John Parr

Last updated

John Parr
John Parr 2011 Acoustic Festival of Great Britain.jpg
Parr performing in 2011
Background information
Birth nameJohn Stephen Parr
Born (1952-11-18) 18 November 1952 (age 71) [1]
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Origin Sherwood Forest, England
Genres Rock
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass guitar
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active1964–present
Website www.johnparr.net

John Stephen Parr (born 18 November 1952) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, best known for his 1985 single "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", charting at No.1 in the US and No.6 in the UK, and for his 1984 US No.6 rock single "Naughty Naughty". [2] He has written and performed ten major motion picture theme songs, including the themes for Three Men and a Baby and The Running Man . Parr was nominated for a Grammy award for "St. Elmo's Fire" in 1985. [3]

Contents

Career

"Naughty Naughty" was Parr's first US Top 40 hit record, reaching No.23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. In 1985, Parr toured with his band "The Business" supporting Toto, his first show with Toto at Carowinds Paladium (Charlotte, North Carolina), and playing 10,000-seat venues across America. [4] By the end of the tour, David Foster asked Parr to record a song for the film St. Elmo's Fire. Parr and Foster wrote "St. Elmo's Fire" in honour of wheelchair athlete and activist Rick Hansen; it became the theme to St. Elmo's Fire [5] (a "Brat Pack" film unrelated to Hansen's life or achievements). [6]

Parr later wrote "Under a Raging Moon" with Julia Downes for Roger Daltrey, [6] a song that paid tribute to Keith Moon and told the story of the Who.

Parr was soon singing with Marilyn Martin on the song "Through the Night", from the Quicksilver soundtrack (1986). Parr wrote and produced further tracks for Martin's debut album, including the hit "Night Moves". A year later, he wrote and sang the title songs "The Minute I Saw You", from Three Men and a Baby soundtrack, and the power ballad "Restless Heart" (a.k.a. "Running Away with You (Restless Heart)"), from The Running Man soundtrack (this song was re-released on the album Man with a Vision ). After the success of Meat Loaf's album, Parr contributed to the next album with the hit duet "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries". [5]

On 20 July 2007, Parr and his band opened for Bryan Adams at the Keepmoat Stadium in Parr's home town Doncaster. [7]

In 2012, Parr released a revised version of "St. Elmo's Fire" entitled "Tim Tebow's Fire". It included the following lyrics: "You know I’m out there/Down on one knee/A prisoner/And I'm tryin' to break free". [3]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Soundtrack albums

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
[8]
US US Rock AUS
[9]
1984"Naughty Naughty"58236John Parr
1985"Magical"7328
"St. Elmo's Fire"6124 St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack
"Love Grammar"89John Parr
1986"Don't Leave Your Mark on Me"
"Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries" (with Meat Loaf)31 Blind Before I Stop
"Blame It on the Radio"88Running the Endless Mile
"Two Hearts"104 [10]
"Running the Endless Mile"
"Don't Worry 'Bout Me"
1988"Restless Heart" The Running Man soundtrack
1990"Always on my Mind"Butterbrot soundtrack
1991"Westward Ho" Go Trabi Go soundtrack
1992"Man with a Vision"Man with a Vision
"It's Startin' All Over Again"
1994"The River Runs Deep"Under Parr
1996"Size of the Boat"
"Secrets"
2006"St. Elmo's Fire" (re-recording)81 [11] Non-album single
"New Horizon"
(remix of "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" as "John Parr vs. Tommyknockers")
43
2007"Walking Out of the Darkness"155
2019 "The Minute I Saw You"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Foster</span> Canadian record producer and songwriter

David Walter Foster is a Canadian record producer, film composer, and music executive. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. Foster's career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s before focusing largely on composing and production. Often in tandem with songwriter Diane Warren, Foster has contributed to material for prominent music industry artists in various genres since then, and is credited with production on over 40 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016.

<i>St. Elmos Fire</i> (film) 1985 American coming-of-age film

St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film co-written and directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Andie MacDowell and Mare Winningham. It centers on a clique of recent graduates of Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown University, and their adjustment to post-university life and the responsibilities of adulthood. The film is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre. It received negative reviews from critics but was a box-office hit, grossing $37.8 million on a $10 million budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Hartman</span> American musician (1950–1994)

Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful US hit, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Faltermeyer</span> German musician

Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, composer and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)</span> 1985 single by John Parr

"St. Elmo's Fire " is a song by British singer John Parr from the 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire. It hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on 7 September 1985, remaining there for two weeks. It was the main theme for Joel Schumacher's film, and first single from the soundtrack. The song was created and edited within 24 hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Vidal</span> American singer (born 1960)

Maria Elena Vidal is an American singer songwriter. She is known for her hit single "Body Rock", which reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 in the UK, and charted on various international charts. It was the theme song to the film Body Rock in 1984.

Man in Motion may refer to:

<i>David Foster</i> (album) 1986 studio album by David Foster

David Foster is a solo album by David Foster, released in 1986. The album is mainly instrumental with two duet-style songs featuring rare vocals from Foster himself. This work led to Foster receiving the Juno Award for "Instrumental Artist of the Year" in 1986 and 1987, and a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" in 1986. Co-producer Humberto Gatica was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1986 for "Best Engineered Recording" for this album.

St. Elmo's fire is an electrical phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Holland</span> American singer

Amy Celeste Boersma, known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop and rock singer. Her career spans more than 40 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her self-titled debut album containing the single "How Do I Survive".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magical (song)</span> 1985 single by Bucks Fizz

"Magical" is a song written by American musician Meat Loaf and British musician John Parr, and it was released as a 1985 single by Parr as a part of his self-titled debut album. A few months later, an alternative version of the song was released in the U.K. as a single by pop group Bucks Fizz. It entered the charts by both artists in the U.S. and U.K. respectively but was not a big hit for either, although Parr's version managed to rise into the top 40 of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

<i>John Parr</i> (album) 1984 studio album by John Parr

John Parr is the debut album by John Parr, released in 1984. It contains 3 Billboard Top 100 songs: "Magical" which peaked at #73, "Love Grammar" at #89, and the biggest of the three, "Naughty Naughty", which peaked at #23 and was a top 10 AOR hit.

<i>Running the Endless Mile</i> 1986 studio album by John Parr

Running the Endless Mile is the second album by John Parr, released in 1986. The lead single "Blame It on the Radio" reached U.S. #88, the only song to reach the U.S. singles charts. The first track on the album, "Two Hearts", was taken from the soundtrack to the film American Anthem. However, an earlier soundtrack hit, Parr's #1 hit of the previous summer "St. Elmo's Fire " from the film of the same title was not included on this album, which may have limited its sales. Instead, a song that was on his first album, "Don't Leave Your Mark on Me" was repeated in a different version.

<i>Man with a Vision</i> (album) 1992 studio album by John Parr

Man with a Vision is the third studio album by John Parr, released in 1992. The majority of the album was produced by Parr, except "Man With a Vision", produced by John Wolff, and "Restless Heart", produced by Harold Faltermeyer. The album was released in the UK by Music for Nations, in Germany by Edelton, Switzerland by Blue Martin Records, and Austria and Scandinavia by Generation Records.

<i>Under Parr</i> 1996 studio album by John Parr

Under Parr is the fourth studio album by John Parr, released in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naughty Naughty (John Parr song)</span> 1984 single by John Parr

"Naughty Naughty" is the debut single by English rock musician John Parr, released in November 1984 as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album. The song was Parr's first U.S. top 40 hit record, reaching No. 23 on the Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Grammar</span> 1985 single by John Parr

"Love Grammar" is a song by English singer and musician John Parr, released in 1985 as the third single from his self-titled debut album (1984). The song was written and produced by Parr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restless Heart (John Parr song)</span> 1988 single by John Parr

"Restless Heart" (a.k.a. "Running Away with You (Restless Heart)") is a song by the English singer/musician John Parr, which was released in 1988 as a soundtrack single from the 1987 feature film The Running Man. It was written by Parr and German musician/composer Harold Faltermeyer, and produced by Faltermeyer. The power ballad would later be included on Parr's third studio album Man with a Vision, released in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)</span> 1985 single by Tina Turner

"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten. It was recorded by American singer Tina Turner for the soundtrack album to the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which starred Mel Gibson and Turner. On the heels of Turner's multiplatinum album Private Dancer (1984), the song was released as an edited 7-inch single, while the full album version was released as a 12-inch single and on the film's soundtrack album. In the United Kingdom, a shaped picture disc was also issued. The power ballad received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 1986, the song received the Ivor Novello Awards for Best Contemporary Song and Best Film Theme or Song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Hearts (John Parr song)</span> 1986 song by John Parr

"Two Hearts" is a song by English singer and musician John Parr, released in 1986 as a single from the soundtrack of the 1986 American sports drama film American Anthem. The song, written and produced by Parr, was also included on Parr's second studio album Running the Endless Mile (1986).

References

  1. Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837–2006, Findmypast.co.uk
  2. Linda Moleski (27 December 1986). "John Parr, a man in motion, has new LP". Billboard. p. 34. ISSN   0006-2510.
  3. 1 2 Levy, Glen (11 January 2012). "John Parr Updates St. Elmo's Fire Theme Song for Tim Tebow". Time. Newsfeed.time.com. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  4. "St Elmo's Fire musician John Parr performing in Westwoodside this weekend". Archived from the original on 22 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 340. ISBN   0-7535-0257-7.
  6. 1 2 Hunt, Dennis (30 August 1985). "Rocker Parr propelled by hot 'St. Elmo's Fire'". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  7. "John Parr at Keepmoat stadium Doncaster on 20th July 2007". NME . Retrieved 14 November 2012
  8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 417. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Gallup Top 200 Singles". Gallup. 18 October 1986. Retrieved 9 December 2022 via ukmix.org.
  11. "Chart Log UK: Rodney P. − The Pussycat Dolls". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 7 November 2019.