Parker had played keyboards, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and a number of other instruments from an early age, and entered the music industry as a session musician by the 1960s.

[2] In the intervening time, he associated with a number of groups, including The Mark Leeman 5, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds and Eric Burdon with the New Animals.

[1][4] The single rose to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. None of their subsequent efforts was as successful, and they broke up in 1973.

"Joy" has been featured on the soundtracks of the films Boogie Nights,[5] One Day in September[4] and The 40-Year-Old Virgin,[6] as well as the television series The Man Who Fell to Earth.

[7] While not featured on the Battle of the Sexes soundtrack, the song is heard during a scene in the film and is cited in the end credits.