How Ray Parker Jr. Got Cheated Out of a Grammy for a No. 1 Hit

Variety ^ | 8/11 | Jeremy Helligar

[a fool in paradise]

>>Does Parker think racism may have been a factor — a white industry insider deciding to pull one over on a young Black kid from the streets of Detroit? “I imagine it could be racial as to they decided, ‘Ah, forget him. We’re just gonna do it. We’re not going to pay him royalties. He’s young, he’s new, and I’m the bigger guy in the business and who’s gonna listen to him versus me, so I’ll just do what I want to do.’ So I was just kind of kicked to the curb.”

Ask the Beatles and the Stones and others about stolen royalties/ownership.

It isn’t always about race.

The industry rewards the suits. Always has and it still is in the era of billions of dollars of revenue from streaming and a few million to the artists and songwriters.

[Dr. Sivana]

Speaking of Leo Sayer, I always thought that the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” sounded like Sayer’s “I Love You More Than I Can Say”

[discostu]

But the rate at which black people were cheated by the music industry is pretty epic.

[Theoria]

Ray Parker Jr.. key and peele skit...

It Turns Out the “Ghostbusters” Guy Has a Lot More Songs

[Magic Fingers]

The rate at which white people were (and are) cheated by the music industry is pretty epic, too. There is zero chance they would hold off on screwing an artist just because he/she was white.

[Magic Fingers]

“He was also a session guitarist when he as a teenager, and payed on hits like Wants Ads by Honey Cone.”

Yep, he played bass on a friend’s demo session in L.A. decades ago.

[SaxxonWoods]

This happened all the time and all along the way. I played for an artist in the late ‘70’s early 80’s. He got cheated out of a No. 1 hit ranking and learned about it because a connection had access to the actual sales figures, as opposed to the report the public saw. He was signed with WB at the time and went to the president with the evidence.

The president just said, “Relax. You’ll get your No. 1’s when it’s your turn.” He did get 8 eventually.

I know a songwriter who wrote with a new pop star on her first album about 20 years ago. He co-wrote 5 tunes, album was huge hit. She paid him for each of the 5 but shorted him on them all because there was no written contract. Sounds like Parker made the same mistake. He’s still writing and a multimillionaire but he lost about half of that deal.

[SaxxonWoods]

You got it right.

Hunter S. Thompson famously said: “The music business is a shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and whores run free and good men die like dogs.

There’s also a negative side...”

[bleach]

You can’t Change That was a nice track. Ray is now into the Smooth Jazz scene and seems to be doing quite well.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Compounding the insult, “Dancing” went on to win a Grammy for best R&B song.

Incredible when you consider that it was a disco song recorded by one of the whitest guys in the business at the time.

[7thson]

“You make me feel like Manson, gonna stab the night away.”

[discostu]

True but there was an alignment of forces to screw the black people. Especially in the 50s and 60s. There was a lot of “hey that’s a great songs, here’s 10 buck, now we’re gonna have a white guy perform it and watch it go platinum.” Part of it was unwillingness to even try to market black artists, even after it had been proven their music would sell. Pat Boone’s whole career was built on that.

[newfreep]

Isolating the tracks of “Every Breath You Take” - Rick Beato

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VKucZreGwI

A few “ghost vocal tracks” that are buried deep in the mix

Starts around 9:00

Every bomb you make
Every job you take
Every Irish wake
I’ll be watching you

Every wall you build
Everyone you killed
Every grave you filled
All the blood you spilled
I’ll be watching you

[Dr. Sivana]

Part of it was unwillingness to even try to market black artists, even after it had been proven their music would sell. Pat Boone’s whole career was built on that.

Everyone picks on Pat Boone. Sheesh. The Beach Boys stole "Sweet Little Sixteen"'s melody and had a similar "pick of different cities" lyric from Chuck Berry, and were fortunately called on it. The Beatles had no problem covering Chuck Berry tunes (Roll Over Beethoven & Rock 'n' Roll Music, for starters).

Fats Domino made more money off of Pat Boone's covers than his own releases. Pat paid the writing royalties, which is where the real money is.

The record companies had no problem stealing from white musicians as well, which was one reason to keep on making new "teen idols". Replace them as they get wise.

Tommy James' case was extreme, because his label belonged to a mob guy, but is far from unique, when his string of #1s were claimed to be offset by recording and promotional fees. His book was a light and fun read.

But Pat Boone was not a part of that. Fats' release of ain't that a shame had a wide release and made #10. Pat made #1. People heard both records, and bought Pat's.

White performer Del Shannon had a smash #1 and a string of Top 40 hits, and was old enough when he started to fight back when he realized 2% for writing, singing, and playing guitar on the records (minus expenses) was ludicrous. He started his own label, BerLee records, and his old managers, Balk and Michanik sent legal letters to all the record companies saying he couldn't do that, so the stations gave him no air time. A law suit and a cloud of dust later, Del was back with Balk & Micahnik. He lost. And Balk & Michanik were with a SMALL label (BigTop). Imagine what a Dot, Columbia, Mercury or RCA could have done in those days.

If you could go back to that era, you might find that many record buyers preferred Boone's voice to Little Richard's and Fats Domino's. Alan Freed found that out in one survey he took.

Sometimes the covers are better. Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" is not too impressive, The Captain and Tennile's version crafted a great tune and clever lyric into something that is almost the Platonic ideal of a pop music record.

The record companies were the bad guys then. They are the bad guys now. Pat Boone is not a bad guy.

[Hardastarboard]

I have no doubt whatsoever that you are right. The money guys are the devil.

[nickcarraway]

I don’t get how that is a disco song. Yes, it’s about dancing, but it doesn’t sound disco, and no four on the floor drummming.

[nickcarraway]

I will say this. Pat Boone had many hits on the Soul/black music charts. The Beatles, for example, had none.

[discostu]

We pick on Pat Boone because he is the symbol of all this. Nobody is more lily white than him. And he was exactly the guy they wanted to market instead of black people. Hey he probably played fairer than most. I don’t remember him being on the wrong side of any of the myriad lawsuits. But he is the poster boy for white people doing black music. Cause he’s so white.

[Dr. Sivana]

But he is the poster boy for white people doing black music. Cause he’s so white.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Richard Harris and Donna Summers both did MacArthur Park, and Harris is pretty white himself (with messier hair), and his version is over the top Lounge Singer White. Donna Summers' version is Disco Diva Black. Both were huge hits. Both were made mercilessly fun of.

Less than a year after Barbara Streisand (Jewish, but sings 'white' stylistically) scored the #1 song of the entire year with The Way We Were, Gladys Knight and the Pips were not shy about doing their own version less than a year later, and Miss Knight made it her own, scoring a Top 20 hit here, and doing even better overseas.

BTW, I do own Pat Boone's "In a Metal Mood", and found that he made some heavy metal music more accessible to me.

Also note, that Pat Boone was a music "bad boy" without even trying. You can find some pretty filthy lyrics on the FM dial these days, but try finding Pat's #2 hit record "Speedy Gonzales" even on the oldies' station.

[Dr. Sivana]

The Beatles, for example, had none.

Yes, but Paul tried his hand at opera, and with "Wings" scored a lone Beatles' country chart record.