Jim Parker (composer)

Jim Parker (born 1934) is a British composer.

Career

After graduating as a silver medallist at the Guildhall School of Music, Parker played with leading London orchestras and chamber groups as well as being a key part of The Barrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band. This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacacofiddle, a home made sort of double bass with knobs on, played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly played oboe and cor anglais..

Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman to music; the recordings, in which the poet recited his own words and the composer conducted a small group of musicians, have continued to be held in high regard by listeners and critics. These and subsequent records, including Captain Beaky, with words by Jeremy Lloyd, which topped the charts as both a single and album, led to work in television as well as in London West End theatres, where Parker has had three musicals produced. The most successful of these was "Follow the Star", with book and lyrics by Wally K Daly. It was originally produced at Chichester and was directed by Wendy Toye.

James Parker

James or Jim Parker may refer to:

Arts and entertainment

Military

Politics

Jim Parker (footballer)

Jonathan "Jim" Parker was an English professional footballer from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire who played as a central defender.

References

Jim Parker (American football)

James Thomas "Jim" Parker (April 3, 1934 – July 18, 2005) was an American football player. He played college football at Ohio State University from 1954 to 1956 and in the National Football League (NFL) with the Baltimore Colts from 1957 to 1967. Parker was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

College career

Parker played his first three years of high school football in Macon, Georgia, but then moved north to play his senior season for Scott High School in Toledo, Ohio, graduating in 1953. He was recruited to play as a guard for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1954 to 1956, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines. Parker was known for his size, strength and quickness, and these talents, used for clearing a path for running backs, helped demonstrate the feasibility of head coach Woody Hayes' three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense—an offensive philosophy that had been questioned as suitable for big-time college football. Due in part to Parker, Hayes won his first national championship in 1954.