Little Junior's Blue Flames

about

Junior Parker, also known as Little Junior Parker or "Mr Blues" (May 27, 1932 – November 18, 1971) was a successful and influential Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth". He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. Junior Parker was born in either Clarksdale, Mississippi or West Memphis, Arkansas as Herman Parker, Jr. He sang in gospel groups as a child, and played on the various blues circuits beginning in his teenage years. His biggest influence as a harmonica player was Sonny Boy Williamson, with whom he worked before moving on to work for Howlin' Wolf in 1949. Around 1950 he was a member of Memphis's ad hoc group, the Beale Streeters, with Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King. In 1951 he formed his own band, the Blue Flames, with guitarist Auburn 'Pat' Hare. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. He put out one single on this record label, "You're My Angel." This brought him to the attention of Sam Phillips, and he and his band signed onto Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs: "Feelin' Good" (which reached # 5 on the Billboard R&B charts), "Love My Baby," and "Mystery Train" ,with Floyd Murphy (Matt "Guitar" Murphy's brother) on guitar, later covered by Elvis Presley. For Presley's version of "Mystery Train", Scotty Moore borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby". Later in 19

top songs

albums

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A-Z: Kitty Daisy & Lewis - 'The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll'

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The Sun Singles Era 1952-54 2

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Keb Darge And Cut Chemist Present - Lost And Found: Rockabilly, Jump and Blues

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The Sun Singles Era 1952-54 1

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Sun Records Story - Disc Three

The Sun Records Collection

A-Z: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - The Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll

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Johnny Cash And The Music That Inspired "Walk The Line"

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Cut Chemist Presents Lost And Found: Rockabilly And Jump Blues

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Sun Records: The 50th Anniversary Collection

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The Best Of Sun Records

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Rock'n'Roll 39-59

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