Gino or Geno Parks (born Gene Purifoy, 26 June 1933) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

R&B singer who recorded for several labels, including

Tamla Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

He was born in

Fairfield, Alabama Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 11,117 at the 2010 census. History This city was founded i ...

, and in his teens sang with several

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

groups including the Harmony Four, the Five Spirituals, and the Evangelistic Gospel Choir. He attended

Miles College Miles College is a private historically black college in Fairfield, Alabama. Founded in 1898, it is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME Church) and a member of the United Negro College Fund. History Miles College bega ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, before moving to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in late 1954. Bill Dahl, ''Motown: The Golden Years'', Krause Publications, 2011, pp.289-291
/ref> He soon met singer and songwriter

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

, joining Williams in his group the Five Dollars, and then Williams' New Group, who had a no.9 R&B hit single in 1956 with "Bacon Fat". He and Williams then performed as a duo, and recorded for

Fortune Records Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off ...

. In 1960, Parks signed for

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

, and was first credited on "Blibberin' Blabberin' Blues", an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing ...

' "

Yakety Yak "Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This ...

", in 1961. This was followed by "That's No Lie", released on the

label, and then "For This I Thank You"/"Fire" in 1962. He then moved to

Golden World Records Golden World Records was a record label owned by Eddie Wingate and Joanne Bratton (née Jackson, former wife of boxing champion Johnny Bratton). The recording studio was located in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The studio's national hits incl ...

, also in Detroit, releasing "Talkin' About My Baby"/"My Sophisticated Lady" in 1966. The following year he recorded "Nerves of Steel", produced by Raynoma and Eddie Singleton for the Crazy Horse label, and also recorded with

Frances Nero Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul music, soul and jazz singer. She recorded for Motown after winning their 1965 talent contest and had a UK hit single in 1991 with "Footsteps Following Me". ...

as a duo. Parks left the music business in 1968, and worked for the

Atlanta Life Insurance Company The Atlanta Life Financial Group was founded by Alonzo Herndon in Atlanta, Georgia. Born into slavery, he started in Atlanta as a young barber, eventually owning three shops. He became Atlanta's richest African American and a highly successful ...

, initially in Detroit and later in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In the meantime, his records became popular among the UK's northern soul followers. After his retirement, Parks returned to occasional performance. He appeared at the 24th

Blues Estafette Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

festival in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2003, and at the

Ponderosa Stomp The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic K ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 2013.Artist Direct, "Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference Schedule Revealed", 30 July 2013
Retrieved 4 October 2013

References

External links

Gino Parks at Discogs.comGino Parks at Allmusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Gino 1933 births Living people Motown artists Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama People from Fairfield, Alabama Northern soul musicians Eastlawn Records artists