Junior Parker Gets Covered

In any discussion of how Elvis supposedly ‘stole’ the blues away from black folks, a reference to Junior Parker’s (bka Herman Parker, Jr.) “Mystery Train” usually pops up.

It’s not debatable that Elvis did cover a wide variety of songs that were recorded by black folks from the south. But what usually gets left out of this entire conversation is the fact that older blues and country songs were pretty frequently covered for inclusion on singer’s singles. The ‘50s was an era that didn’t find too many performers writing, playing and singing their own songs. So while, this little caveat isn’t going to change anyone’s mind, the fact that Junior Parker isn’t as famous as B.B. King is more troublesome than the fact that Elvis recorded one of the harmonica player’s early hits.

Growing up in Mississippi granted Parker an early education in the blues genre. And while working with Sonny Boy Williamson, the younger singer picked up some harp chops that he put to use when becoming a part of a few groups later on in his career.

But even performing with Williamson seems secondary (no disrespect intended) to the tenure that Parker spent with Howlin’ Wolf. And while both better known bluesmen influenced the music that Parker worked with as a solo act, it was Wolf’s proto-rock ‘n roll that would define future recordings.

Prior to heading out and leading ensembles on his own, Parker was a member of the defacto Memphis blues combo the Beale Streaters along with the aforementioned King and Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland. Heading off on his own in 1951 was an auspicious move by Parker, though. And as he formed the Blue Flames, the young performer was hand picked by none other than Ike Turner during his scouting days to set down some singles. All of this resulted in a deal with Sun Records which ended in that whole Elvis appropriation thing.

Collected of the thirty some odd tracks on I'm So Satisfied is a huge range of Parker’s work, but not his best known offering about mysterious transportation. Seeing as the singer recorded during an era where singles were the default manner of disseminating new work, he never really had a proper album issued. Instead a spate of compilations began cropping up towards the end of his time on earth during the late ‘60s.

It’d be hard to accurately represent a career that spanned so many releases with such a wide range of ensembles, but the Polygram issued disc attempts to round up the dates issued for the Mercury and Blue Rock imprints during the second half of the ‘60s. It’s a daunting task to be sure, but everything included here has a freewheelin’ feel to it all. The fact that Parker doesn’t feature the harmonica is a bit problematic considering his legacy, but the laid back soul and blues comes off pretty well - or at least well enough to pick up the disc. “Easy Lovin’” and its brethren might be a bit cheese ball, but the sentiments expressed are sure to make a night in seem alright.