Honky – Tonk Man

Musician Ralph Parker’s journey from Madurai’s railway colony to Melbourne’s radio stations is amazing By S. Neeraj Krishna Honky-tonks were bars that served solace to the working class in southern America. To the tired bodies and souls, they offered spiritualism of a heady kind. And the discourse was complete with live music. It came to be known as honky-tonk music, later popularised as country music. Elvis Presley started off with honky-tonk music, before evolving as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. A temple town of India, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, has made an important contribution to country music. It gifted an artiste named Ralph Parker. This Anglo-Indian artiste, now based in the suburbs of Sydney, has carved a niche for himself in the global country music arena. First, he made it big in Australia. And in 2005, he was invited to Nashville in the US to cut an album. Nashville is considered the temple of country music. His classic Anglo-Indian upbringing instilled in him a love for music, says Parker, 57. At the age of 12, he started singing in the choir of a Catholic church in Madurai. It was during this period that Parker was drawn to country music. “In the 60s, American country music was making waves in India through radio stations in Ceylon,” he recalls. “The roots country music of the southern America fascinated me, with the wailing sounds of the steel guitar, the fiddle and the accent of those early singers.” Parker learnt to play the harmonica from his father, who worked with the Southern Railway. He used to be called to play at all railway school concerts. At 14, he started playing the guitar. Next came the clarinet, which he mastered by himself. Parker moved to Pondicherry, after entering government service. He cut his teeth as a musician in this lovely town. “There was a band there whose members were migrating to France. With a few other players from another broken band, we formed this new line-up which we named The Purple Haze.” The band went places between mid 70s and mid 80s. Kevin Noronho, a fellow-member of Purple Haze, gushes about Parker: “He used to be so passionate about music and he used to be creative and innovative. He was a fantastic guy, calm and helpful always. However, he used to be temperamental when it came to music; he was a perfectionist.” American country music artiste Buck Owens, who had 21 Billboard no.1s to his credit, heavily influenced Parker. “He was my idol,” he says. “I sang mostly his songs, so much so I was once titled Buck Owens of south India.” In 1988, Parker migrated to Australia. Hurdles welcomed him. “It was not all roses and sunshine at the start,” he says. “But hey, Indians are enterprising, we are fighters, we don’t give up and we don’t give in.” After ensuring a strong footing, Parker quit the band scene and went solo in 2005. He struck gold with his maiden album-a tribute to his icon, Buck Owens, who died that year. The Melbourne radio station went electric over it. Says Parker: “People wanted to buy the album, they wanted it to be played over and over on radio. This led to radio interviews and shows.” His adherence to “roots music” paid off well. His renditions were not adulterated with contemporary styles, thus giving the listener a feel of the old-school honky-tonk music. “Ralph Parker would fit comfortably into the genre of the country singers of the 1950s and the early 60s,” says Dr Romesh Mani, a connoisseur of country music. “He is spot-on with timing and pitch, and he pulls off the Texas/Tennessee accent perfectly.” The high point in Parker’s career came when a DJ from Bangalore sent his albums to a producer in the US. Nashville came calling: “The next thing I knew was getting an email from a producer named T. Jae Christian [a popular artiste himself] of Universal Sound Records telling me to pack my bags for USA.” Says Christian, who liked Parker’s traditional élan: “I was delighted with his vocal performances, and knew right away that I could record a great album with him in Nashville.” Parker recorded in a studio named Sound Control, where popular artistes such as Garth Brooks, Tanya Tucker, George Jones and Porter Wagoner have recorded their albums. And to his utmost joy, the sound engineer who recorded Parker’s tracks was a former guitarist of Buck Owens. The album-A High Price (for low livin’)-was an instant hit. Parker’s tracks rejuvenate weary bodies and minds. Tracks to which one can fix a drink perhaps and whistle away in a jiffy. Even a first-time listener can connect with the simple lyrics. Here are a few samples: Some Fools Some fools hang on when they know that love’s gone. They’ll cling to a memory for years… Some fools start drinking to keep them from thinking. It must help them fight backs the tears… And some fools don’t ever get over the pain of lovin’ somebody so strong… And some fools deal with their misery by singing these sad country songs… Thinkin’ about the good times I met her at the dance last week, she was such a pretty sight… We got into the mood for things that went on through the night… And I am just thinkin’ about the good times we had… Parker has fans all over the world. His albums have been going places. “High Price is an awesome album. The songs are of my favourite style in sounds and words. His songs are on my chart,” says Tom Kawai, a DJ in Japan. “Ralph Parker is great! He is a fantastic musician and knows what good music is,” comments Radio Tuetoburger Wald, Germany. When not crooning or composing, Parker is immersed in derivatives and foreign exchange trade. His wife, Alma (an Anglo-Indian), and sons Fabian and Ricky, who are also into music now, are of great encouragement, he says. Parker says he still is closely bonded to India, and often reminisces the good times he had here. He occasionally visits the country to meet his relatives. And something he simply cannot do without is south Indian food. Ghee roast, vada, sambhar and coconut chutney are his favourites, he says. Well, from the railway colony in Madurai to the radio stations in Melbourne, life has indeed been an exciting journey for Parker. And he is lovin’ it. The lyrics of one of his songs say it all: “I am a honky-tonk man, and I don’t seem to stop….”