Soul groove twisting funk!Artist(s):Bobby ParkerJohn McVey & the StumbleStyle // Tones:Electric Texas Blues, Blues-Rock, Modern Electric Blues, Soul-BluesVenue:Antone's Night ClubLocation:Austin, TexasDate:1993Item:PosterSize in inches:11" x 17"Condition:Very Good+ 8 of 10 or betterCombine items to save $$$!Last and only in Inventory!Please note: poster offered isthe same image as below, but printed on red stock.This is an original single sheet printed paper poster advertisement (A.K.A. handbill, flyer or print) for a concert performance gig by professional musicians at a music venue. Guaranteed original and authentic, printed prior to, and in conjunction with the promotion of the event. A Sound Deal does not sell poster re-prints, scans or duplications of any kind, so please don't ask. Sign up for the newsletter for red hot sales bulletins and sneak previews of upcoming products. Combine items save $$$!!!Bobby Parker (born August 31, 1937) is a blues rock guitarist. He is best-known for his 1961 song, "Watch Your Step", a single for the V-Tone Records label that became a hit on British and U.S. R&B charts.Getting a startBorn in Lafayette, Louisiana, but raised in Los Angeles, California, Parker first aspired to a career in entertainment at a young age. By the 1950s, Parker had started working on electric guitar with several big name blues, R&B, and funk groups of the time with his first stint being with Otis Williams and the Charms. Over the next few years, he also played lead guitar with Bo Diddley (including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show), toured with Paul Williams, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, and the Everly Brothers. In the waning years of the decade, he also toured with Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. His first single recorded was done in 1958, while he was working primarily with Williams' band, and was titled "Blues Get Off My Shoulder". During that same year, he also performed frequently at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.By the early 1960s, Parker had settled into living in the Washington, DC area and played at blues clubs there after having left Williams' band for good. He recorded the single "Watch Your Step" in 1961, a regional hit that was later covered by the Spencer Davis Group, Dr. Feelgood and Santana. Due to the success of the song, both in the United States and overseas, he toured England in 1968 and recorded his next hit, "It's Hard to be Fair". Jimmy Page became a fan of Parker's after seeing him perform in a Washington DC nightclub during a 1972 tour by Led Zeppelin. Page wanted to sign up Parker with Swan Song Records and offered an advance of US$2000 to fund the recording of a demo tape, but Parker never completed the recording, and an opportunity for Parker to be exposed to an international audience was lost._ DC and beyondFor the next two decades, Parker played almost exclusively in the DC area, leaving widespread success only to be venerated in the local blues scene. By the 1990s, Parker started to record again for a broader audience. He recorded his first official album, Bent Out of Shape the Black Top Records label in 1993, with a follow-up in 1995, Shine Me Up. In 1993 he also was the headliner for the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Festival. Parker continues to perform as a regular act at Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Washington, DC._ DiscographyAlbums * Bent Out of Shape - 1993 (Black Top Records) * Shine Me Up - 1995 (Black Top Records)Singles * Blues Get Off My Shoulders - 1958 * Watch Your Step - 1961 * It's Hard to be Fair - 1968by Richard Skelly: Guitarist, singer and songwriter Bobby Parker is one of the most exciting performers in modern blues, and it's quite apparent he'll inherit the top blues spots left open by the unfortunate, early passings of people like Albert King, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and others. That's because Parker can do it all: he writes brilliant songs, he sings well, and he backs it all up with powerful, stinging guitar. But things weren't always so good for Parker, and much of his newfound success is the result of years of hard work and struggling around the bars in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Parker has two brilliant albums out on the BlackTop label out of New Orleans (distributed by Rounder), Shine Me Up (1995) and Bent Out of Shape (1993). He was born August 31, 1937 in Lafayette, Louisiana, but raised in southern California after his family moved to Los Angeles when he was six. Going to school in Hollywood, the young Parker was bitten by the scenery, and decided he wanted to be in show business. At the Million Dollar Theatre, he saw big stage shows by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine and Lionel Hampton. Although he had an early interest in jazz, the blues bit him when artists like T-Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Pee Wee Crayton came to town. He began playing in the late '50s as a guitarist with Otis Williams and the Charms after winning a talent contest sponsored by West Coast blues and R&B legend Johnny Otis. Later, he backed Bo Diddley, which included an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show before joining the touring big band of Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams. He settled in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s, dropping out of Williams's band and making a go of it on his own. He is perhaps best-known for his 1961 song, "Watch Your Step," a single for the V-Tone label that became a hit on British and U.S. R&B charts. Parker's song was later covered by several British blues groups, most prominent among them the Spencer Davis Group. And though Parker may not yet be a name as familiar to blues fans as say, Eric Clapton or B.B. King, he's been cited as a major musical influence by Davis, John Mayall, Robin Trower, Clapton, Jimmy Page, drummer Mick Fleetwood, John Lennon and most importantly, Carlos Santana. Parker's style has been described by his protege Bobby Radcliff as Guitar Slim meets James Brown, and that's not that far off the mark. In the summer of 1994, Santana was so happy about Parker's comeback on the BlackTop/Rounder label that he took him on the road for some arena shows on the East and West Coasts. "Carlos likes to tell people that he saw me playing in Mexico City when he was a kid, and that inspired him to pick up the guitar," Parker explained in a recent interview. Santana pays homage to Parker on his Havana Moon album, on which he covers "Watch Your Step." Dr. Feelgood also covered the tune in the 1970s. For the rest of the 1990s, Parker is destined to be one of the major players on the blues circuit, provided his stellar output and rigorous touring schedules continue. Unlike so many other blues musicians, Parker's live shows are almost entirely his own songs. He does very few covers. "Unless the music of the day has some kind of substance to it, the blues always comes back," Parker says, adding, "I think Stevie Ray Vaughan had a lot to do with bringing the blues to White audiences, and Z.Z. Hill helped bring the Black audience back to the blues." - allmusic guideSeriously, folks: John McVey has a long and varied history as a blues musician. He's been able to sometimes support himself for over 20 years, playing with such performers as Larry Davis, Fenton Robinson and Lavelle White, among others. "Back when I first started out w/Larry Davis, we'd play places that were real blood-and-bucket joints. You just had to play like you were gonna fight somebody (yeah, you just hoped it wasn't your own band-members!)" John's been shot at in places such as Foster's Blue Room in Kansas City and the Owls Club in North Little Rock. After 6 years on the road with Larry Davis, including stints of working with Fenton Robinson, Chick Willis, Frank "Crying Shame" Clark, Lavelle White, Zora Young & Jeanne Carroll (Blues with the Girls European Tour around '83), getting to play with the Great Johnnie Johnson, Albert King, Albert Collins, Johnny Little John, Bigtime Sarah, and being on shows with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and many others, John moved to Austin, TX. For the next 4 or 5, maybe 6 years (he doesn't remember too well) John worked with a number of harmonica-based blues bands, traveling extensively with Hook (Herrera) & the Hitchhikers and then with Paul Orta & the Kingpins. One day in the early 1990s, 2 weeks after the coup against Gorbachev, John found himself onstage in Nickel, Russia at the legendary Harmonica Rumble sponsored by blues entrepreneur Eddie Stout. It was there, sharing the stage with 8 Texas blues harmonica blowers all playing "Sweet Home Chicago" at the same time, that John had an epiphane: "NEVER AGAIN!" Upon his return to Austin, John formed his own band, the Stumble. After a very profitable Miller Genuine Draft Light television spot and a tour of Italy, John was invited to join the Lavelle White Band as guitarist and band leader. With Lavelle, he played the major festival circuit for several years, on shows with Luther Allison, John Lee Hooker and more. In 1999, McVey decided to get off the road and re-form the Stumble. If you see John today you'll find Erin Jaimes on bass and vocals and Matt Sessions on drums. To hear John's guitar playing, you can track down two recent albums. John's first solo CD, "Gone to Texas," was released in March of 2002. In March, 2003 his bassist/singer Erin Jaimes came out with "Erin Jaimes with John McVey & the Stumble - You Had to Go" johnmcvey.org©A Sound Deal
