"Bad Boy" by Ray Parker, Jr.

Song#:  1272
Date:  12/04/1982
Debut:  70
Peak:  35
Weeks:  12
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  After disbanding his group Raydio, Ray Parker, Jr.'s debut solo album became a hit thanks to its #4 title track single "The Other Woman." For a follow-up, his label (Arista) seemed to think it was a good time for a....greatest hits album? Yup. "Greatest Hits," credited only to Ray Parker, Jr., was issued. It included his first solo singles, two new songs, and was filled out with hits from Parker's Raydio days. Yet even though those hits were originally credited to Raydio (or Ray Parker, Jr. & Raydio), there was not one mention of the group on the LP. The former band members were relegated to just individual musician credits. I guess Parker had the right to do this since it was his music, but it sure seems like he and/or Arista decided to erase some history. Kind of a crappy move. But they had records to sell so they lifted this new song from the album as its first single. It stopped just inside the pop Top 40 while reaching #6 at R&B. Oh, the album petered out at #51 pop/#17 R&B and failed to receive any sales certification. Darn.

ReduxReview:  You know, I was never really a fan of Parker. I like a couple of Raydio songs and "The Other Woman," but there was something I just didn't like about him. And the whole "Ghostbusters" fiasco left a bad taste. Whether it was him or Arista (Clive Davis) who decided to completely ignore Raydio for this LP, it just furthers my dislike. As for the music, this jam is okay musically, but the lyrics kill the song. "Break out the leather baby?" "I'll do the dishes baby?" Yeesh.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Parker was an early proponent of music videos and for his song "The Other Woman," he actually made two videos - one performance, one concept. The concept one was horror-based and featured vampires and skeletons around a cemetery and creepy mansion (almost a precursor to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video). However, MTV refused to play the concept video because Parker's girlfriend and the female vampires who turn him into a vampire were white. The channel thought the interracial pairings were too much to show at the time so they opted to only play the performance video.

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