Ray Erskine Parker Jr. was born on the 1st May 1954, in Detroit, Michigan USA, and is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor and producer, probably best known for his hit theme song written for the movie “Ghostbusters” (1984), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Parker also played with his band Raydio (1977-1981) and was associated with Barry White. Being a prominent musician helped him to increase his net worth. He has been active since 1972.
Have you ever wondered how rich Ray Parker Jr. is, as of mid-2016? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Ray Parker’s net worth is as high as $2.5 million. In addition to his successful career in music, he is also a producer and an actor,which efforts have generated more money into his bank account.
Ray Parker Jr. Net Worth $2.5 Million
Ray Parker Jr. is a son of Venolia Parker and Ray Parker Sr. and has a sister Barbara and brother Opelton. He went to Angel Elementary School, where started to play the clarinet at age six, encouraged by Afred T Kirby, his music teacher at the time. He later moved to Cass Tech High School, and graduated from the Northwestern High School, Detroit in 1971. Parker subsequently studied at the Lawrence Institute of Technology.
Parker wanted to leave his mark in music, and he started to play during the late ’60s and even co-wrote his first songs with the legendary Marvin Gaye when was 16. He had a job as a studio musician, and after some excellent performances, Ray moved into professional waters by playing guitar for Stevie Wonder’s funk song “Maybe Your Baby” in 1972. The link with Wonder was a good recommendation for Barry White to hir Parker as a sideman in his The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973. Ray also briefly appeared in the Sidney Poitier movie “Uptown Saturday Night” in 1974.
Ray Parker has written songs for many performers which has endeared him to the music world; the most notable have been The Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Deniece Williams, Rufus and Chaka Khan, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, The Spinners, Boz Scaggs, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Herbie Hancock, and Diana Ross, but among many more too numerous to mention
Together with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael, Parker formed the band called Raydio in 1977, and had a big first single “Jack and Jill”, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their debut, self-titled album released in 1978 went gold, while the following album “Rock On” (1979) reached #4 spot on the R&B chart. The band released another two studio albums – “Two Places at the Same Time” (1980), and “A Woman Needs Love” (1981) which reached the #1 spot on the Billboard chart. With all four albums being certified gold, and millions of records sold, Parker’s wealth significantly increased.
The band broke up in 1981, and Parkers started his solo career and had six Top 40 singles including “The Other Woman” (Pop #4) in 1982 and “Ghostbusters” in 1984. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, but lost out to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You”, but Parker did win a Grammy award in 1984 for the “Ghostbusters” theme. His debut solo album “The Other Woman” (1982), was the only one gold certified, and which reached the top of the R&B charts. “Woman Out of Control” (1983), “Sex and the Single Man” (1985), “After Dark” (1987), “I Love You Like You Are” (1991), and “I’m Free” (2006) were the following albums; most recently Parker appeared on ABC’s “Greatest Hits” in July 2016.
Regarding his personal life, Ray Parker Jr. married Elaine in 1994, and they have four sons. Parker was rewarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014 for his contribution to music.
