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Arnold Parker was born in Cuero, Texas. He started trying to sing about the same time he was trying to talk. One of the first places he sang in public was when he stood on a table in the Primitive Baptist Church in Stratton, Texas where he grew up. Arnold would sing about anywhere that he could find someone willing to listen. He would sing at local functions in the area. He played with two groups, mainly for fun, during high school.
In 1953, "The Southernaires" were a popular South Texas dance band. About the time Arnold graduated from high school, at the age of 17, he joined the group as the featured vocalist and the band continued to gain in popularity in the South Texas area. In 1956, Arnold and "The Southernaires" recorded a rock and roll song entitled "Find a New Woman", released on Starday records. The song played very well in the area where the group was known. Also, that same year, Arnold and the band made their first appearance on the "Louisiana Hayride". Arnold received a good reception, was called back for an encore and was also asked to come back the following Saturday night. Arnold made several more appearances on the Hayride, but because the dance band was doing so well in Texas, he didn't pursue becoming a regular on the show.
In February, 1957, Arnold's life took a big change. It was then he met Jeanette Catherine Wendt in El Campo, Texas. All of a sudden, the big time music business didn't seem so important anymore. In about three months, Arnold quit the dance band and in August of 1957, he and Jeanette were married. The couple lived in Dallas for approximately 1-1/2 years. During that time Arnold made one TV appearance and one more appearance on the "Big 'D' Jamboree" in Dallas.
In 1961, Arnold and Jeanette moved to Victoria and for a while Arnold played a little with other dance bands. In 1964, things fell into place and Arnold and Ken Williams, long-time friend and lead guitarist, put together a group called "The Mustangs". Arnold fronted this band for nine years, playing the biggest clubs and with some of the biggest entertainers during that time. Arnold and "The Mustangs" recorded seven more records on Sarg label to help promote their dance jobs. One of the songs entitled "Love Me" played really well in the area. In 1973, Arnold gave up the dance band to devote more time to Jeanette and his family of three daughters, Debbie, Denise and Dawn and two sons, Keith and Kenneth.
Arnold is proud of what he has accomplished and all of the fantastic entertainers and fans he came in contact with. Looking back, Arnold has a world of fond memories he will always have - the thrill of meeting and shaking hands with Hank Williams, Sr., working with Elvis, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride, Mel Tillis, Waylon Jennings and many more. Arnold still loves to sing because once you've seen the lights and heard the applause, you never really get it out of your system. He has no regrets and no disappointments in the way things worked out and turned out. He feels very lucky.
Update: January, 2004
After they folded up the Mustangs band in 1973, Arnold figured at that time he was through entertaining in public and he was for a lot of years. He went back to work in the oil industry for a service company and devoted his spare time to his family. He watched his five children involved in all sports and the high school band.
This is the way things went until early 1999 when a friend sent Arnold a tape he had copied off a brand new rockabilly CD released in London, England. The song was "Find a New Woman", the original recording Arnold had recorded with the Southernaires in 1956. This stirred up a lot of curiosity and excitement in the Parker family. Some of his children started checking on the Internet and found Arnold's name listed with the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and also found out the same original recording with Arnold singing, had been released five other times in the past few years, two times in England, two times in the Netherlands, once in Germany and one more time in the United States. This gave Arnold a great feeling of satisfaction, feeling that he had accomplished something in the music business. Although, after a lot of telephone calls and a lot of letter writing, he was unable to secure any monetary benefits from these releases. However, all the excitement in the family rekindled a desire in Arnold to go back on the stage. He also realized he had grandchildren that had never seen him perform. He now entertains on the Country Opry stage shows that have become so popular in Texas. Today he sings mostly traditional country music; but, every now and then, the urge is too strong and he just has to do a "rockabilly" song. Arnold has worked shows from deep south Texas through the Houston area, Central and East Texas to Texarkana, Arkansas and Branson Mo. I was very proud to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999. I always wished I could be recognized as a country singer. In August of 2018, this wish came true when I was inducted into the Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame. This has capped a very fun-filled and exciting career for me. --Arnold Parker
