In the mid-'90s, Detroit blues guitarist and songwriter Kenny Parker released his debut album for the London-based JSP Records, Raise the Dead. Parker's blues education began with the Beatles in the early 1960s, but it wasn't long before he discovered the roots of their music. Parker grew up in Albion, Michigan and began playing in his first band, the Esquires, at 14. He begin listening to Albert King and B.B. King in high school via the local record store, and he took his inspiration from them. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1976 and took a job in a Cadillac factory while looking around for the right opportunities to play blues at night. He began working with a paragon of the Detroit scene, Mr. Bo (Louis Bo Collins), and later joined the Butler Twins.
While Parker toured Europe with the Butler Twins, JSP founder John Stedman heard him and decided to sign him up for his own recording. The Butler Twins accompany Parker on his debut recording, and he's also backed by harp master Darrell Nulisch, best known for his work with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets. The Butler Twins and Nulisch contribute vocals on Parker's Raise the Dead, and since Parker doesn't consider himself a singer, his guitar playing takes center stage. ~ Richard Skelly, Rovi
