[4] Over the next few years, he also played lead guitar with Bo Diddley (including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show)[3] and toured with Paul Williams, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, and the Everly Brothers.

The B-side, "You Got What It Takes", also written by Parker, was later recorded for Motown by Marv Johnson, but with the songwriting credited to Berry Gordy, Gwen Fuqua, and Roquel Davis.

It was later covered by several British acts including the Spencer Davis Group,[4] Manfred Mann, Dr. Feelgood, Steve Marriott, Adam Faith, and also by Carlos Santana,[3] and was performed by the Beatles in concerts during 1961 and 1962.

The song's guitar riff inspired the introduction to the Beatles' 1964 hit single "I Feel Fine",[9] and, according to John Lennon, also provided the basis for "Day Tripper".

[11] With the success of the song, both in the United States and overseas, he toured the UK in 1968 and recorded his next single, "It's Hard But It's Fair" produced by Mike Vernon and released on Blue Horizon.

[citation needed] On January 1, 2012, Parker's "Watch Your Step" sound recording became Public Domain in Europe, due to the 50 year copyright law limit in the EU.