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Biography |
| Arnold Parker was born January 25, 1936 in Cuero, Texas. He started trying to sing about the same time he was trying to talk. One of the first places he sang in public was when he stood on a table in the Primitive Baptist Church in Stratton, Texas where he grew up. Arnold would sing about anywhere that he could find someone willing to listen. He would sing at local functions in the area. He played with two groups, mainly for fun, during high school. In 1953, "The Southernaires" were a popular South Texas dance band. About the time Arnold graduated from high school, at the age of 17, he joined the group as the featured vocalist and the band continued to gain in popularity in the South Texas area. In 1956, Arnold and "The Southernaires" recorded a rock and roll song entitled "Find a New Woman", released on Starday records. The song played very well in the area where the group was known. Also, that same year, Arnold and the band made their first appearance on the "Louisiana Hayride". |
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Arnold received a good reception, was called back for an encore and was also asked to come back the following Saturday night. Arnold made several more appearances on the Hayride, but because the dance band was doing so well in Texas, he didn't pursue becoming a regular on the show. In February, 1957, Arnold's life took a big change. It was then he met Jeanette Catherine Wendt in El Campo, Texas. All of a sudden, the big time music business didn't seem so important anymore. In about three months, Arnold quit the dance band and in August of 1957, he and Jeanette were married. The couple lived in Dallas for approximately 1-1/2 years. During that time Arnold made one TV appearance and one more appearance on the "Big 'D' Jamboree" in Dallas. |
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Some More History |
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After they folded up the Mustangs band in 1973, Arnold figured at that time he was through entertaining in public and he was for a lot of years. He went back to work in the oil industry for a service company and devoted his spare time to his family. He watched his five children involved in all sports and the high school band.
This is the way things went until early 1999 when a friend sent Arnold a tape he had copied off a brand new rockabilly CD released in London, England. The song was "Find a New Woman", the original recording Arnold had recorded with the Southernaires in 1956. This stirred up a lot of curiosity and excitement in the Parker family. Some of his children started checking on the Internet and found Arnold's name listed with the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and also found out the same original recording with Arnold singing, had been released five other times in the past few years, two times in England, two times in the Netherlands, once in Germany and one more time in the United States. This gave Arnold a great feeling of satisfaction, feeling that he had accomplished something in the music business. Although, after a lot of telephone calls and a lot of letter writing, he was unable to secure any monetary benefits from these releases. However, all the excitement in the family rekindled a desire in Arnold to go back on the stage. He also realized he had grandchildren that had never seen him perform. He now entertains on the Country Opry stage shows that have become so popular in Texas. Today he sings mostly traditional country music; but, every now and then, the urge is too strong and he just has to do a "rockabilly" song - he is happy. The Parkers |
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Thanks, Arnold |
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