Larry and the Loafers Return! November 11th 2011 in Birmingham

Those who are fortunate enough to have met him know that Larry Parker is always glad to autograph a copy of one of his records.  Above his signature he writes "Rock & Roll Forever" and you'd better believe he means every word!

He'll be debuting newly reformed Larry and the Loafers at Workplay in Birmingham on Friday November 11th.  Treat yourself to tickets for Hangout with Larry and the Loafers on line at http://www.workplay.com/



In 1960 Larry Parker's band, Larry and the Loafers took an unusual approach to grabbing their place in rock and roll history. They scored a hit on Birmingham radio before they ever recorded a record. It was called Panama City Blues and it premiered on WIXI AM-1480 radio in Irondale where Larry was working as a DJ.

Soon other radio stations began calling to find out where they could get a copy of the record all the kids were calling in to request. Faced with this fortunate predicament Larry immediately negotiated a Reed Records release with Homer Milam but it was still over a month before copies of Panama City Blues were available. In an October 2011 interview, Larry talks about how this first version of Panama City Blues came about.



Larry had a hit song and now he needed some trousers for his group of young rock and roll stars.  The Birmingham Liberty factory was making some pegged pants called Skeets that were just the thing for outfitting Larry and the Loafers.  Larry needed some skeets and Liberty needed a commercial that would inspire their teenage customers.   So Larry and the Loafers recorded "Skeets are Neat" that became a hit on its own.   Check it out on YouTube and don't miss Larry in his custom-made Skeets with gold and sliver threads!



Over his career Larry has has recorded on Heart Records, Ed Boutwell Studios in Birmingham, with musicians Ronnie Eades, Barry Beckett, Glen Lane, and the ‘Roulettes’, Bill Lowery and Master Sounds Studio in Atlanta where he wrote and recorded “Let’s Go to the Beach” (co-written by Emery Gordy who later produced for the group Alabama and played with the Atlanta band ‘St. John and the Cardinals’, and Fame Recording Studio in Memphis with producer Sonny Limbo where he joined the ‘Hombres’, Booker T. Jones, and the ‘Memphis Strings’ and recorded “Sunshine” and “Paper Man”.  His songs have been reissued on a number of collector compilations including The Best Of Greasy Rock 'N' Roll, Teenage Time and The Big Itch.


Check out Larry and the Loafers official website: http://www.larryandtheloafers.com/
Larry Parker's complete bio is here http://www.alabamamusicoffice.com/artists-a-z/p/866-parker-larry-larry-and-the-loafers
Check out the more of the interview with Larry at Alabama Music Office's YouTube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/alabamamusicoffice
 
Special thanks to Larry Parker and Birmingham Record Collectors.