Billy Parker, a musical artist and disc jockey who was five times National Country Music DJ of the Year, wrote an autobiography with help from John Wooley and Brett Bingham. Here he holds the book in his house near Broken Arrow.
Five-time National Country Music Disc Jockey of the Year Billy Parker laughs while recording his last show in 2015.
Five-time National Country Music Disc Jockey of the Year Billy Parker poses in his home near Broken Arrow. Parker doubled as a performer and spent time as a member of Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours.
Billy Parker shares a laugh with the audience and the Tulsa Playboys at “Thanks A Lot – The Billy Parker Tribute” in 2015.
Tulsa radio icon Billy Parker (left) jokes with his manager, Ray Bingham, and guests Cheena Pazzo (left) and Debbye Scroggins after recording his last show.
Billy Parker (left (and Tommy Allsup were among the 2005 Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees.
Musical artist Buck Trent (left) poses with Billy Parker before a Parker tribute show in 2015.
Billy Parker had to be convinced that his life story was worthy of a book.
Hey, hoss (“hoss” is an often used Parker word). When a Dolly Parton quote appears on the spine of your book, it’s a decent clue that you’ve been on adventures that readers might enjoy.
Parton contributed this statement for Parker’s book and the statement has been extracted for use on the back cover: “Billy Parker will always be one of the greats … whether in person, on the radio or on stage. Billy is one of the great unsung heroes. Well, we sing its praises, but we don’t sing it as loudly or as often as we should. I’m proud he has this autobiography to really show who he was and is. With all due respect, Dolly.
Brett Bingham and John Wooley, who collaborated on a 2020 book on the history of Cain’s Ballroom, have teamed up again, this time to persuade Parker that the three of them should team up on his autobiography.
“Brett and I worked on him for a while before he finally gave in,” Wooley said. “And one of the statements we heard from him over and over, with slight variations, was, ‘Well, you know, I’ve never been a huge fan of myself. If that’s not a statement from Billy Parker, I don’t know what it is.
Parker repeated the phrase “never been a fan of me” in the book’s foreword. “And honestly, I didn’t think too many people would be interested in reading things like how I grew up, how I entered the world of radio and country music, and what I thought of the people with whom I worked – stars and strangers and all the people in between. Brett and John didn’t agree. They believed differently – and I guess they still believe it. Now that it is. fact, we’re about to find out who’s right.
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