Lloyd Parks
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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I'm slaving everyday for my living --"Slaving" (1972) by Lloyd Parks |
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Lloyd Parks (born 26 May 1948, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae vocalist and bass player.
In the late 1960s, he performed with the Invincibles band (whose members also included Ansell Collins, Sly Dunbar and Ranchie McLean) before teaming up with Wentworth Vernal in The Termites. In 1967, they recorded their first single, "Have Mercy Mr. Percy", and then an album Do the Rocksteady for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label. After recording "Rub Up Push Up" for the Dampa label, Parks and Vernal split up. Parks then briefly joined The Techniques as a replacement for Pat Kelly, recording tracks such as "Say You Love Me", before embarking on a solo career and later starting his own label, Parks. His second single was the classic "Slaving", a moving song about the struggles of a working man. As a solo artist, he recorded a number of songs for Prince Tony Robinson, including "Trenchtown Girl" and "You Don't Care". Some of his best known solo hits include "Officially", "Mafia" (both 1974), "Girl In The Morning" and "Baby Hang Up The Phone" (both 1975).
Parks was a studio bass player, backing many of the reggae artists, including Justin Hinds on Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. He was a member of Skin Flesh and Bones along with Ansell Collins on keyboards, Tarzan on keyboards, and Ranchie MacLean on guitar. This group backed Al Brown on his hit "Here I am Baby", and many other artists. When Skin Flesh and Bones started playing for the Channel One Studios, Parks renamed the band The Revolutionaries. Parks was also a member of Joe Gibbs' house band, The Professionals, performing hits such as Althea & Donna's "Up Town Top Ranking", and in the 1970s he backed artists including Dennis Brown, the Abyssinians, The Itals, The Gladiators, Culture and Prince Far I. In 1974, he founded the We the People Band.
Selected solo album discography
- Officially (1974, Attack)
- Girl In The Morning (1975, Trojan)
- Loving You (1976, Trojan)
- Jeans, Jeans (1985, Tad's)
- What More Can I Do
- Still Officially Yours, The Collection 1970-2004 (2005, Parks Records)
