RAY PARKER Jr THE OTHER WOMAN Extended Version
Ray Parker's distinctive voice and brilliant guitar playing were part and parcel of the era that saw disco, funk and R&B all have an omnipotent presence in pop culture. As the founder and lead of the soul act Raydio, Ray scored several chart hits, most notably 'Jack & Jill' and You Can't Change That' in 1978 and 1979 respectively. After a less than stellar performance by the next couple of releases, Raydio achieved a huge hit with 'A Woman Needs Love' in 1981. Despite that song's success, Ray quit the group effectively ending Raydio, going solo. His debut set was 'The Other Woman' in 1982 and it is that title track that is the subject of this post and with it, the extended version which has more of the funky vibe of this great song and its excellent backing by Charles Green on the sax, Ollie Brown on percussion and two terrific vocalists on background: Anita Sherman and Lynn Smith.
'The Other Woman' the single was a huge hit for Ray for his very first solo foray: making #4 on the Billboard Pop chart, but here in Australia, we really loved it, sending it all the way to the top, for one solitary week, but it spent 5 months in the chart; 7 weeks in the Top 10 and ending 1982 as the 22nd best seller. This is another song I have rarely listened to over the 40 years since its release, but what a funky joint this is, and the very handsome and charismatic Mr Parker Jr, knew how to sell a song with his cheeky smile and slight swagger. He would use all his personality, but more significantly his musical prowess on the biggest success in his career two years later, with the legendary 'Ghostbusters' theme song. Talk about a smooth operator, only Ray Parker Jr in 1982 could make adultery ok and sexy and fun! Ray was the complete deal musically as a writer, singer, guitarist, drummer, and Producer. He has continued to record sporadically but also produced for other artists, but nothing post 1984 came close to the levels of success he achieved either with Raydio or his early 80's recordings.
I have used a performance on 'Soul Train' and recut it for this extended mix of 'The Other Woman'.