4 months ago
40
On Sunday, February 23, veteran singer Ken Parker should celebrate his 83rd birthday. However, Parker and his wife, who have been living in Florida for many years, were involved in an accident last Sunday, which has left him fighting for life and hooked up to a life-support machine. There are plans to take him off the machine by Sunday.
Christine Wilson, a spokesperson for Parker and his wife, told The Sunday Gleaner that Parker has been in a coma since the accident. His wife, who was in intensive care, is no longer critical but remains hospitalised.
“Ken and Rose were on their way home from church last Sunday when he had a seizure. Ken was driving ... and the car crashed into a lamppost and went over the side. It was just around the corner from their home. They had to cut Ken out of the car, but Rose managed to get out … with great difficulty. She was in the IC with broken ribs, hand, etc. She called me earlier this week, and we cried and prayed on the phone and said she was not going to turn off the machine until we all get there,” Wilson, who lives in England, told The Sunday Gleaner.
Parker and his wife, whose closeness Wilson described as being “like twins”, are being cared for in the same hospital in Ft Lauderdale.
“She has been to see him at his bedside. They are both church people, and the church members had a big prayer vigil for him,” Wilson said, adding that Parker has been focused on doing gospel music.
Wilson shared that she and Rose have known each other for decades and that when Rose – who is originally from the Midlands in England – was migrating to America with Ken, they made a pact to put away some money that they could use for airfare if either one needed to be by the other’s side in a jiffy.
“But I didn’t know that it would come to this,” Wilson said through tears. “The doctors want to turn off the machine by Sunday the latest … and I can’t be there for my friends. And Sunday is Ken’s birthday. I called Rose this morning, but she couldn’t speak because she was in so much pain … but I spoke to the doctor and he told me to tell Sophie to come now ... so that is serious,” Wilson lamented.
Sophie is Ken’s stepdaughter – and Rose’s daughter – who lives in England. Wilson shared that “most of Ken’s family is in the US … including his children”.
‘A NICE GUY’
Veteran producer Winston ‘Niney’ Holness remembers Ken Parker very well.
“Ken is a nice guy ... a mi bredren. Him sing a whole heap a tune ... nuff tunes ... like Yesterday... I produced songs with him for Joe Gibbs,” Holness shared with The Sunday Gleaner even as he sang the entire verse and the chorus for Yesterday. “Bwoy ... I’m really very, very sorry to hear that about Ken. Him did become a big churchman. I really hope him pull through.”
Like many of the singers during that period, Ken Parker, whose real name is Kenneth Farquharson, got his start by singing in church, where his father was a preacher.
Born in Darliston, Westmoreland, in 1942, he first recorded in the 1960s, and according to his Wikipedia bio, he formed a group called the Blues Benders in the mid-1960s. Their first recording was Honeymoon by the Sea.
The story is that the Blue Benders had arranged to audition for producer Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, but due to a misunderstanding, Parker was the only member to turn up. He impressed Dodd with his solo audition, and the producer took him under his wings to launch his music career.
“Ken is known for having a voice as sweet as Slim Smith’s. His tunes are well-loved, especially here in the UK,” Dids Myrie, a music insider who travels between the UK and the US, told The Sunday Gleaner.
It was during his Studio One days with Coxsone Dodd that Parker recorded singles such as Choking Kind, Run Come, and the immensely popular My Whole World is Falling Down. His album had a distinct gospel flair. It was titled Keep Your Eyes on Jesus.
It was with producer Duke Reid that Parker churned out hits such as Jimmy Brown, Help Me Make it Through the Night, and Kiss an Angel Good Morning.
As his popularity increased, Ken recorded for other producers such as Joe Gibbs ( Only Yesterday); Bunny Lee ( Guilty); Rupie Edwards ( Talk About Love), Byron Lee ( Will the Circle be Unbroken); and Lloyd Charmers ( Queen Majesty).
Again, like a lot of singers of that era, Parker experienced disillusionment with the music industry and stopped recording. He relocated to England in 1973, and that was where he met his wife Rose, who was living in London at that time, having moved from the Midlands.
The couple subsequently moved to Florida, settling down in Margate, Ft Lauderdale. Parker established his own Pisces Records label and made gospel music his mainstay.
In April 2014, he performed at a sold-out show at the International Ska and Reggae Festival in London alongside other headline acts such as Horace Andy, Derrick Morgan, and Keith & Tex.
English (US) ·