As awesome as Ray is, this comment is for Tim: Kudos to you for giving Ray the space to tell these stories. Knowing when not to interrupt is the number one attribute of a good interviewer. I get the sense that you were as fascinated as we were though. GREAT job!

Wow! This is one of my favourite episodes already! These kind of next level talents are what make your channel so amazing Tim!

The only thing I ever knew about Ray Parker Jr was that Ghost Busters song, never would have guessed in a million years that he was a guitarist and could play this good. Learn something new every day.

I'm a 59 year old white dude and I have loved Ray and his God given talents since I was a kid in the 1970's. God bless Ray Parker Jr.

Add Ray Parker Jr. to my list of guitar heros. What an awesome man.

I had no idea Ray Parker Jr. was such an accomplished guitar player. I thought he was known for his vocals. That man has some pipes!

You have the best guests man, I loved this!

Ray Parker: Who ya gonna call? Huey Lewis: My lawyer.

These Motown stories are incredible for younger Metro Detroit musicians like myself. Should be archived.

This was AWESOME ! What impresses me most about you Tim is you have NO EGO You are so DAMN GOOD and TALENTED and you invite guests on, brag on them, give them credit for what they've done and expose other to them. You are a GREAT guy! THANK YOU for what you do for your craft!

Ray is so underrated. He is unsung. He was a Motown session genius. His solo career with Raydio was epic too.

What a great interview Tim! Ray parker seems such a cool cat - and what a history!! Playing with James Jameson as a kid. Far out...

He’s so lucky he had great parents! They raised a legend!!

His acoustic version of Stevie's "Creepin" at the end of this is amazing!! I'm so glad Ray is getting more respect as a musician & audio guru (which I had no idea). True gem of a musician in all forms.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I see that eight people put a thumbs down on this interview... what an amazing player as well as a person. Thanks for the history lesson, it was truly enjoyable.

That dude's right hand has crazy solid timing. He's right in the pocket.

Ray Parker is definitely one of my favorite artists of all time. He has always been extremely talented and under the radar. But he is a cool dude!

The cool thing about an episode like this, is that we get to know more about an artist we knew very little of, and get to respect him for the body of work that he has and his talent, beyond just Ghostbusters. Love it.

Man, Ray was GROOVIN' in that intro! You could tell by his body movement & facial expressions he was loving it! GREAT player, great interview. Thanks, Tim!!! ️🎸👍

Never knew Ray Parker even played an instrument ! He is a monster on guitar; played for Spinners, Marvin Gaye - way before Ghostbusters. My favorite episode so far.

Absolutely fascinating story Ray tells. It should be a movie. I mean come on Ghostbusters song is basically folk-music at this point!!

Oh my God this is classic! The James Jamerson story is hilarious!

I could spend the whole weekend listening to liner notes or back stories of artists.

I got to meet and hang out with Ray Parker Jr. In Michigan at the River Raisin Jazz festival in Monroe. What a real cool guy , got some pics with him and I will never forget it because it was uncommonly cold on that day in August. He was wearing a T shirt!...We talked and shivered! What a great band he had with him! Hes a legend , truly.

Tim, you are an excellent LISTENER! You let your guests do the talking!

Tim is stunned just like most of us here.Great job Tim.I had no idea Ray is the one who played on all our favorite tunes on the radio.✌💪💪

Bohannon!!! He is a classic in my family! "Let's Start The Dance" is our family theme song.

I had the pleasure to meet Ray about 40 years ago when I worked the counter at an LA guitar shop in the mid-late 70's during his "Raydio" days. He was very humble and approachable then and clearly fame & fortune haven't changed him.

After this interview, I went to Qobuz and bought a bunch of Ray Parker music ! Having a blast with those funky grooves, and unapologetic sense of humor.

This is really cool. Thanks for having him, Tim. He is something else. I'm so glad you did a vid with him.

5:15 My exact experience with the trumpet in high school. First chair--the whole nine. .........couldn't solo to save my LIFE!!! Picked up the guitar and keyboards...and the music just flowed. Why? Because all of the notes are RIGHT THERE!!! Patterns even. Wind instruments were too esoteric--the same fingerings for different notes--too much mental math getting in the way of the expression. I suppose that's why some horn players close their eyes when soloing. At least for the way my mind worked, having all the notes right before me and all I had to do was see the patterns and pick the notes....BOOM! 💡

Wow. Thanks Tim for capturing this piece of History. What's not to love about Ray Parker Junior? Definitely an American National Treasure.

I could listen to this all the day.

Man, this is too good. I'm from Detroit, and hearing personal stories about the Funk Brothers, the Snake Pit, the 20 Grand Club, Latin Quarter... those clubs are legendary around here. Thanks Tim for posting this.

Ray Parker Jr. is a self-effacing music giant who has lived a full life filled with love and success. This is a fantastic interview that warms one's heart (all 3 parts).

What an AMAZING musician and human being. He'll forever go down in history for his famous GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

My fav episode by far ...double treat, Ray and Tim. Thank you Tim

Ray is an incredible living legend!!! He obviously made up the $800 for the sax!!! "That's all I could do was read." What an incredible statement! I'm sure that was a major advantage that he had over a lot of guitarists at that time regarding session work! Getting sooo much playing experience with LEGENDS at such as early age was huge as was being a part of music history!!!

Hearing these stories is really one of the greatest gifts of this youtube thing.

This is absolutely amazing wow!

Awesome interview! Can’t wait for the next 2 parts.

Amazing history lesson . Had no idea of his amazing history. Looking forward to Parts two and three !!

When I first started playing I thought being good was about how fast you could shred. This guy is a perfect example of years of perfecting technique, that sounded incredible.

I can remember back in the late 70s hearing about Ray Parker Jr. And his amazing "funk" or what they called "percolator" guitar!

What a cool interview, one of my idols!!!!!

Wow!! What a guitarist. His feel and timing are unreal.

Great interview! Heavy cat indeed. Didn’t realize. Cool story with him and Jamerson.

Thanks for posting this, Tim! Ray is an amazing musician, and I remember working with him back in the early 2000s, when we hired him, along with Dean Parks, for a session. He had so many stories to tell, we needed to extend our Studio time! But it was well worth it... 👍😎

The Past & One Sided Love Affair are my favorite songs of Ray Parker Jr.

Ray came to UK to record my sons' band Delays in a studio in Farnham. He played Ghostbusters on my acoustic sat in my front room. Told me that Leo Sayer's manager heard him playing a riff in a studio and unknown to Leo he ripped it off for 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing'. Leo gave him royalties on his next 2 albums to make up for it. Said it made him feel sick every time he heard the song. Re Ghostbusters he said it cost him 30000000 dollars but was no 1 in about 80 countries! Really nice easy going guy and mega talented. Never used the recordings he produced though☺

Tim thank you a million times for this interview. We desperately needed this. Young people watching this video you are looking at a legend. You are also hearing history. This man owned the pocket and has set the bar so high for guitar playing and becoming a studio musician. Ray Parker Jr is the authority. One of the few jewels we have left who was connected to Detroit and the magic that came from that city and musical era.

That Ghostbusters riff is hypnotic - it’s been lodged in my brain all day. It looks easy, but getting the rhythm right is really quite difficult.

When I was about 16 years old I went to the Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque New Mexico to hear Stevie Wonder. A night that changed my life. Lydia Pense and Cold Blood opened the show. I'd never heard of them, but I was floored! Anyway,.... while waiting around outside in the parking lot, I saw a guy with a walkie talkie out there and I went up and asked him "what time does the show start"? and a bunch of other questions like "I'll bet the show's going to be great! Do you think he'll play this song and that song, etc"... He was so cool and NEVER told me he was in the band! As soon as Stevie Wonder band came on stage, I was like "THATS THE GUY!"... I never forgot Ray Parker Jr. I had the opportunity to tell him that story many many years later at his studio in LA. What a guy!

Talk about "underrated"? Ray really is a genuine unsung hero, a hidden legend even.

I had no clue Ray Parker Jr. is so talented, and started so young. He has an amazing story.

I gotta tell ya Tim, I really enjoy you and your channel. I’m a very simple guitar player. I’m by no means an accomplished guitarist or a guitar geek. I find a lot of channels like yours hard to enjoy if you’re not into the technical aspects of music and guitar playing. But even with your amazing technical skills and knowledge you do an amazing job of making your videos enjoyable to the common basic guitar player or music fan. Keep doing what you’re doing!

Ray is the coolest! Smiles the whole way through...such an astonishing musician.

What a great player Ray is with such rhythm and hooks forever!

And the stevie outro- fantastic interview. M

Tim, this is golden content I never realized, like so many, how much Ray had contributed to the music industry ! Thank you for letting him tell his story. I knew he was a well respected musician, but didn't know how deep he really was in the Motown scene, and how much his sound was woven through the Motown era.

Jesus, I never realized he was this prolific of a guitar player and a session genius at such an early age.

His stories are crying out to be made into a film! Throughly loved listening to this.

Loved this, thank you Tim! My favorite song by Ray will always be Jack and Jill. We had a High School group in 1978 and won the talent show with that amazing tune! It was such a great time. Thank you Ray!

Awesome!!!!

Wow what an interesting and talented guest Tim; Imagine if I only knew about him in 86'...amazing 35 years later I'm just discovering him, because of your great video, Thanks so much!!!

I had no idea he was a guitarist let alone having that kind of history! Thanks! I loved this episode.

I could listen to this all day :-)

Ray Parker Jr ha not been on my radar since I was a kid. After that awesome guitar intro, ..I realise how much I missed! Thank you so much for this episode.

I love that he played Creepin' at the end! What a great tune!

Astonishing interview! Ray is so real and down to earth and his early life as a session guitarist is amazing. Oh yeah, how about his feel and pocket? Can't wait for Part 2 and 3! Thanks Tim.

I was on a Fender Factory tour in August of 2014 and the place was buzzing because it was rumoured that Ray was there checking out some gear in a private room. I sure wish I could have confirmed it. The Fender guys weren’t talking though. LOL. Great video Tim, Ray has some fantastic history to share and I look forward to the rest of the interview videos. Thanks!!!!

Wonderful interview, nice to see Ray after all these years. Ghostbusters tune still with me 😎✌🏻

Wow! Amazing stuff, playing with all those guys at 15!

What a great interview!! Thanks so much, Tim Pierce!! Love this channel. Let us know when the new episodes are available.

Holy cow. I'll confess I only knew of Ray from GB. Wow, mind blown & humble pie consumed.

Man, amazing video that I thought couldn’t get better, then it ended with that unexpected and beautifully intimate bit of playing by Ray…perfect

Hey man, I just wanted to thank you. Your show is great and this episode with Mr Parker is incredible. Again, thank you!

Oh boy. I'm a Metal / Rock'n Roll guy, but this is pure gold. Thank you so much for this story. Rays story is very similar to all the old blues guys. Amazing.

I am so glad I got to see this interview. I picked up some guitar-playing tips. I got a musical history lesson. Ray is a great storyteller. His mentioning Hamilton Bohannon, what a blast from the past. Hamilton Bohannon's music was popular in NYC back in the 70s when I was a kid. I did not know he had Motown roots. I saw the other two parts and they were great also.

Ending with a gorgeous rendition of the amazing Stevie Wonder. Loved that!

This is what I love about the you tube era. I am sitting here on rainy morning expecting nothing special from the day and then boom - this video!!!! I will walk around with a smile on my face the whole day and keep this on the top of my playlist. What a man, what an energy what a story - just awesome.

Finding this a year later. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Thanks Tim!

I could listen to Ray talk all day.

That was simply brilliant

In a word, fantastic. I wish I was Ray Parker Jr...

Holly Smokes! What a fantastic guy! I had always see his name on the Ghost Busters stuff but had no idea just how deep this guy goes! He has played on every record I listened to when growing up! Motown in those days was tops - and he was on all of it! Thank you Ray and thank you Tim!!!

WAW ! Ghostbusters was one of my favorite songs when i was a kid. Never knew more to Ray Parker jr than this. And of course, i never imagined that this guy is such a talented guitarist! Thx so much for this video. Can't wait to see the upcoming ones!!!

His song The Other Woman is great, one of my favorites. You can tell he's got chops on that one and I had no idea about his Motown work. So interesting.

I could listen to Ray talk for a year.

This is one of my favorite episodes. Seriously good. Love the personal family stories. Too funny!

This was a blessing to see another incredible individual that inspired me to create music. Thank you!

18:54 Creepin' is so cool man! Infectious only then had I realized it was missing from my Stevie chill play list and immediately bought it! Now to play it...

Guy could riff like this for 3 years straight, and I'd listen.

This is such an amazing interview, I’ve seen it multiple times.

This whole trilogy of videos with Ray is outstanding Tim! Thank you so much for posting this wonderful content. I actually didn't know about Ray at all but man, what an inspiration! He seems like a really cool person too - especially his attitude toward work and family. That's a rare thing. Then the fact that he can play like that is just wow!

This made my Saturday morning.

Wow! Great stories. Great musician.

OMG!!! Ray’s right hand is absolutely spectacular!!!!! I’d give my left hand to have his right!!!! Amazing video once again Tim!!!

Could listen to him all day..new found respect for his musiciandship

Outstanding episode Mr. Pierce.The great Mr. Parker is indeed a real living legend.Thanks to you both.