Graham Parker (Howlin' Wind)

Musicians are said to have a lifetime to create their first album and six months to make the follow-up. That was literally the case with Graham Parker, whose landmark debut album, Howlin’ Wind, came out in April 1976, followed that October by the acclaimed Heat Treatment. Parker, the subject of Jay Nachman’s excellent new book Graham Parker’s Howlin’ Wind, tells his fascinating origin story here. He worked in factories and at a gas station, tried on almost every ‘60s/’70s musical style and wrote, wrote and wrote. How many songs had he written before he came up with one that made the cut for Howlin’ Wind? How did he get connected to his ace backing band, the Rumour, and did he start writing with them in mind? The still-active, feisty Parker presents a vivid portrait of the artist as a young man--and conveys his current feelings about how the system is rigged against musicians trying to make a living. (Photo by Steve Goulding)