays his own pieces.