Knocky Parker (August 8, 1918,

Palmer, Texas Palmer is a town in Ellis County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 2,393 in 2020. Geography Palmer is located in northeastern Ellis County at (32.429405, –96.669013). Interstate 45 pa ...

– September 3, 1986,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

), born John William Parker, II, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist. He played primarily

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

and

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

. A native of Texas, Parker played in the

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

bands The Wanderers (1935) and the

Light Crust Doughboys The Light Crust Doughboys is an American Western swing band from Texas, United States, organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. ...

(1937–39) before serving in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war he worked with

Zutty Singleton Arthur James "Zutty" Singleton (May 14, 1898 – July 14, 1975) was an American jazz drummer. Career Singleton was born in Bunkie, Louisiana, United States, and raised in New Orleans. According to his ''Jazz Profiles'' biography, his unusual ...

and Albert Nicholas. He became an English professor at Kentucky Wesleyan College and the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. On the side, he played piano with

Tony Parenti Tony Parenti (August 6, 1900 – April 17, 1972) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. After starting his musical career in New Orleans, he had a successful career in music in New York Cit ...

Omer Simeon Omer Victor Simeon (July 21, 1902 – September 17, 1959) was an American jazz clarinetist. He also played soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. Biography The son of a cigar maker, Omer Simeon was born in New Orleans, Louisian ...

and Doc Evans. He recorded albums for Euphonic,

GHB ''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. ...

, Jazzology,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Progressive,

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

Audiophile An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...

and Texstar. At Audiophile, he was one of the first to record all known ragtime pieces by Scott Joplin, excluding " The Silver Swan", which was not discovered at that point. In 1984, he was nominated for a Grammy Award with Big Joe Turner for ''Big Joe Turner with Knocky Parker and His Houserockers''.

Discography

*''In Gay Old New Orleans'' with

Dick Wellstood Richard MacQueen Wellstood (November 25, 1927 – July 24, 1987) was an American jazz pianist. Career He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. Wellstood's mother was a graduate of the Juilliard School who played church organ. Wellst ...

(Progressive, 1950) *''Piano Artistry'' (Audiophile, 1955) *''Old Blues'' (Audiophile, 1958) *''Old Rags'' (Audiophile, 1958) *''The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin'' (Audiophile, 1960) *''The Complete Piano Works of Jelly Roll Morton'' (Audiophile, 1960) * ''The Complete Works of James Scott'' (Audiophile, 1962) *''Golden Treasury of Ragtime'' (Audiophile, 1970) * ''Eight on Eighty Eight'' (Euphonic, 1977) *''Classic Rags and Nostalgia at the Old Town Music Hall'' (Euphonic, 1978) *''From Cakewalk to Ragtime'' (Jazzology, 1979) *''From Ragtime to Ballroom'' (Jazzology, 1979) * ''Knocky Parker and His Cakewalking Jazz Band'' (GHB, 1981) * ''In Gay Old New Orleans'' with

(GHB, 1989) *''The Complete Piano Works of Jelly Roll Morton'' ( Solo Art, 1994) *''The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin'' (Solo Art, 2002) * ''From Cakewalk to Ragtime to Ballroom'' (Solo Art, 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Knocky 1918 births 1986 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians