Ray Parker Jr. On The New Film “Who You Gonna Call: The Ray Parker Jr. Story,” Motown & More

You most likely know Ray Parker Jr. as the artist who wrote and recorded the title track to the film Ghostbusters, but you probably don’t know his his back story and what it took for him to get there. From the streets of Detroit to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Parker’s journey is one you won’t believe. And that journey is documented within the new documentary Who You Gonna Call: The Ray Parker Jr. Story, as helmed by award-winning director and producer Fran Strine of Hired Gun fame.

Spoiling a bit of Who You Gonna Call: The Ray Parker Jr. Story for you, few people have played on as many hit albums as Ray Parker Jr. As an in-demand guitarist, songwriter and session player, his musical credits included thousands of albums. In turn, that extensive list of credits includes Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Erykah Badu, Cher, B.B. King, The Carpenters, Barry White, Bill Withers, New Edition, and Run-DMC. He got his start around the Motown scene as a teenager and achieved success as a solo artist both before and after the earlier-mentioned Ghostbusters theme.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ray Parker Jr. by phone on April 17, 2020 about Who You Gonna Call: The Ray Parker Jr. Story, his history as a session player, being friends with many of the greats, which artist he still hopes to work with, and more. The full interview is embedded below for your listening pleasure. More on Parker and Who You Gonna Call can be found at www.rayparkerjr.com.

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Tags: Calabasas, Detroit, Fran Strine, Ghostbusters, Kim Kardashian, Motown, prince, Ray Parker Jr.

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."