[5] There is some disagreement over the details of Parker's birth, but most reliable sources now indicate that he was born in March, 1932 at Eastover Plantation near Bobo, Coahoma County, Mississippi.

[2] He sang in gospel groups as a child and, beginning in his teenage years, played on various blues circuits.

There they produced three successful songs with Matt's brother Floyd on electric guitar: "Feelin' Good" (which reached number 5 on the US Billboard R&B chart), "Love My Baby," and "Mystery Train", a cover version of which was recorded by Elvis Presley.

[3] For Presley's version of "Mystery Train", Scotty Moore borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby", played by Pat Hare.

[12] He continued to have a string of hits on the R&B chart, including the smooth "Next Time You See Me" (1957); remakes of Roosevelt Sykes's song "Driving Wheel" (1961), "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo" (1962), Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago", Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do" (1963), and Don Robey's "Mother-in-Law Blues" (1956), plus his own "Stand by Me" (1961).

His next album was released by United Artists Records in 1972, titled I Tell Stories Sad and True, I Sing the Blues and Play Harmonica Too, It Is Very Funky.

or Bobby, Parker smooths his way over the arrangements with the calm of a man who was mellow before the concept existed, at least in its present deracinated form.