who you gonna call?

[raybear]

Before I being this post, I'd like to point out that two of my LJ friends, limenal and stuey who are not on each other's friends list, both posted Carpenters' related entries within 10 minutes of each other (accounting for time zone differences). Tres bizarre.

Last night I was listening to one of the albums from my recent acquisition -- Ray Parker, Jr. 's Greatest Hits. And no, the song Ghostbusters isn't on it because this album came out in 1983. Yes, he had quite the fruitful career and is far from a novelty act. I found out a while back about his success as Raydio (and even remember a few of their hits), and I learned recently that he actually toured with Stevie Wonder, playing guitar, practically as a teenager. I think I might call a track on my first album Raydio, as a sort of pun on myself and also a homage, because it really breaks my heart what happened to him. He's a talented musician and had written songs for New Edition and Barry White and Deniece Williams all sorts of other folks that were good but he's known almost solely as the Ghostbusters guy. The whole reason he got chosen to write the score/song was because of his prior musical history, experience, talent. Poor guy.

And today while standing at the binding machine, maliciously ripping out the plastic binders from the 30 copies of the amicus brief that the court of appeals denied, I was remembering the episode of Gimme A Break where Ray Parker, Jr. guest stars. I believe he got into a car accident with Nell. (I think this was before Theo hit Stevie Wonder's limo on the Cosby Show? I can't remember now.) Do sitcoms still have celebrity walk-ons? Not like Ally McBeal, where they play characters, but script where they play themselves, capitalizing on the current spike in popularity? Poor Nell Carter probably thought she was doing her friend a favor by attempting to educate the audience on his full biography, but I don't think it took. He was still just the Ghostbusters guy.

Perhaps that's part of the appeal of remaining solely underground and critically-acclaimed, instead of momentarily, instantaneously popular. Because then you become the "I'm Too Sexy" guy or "Torn" girl (not that either one of those examples are exactly underground or even talented.) I guess I could be like the "Locomotion" girl who then become the "La La" girl. I guess given a preference, I'd like to be David Hasselhoff-famous (musically speaking) -- popular in a specific market far away. It's enough to pay the bills and stroke the ego, but it definitely keeps you hustling and not becoming too big for your britches, as my grandmother would say

Comments

celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[freakysparks.livejournal.com]

Cher on Will and Grace (not counting Jack's interpretation of Cher.)
Snoop Dogg on "Just Shoot Me".
That's all I can think of for now.

Re: celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[raybear.livejournal.com]

close, but they're not passing fads.

;)

Re: celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[masscooper.livejournal.com]

Neither's Stevie Wonder ;-)

Re: celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[raybear.livejournal.com]

my reason for bringing up Stevie Wonder had to do with the car wreck -- i was commenting that i couldn't remember who used that plot device first: gimme a break, or the cosby show. i wasn't putting him in the category of passing fads appearing on television shows. in fact, Cosby Show was the antithesis of that, since they busted out Dizzy Gillespie and Stevie and Ray Charles.

i'll stop being anal. and anyway, will I still be seeing you outside my building at 12:30 for lunch and sunshine?

Re: celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[masscooper.livejournal.com]

I *knew* that you would have a very detailed (and undoubtably accurate) response to that.

Yes, lunch! I don't have my cell on me, so shall we just put our faith in the Jeffery that I'll be there at 12.30? We could move it back 10 min if you would rather be on the safe side. I have more time for lunch than you do, I believe.

Re: celebrity walk-ons as themselves

[raybear.livejournal.com]

I will be on the sidewalk at approximately 12:27 pm and will wait patiently since I know any delays that can occur with the bus will. yee-haw!

p.s. are you try to say I have a complex about being right? why would you EVER think that? ;)

"When I dial my baby's number; I get a click everytime."

[cruelnails.livejournal.com]

New Edition's Mr. Telephone Man (which I think he wrote) was always a guilty pleasure of mine.

funny but it seems i always wind up here with you

[stuey.livejournal.com]

this limenal sounds ~interesting~ [heh.] maybe i'll have to add her. as we are clearly connected in a way unexplainable at 3:20 pm and with a pounding migraine. i would have made this step before but didn't-not because i didn't find her posts worthy of reading every day [because i did/do] but because i didn't want it to seem like i was adding her because of you and not because of her obvious entertaining wit.

we've only just begun...

[geechee.livejournal.com]

gawd. my brother still has his ray parker jr. albums. he was a dj in the late 70s and has all kinds of crazy ol' skool shit.

[drood.livejournal.com]

I liked Ray Parker Jr. in the pre-Ghostbusters days. I seem to recall that my peers and I all kind of bit our lips and said, "Oh dear, there's the first nail in the ol' career coffin," when the movie's theme song came out.

My favorite minor celebrity walk-on in a eighties TV show was the Facts of Life with Stacey "I whine all my song lyrics accompanied by a two-octave handheld Casio keybord" Q.

[angeltrouble.livejournal.com]

david hasselhoff is the shit. i love his music. it's so happy and unpretentious.