Vicki Abelson's Broadcast: The Road Taken

50 years ago yesterday, Ray Parker Jr. and I were in the same room… well, it was Madison Square Garden, he was 18, playing with Little Stevie Wonder, who was opening for The Stones, and, it was Mick’s birthday. That’s some cool shared history… I, a mere speck in the story am claiming my seat. Today was not quite so historic, yet any time in Ray’s company is a huge treat. Add IIFC Award-Winning Filmmaker, Fran Strine to the mix, whose documentary, Who You Gonna Call, about Ray, just dropped, and well, it gets even more special. We talked about how they met on Fran’s previous doc, Hired Gun, which also featured Ray, and where the idea for WYGC was borne. Ray’s story was just too big to not tell. Known internationally, cross-generation for Ghostbusters, there’s so much more to the story. Growing up in Detroit, police brutality firsthand, playing the clarinet and the sax, how he got his first guitar, and his 10,000 hours before he hit 13 when he had his first big gig with The Spinners. Crazy. Barry White, Marv