Robert Parker

Saxman and singer Robert Parker was one of the originals in postwar New Orleans R&B and rock & roll, his career starting out right alongside the likes of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Born in New Orleans in 1930, he took up the saxophone as a teenager and in 1949 was playing behind Professor Longhair, including on his hit "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" that year. Over the next decade, he played with Domino, Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Earl King, Eddie Bo, Frankie Ford, and Huey "Piano" Smith, among many others. He signed as a solo act with Ace in 1958 and cut his debut single, ...