Doug Parkinson
Encyclopedia
Douglas "Doug" Parkinson is an Australia
n singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson In Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts.
, a seaside suburb of Sydney
, Australia
.
In 1969 The Questions changed personnel and in the process became a four-piece band and took on the name of Doug Parkinson In Focus. This band, made up of some of Sydney's top musicians, Billy Green (guitar), Mark Kennedy (drums) and Duncan McGuire
(bass), allowed him to showcase his powerful, soulful voice. With this band he rose to prominence with a number of Top 20 hit records in Australia such as "Dear Prudence
" and "Without You" / "Hair
", the latter written by guitarist and songwriter Billy Green (aka Wil Greenstreet ) in the mid-1970s, when Green composed the soundtrack to the film Stone, Parkinson sang on two tracks.
In 1969 Doug Parkinson In Focus won Australia' prestigious band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
. Following the demise of that band he joined Vince Melouney's post-Bee Gees supergroup Fanny Adams, which recorded one album and broke up. He then embarked on a successful solo career. He also sang the theme song of the short-lived 1980s soap opera, Arcade
He continues to be a perennial favourite in stage shows, cabaret, club work and recording until the present day.
(Australia #-)
THE QUESTIONS
Album
(Instrumental Album recorded before Doug joined the band)
(Australia #-)
A/ Fire Down Below/Wheels/Again/Proud of You/Guantanamera/Canadian Sunset
B/ Deep Purple/How High the Moon/Hello Young Lovers/A Hard Day's Night/Kareila/Speak Low
Singles
(Instrumental single recorded before Doug joined the band)
(Australia #-)
(Australia#33-8 Sydney#12)
(Australia #-)
(Australia#54-6 Sydney#33)
Extended Plays
A/ Sally Go Round the Roses / Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)
B/ Deep Purple / How High the Moon
(B side has Instrumental tracks recorded before Doug joined the band)
A/ Something Wonderful / We Got Love
B/ And Things Unsaid / I Can't Hear You
DOUG PARKINSON IN FOCUS
Singles
(Australia #-)
(Australia#5-19, Melbourne#2, Sydney#9, Brisbane#2, Adelaide#1)
(Withdrawn From Sale)
(Australia#4-17, Melbourne#3, Sydney#7, Brisbane#4)
(Australia#42-9*, Melbourne#22, Sydney# -) (*Both sides charted)
(Australia #-)
Extended Play
A/ Hair / Without You
B/ Today (I Feel No Pain) / Dear Prudence
FANNY ADAMS
Album
(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)
Single
(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)
DOUG PARKINSON
Album
(Australia #-)
A/ Takin' It Easy/Tell Him I'll Be All Right/I Ain't Gonna Live That Way No More/And Things Unsaid/No Regrets
B/ Sweet Rock and Roll/Lonely/Get What You Can/Light My Fire/Dear Prudence, Love Gun
Singles
(Australia #-)
(Australia#99-1)
The LIFE ORGANISATION
Singles
(Australia#76-6, Sydney#36)
DOUG PARKINSON
Single
(Australia #-)
The LIFE ORGANISATION
Singles
(Australia #-)
(Australia #-)
(Australia #-)
(Australia #-)
(Australia#87-4)
DOUG PARKINSON
Singles
(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#14, Sydney#25, Adelaide#16)
(Australia#95-1)
(Australia #-)
DOUG PARKINSON & THE SOUTHERN STAR BAND
Album
(Australia#37-15)
A/ I'll Be Around/In My Life/Now You're On Your Own/Rainbow In Your Eyes/Soon As Your Thing Is Done
B/ The Hungry Years/Riff Raff/Midnite Sky/Lonely/Shuffle Up
Singles
(Australia#88-7)
(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#19, Sydney#20)
(Australia #-)
(Australia#70-7)
DOUG PARKINSON
Albums
Re-Issue of 1973's No Regrets
(Australia#59-3)
A/ Heartbeat To Heartbeat/Let Sleeping Dogs Lie/Don't Let Love Go/ It's Your Move/Better Keep Your Hands Off My (Potential New Girlfriend)
B/ I Can't Live With You/I Don't Unlove You/Thanks To You/What Does It Take/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
(Australia #-)
A/ Reach Out, I'll Be There/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/A Whiter Shade of Pale/Without You/Reflections/You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/I Heard It Through the Grapevine/(Love Is Like A) Heatwave
B/You Keep Me Hangin' On/Dear Prudence/When a Man Loves a Woman/I'll Be Around/Endlessly/It's a Man's Man's World/You've Really Got a Hold On Me/You Are So Beautiful
(Australia #-)
You Don't Know Me/The Look Of Love/Somewhere/Windmills Of Your Mind/At Last/My Love/Try A Little Tenderness/Nature Boy/If You Go Away/Norwegian Wood/Ruby/The Moon's A Harsh Mistress/Somewhere ( Reprise)
Singles
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson In Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts.
Career
Parkinson first started singing with a band called The A Sound but soon graduated to a more professional outfit, The Questions, which held a residency at the Canopus Room at a pub in ManlyManly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
, a seaside suburb of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In 1969 The Questions changed personnel and in the process became a four-piece band and took on the name of Doug Parkinson In Focus. This band, made up of some of Sydney's top musicians, Billy Green (guitar), Mark Kennedy (drums) and Duncan McGuire
Duncan McGuire
Duncan McGuire was an Australian musician, songwriter, recording engineer and producer. He is best known for his association with vocalist Doug Parkinson in the 1960s and 1970s and his membership of the 1970s fusion band Ayers Rock...
(bass), allowed him to showcase his powerful, soulful voice. With this band he rose to prominence with a number of Top 20 hit records in Australia such as "Dear Prudence
Dear Prudence
"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released by The Beatles as the second track on their 1968 double-disc album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album.-Composition:...
" and "Without You" / "Hair
Hair (song)
"Hair" is the title song to the 1968 musical Hair, as well as the 1979 film version of the musical.The song was a major hit single for The Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. Their version spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", the latter written by guitarist and songwriter Billy Green (aka Wil Greenstreet ) in the mid-1970s, when Green composed the soundtrack to the film Stone, Parkinson sang on two tracks.
In 1969 Doug Parkinson In Focus won Australia' prestigious band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was an annual national rock/pop band competition held in Australia from 1966 to 1972.-History:Australia's Battle of the Sounds was originally established by Australian tabloid magazine Everybody’s in 1965 as a talent quest for new unsigned bands in Sydney, Melbourne...
. Following the demise of that band he joined Vince Melouney's post-Bee Gees supergroup Fanny Adams, which recorded one album and broke up. He then embarked on a successful solo career. He also sang the theme song of the short-lived 1980s soap opera, Arcade
Arcade (TV series)
Arcade is an Australian television soap opera shown in 1980 that became one of the biggest flops in the history of Australian television. It aired on Network Ten with the premiere episode shown on Sunday, 20 January 1980. The series then ran five nights a week, Mondays to Fridays, as a 30 minute...
He continues to be a perennial favourite in stage shows, cabaret, club work and recording until the present day.
Discography and chart positions
The A SOUND- Talk About That / Tomorrow I Meet You (FestivalFestivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
)
(Australia #-)
THE QUESTIONS
Album
- Nov 1966 What Is A Question (Festival)
(Instrumental Album recorded before Doug joined the band)
(Australia #-)
A/ Fire Down Below/Wheels/Again/Proud of You/Guantanamera/Canadian Sunset
B/ Deep Purple/How High the Moon/Hello Young Lovers/A Hard Day's Night/Kareila/Speak Low
Singles
- Oct 1966 Karelia / Wheels (Festival)
(Instrumental single recorded before Doug joined the band)
(Australia #-)
- July 1967 Sally Go Round the Roses / Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness) (Festival)
(Australia#33-8 Sydney#12)
- Oct 1967 And Things Unsaid / I Can't Hear You (Festival)
(Australia #-)
- Feb 1968 Something Wonderful / We Got Love (Festival) (Both sides charted)
(Australia#54-6 Sydney#33)
Extended Plays
- Oct 1967 Sally Go Round the Roses (Festival)
A/ Sally Go Round the Roses / Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)
B/ Deep Purple / How High the Moon
(B side has Instrumental tracks recorded before Doug joined the band)
- May 1968 Something Wonderful (Festival)
A/ Something Wonderful / We Got Love
B/ And Things Unsaid / I Can't Hear You
DOUG PARKINSON IN FOCUS
Singles
- May 1968 Advice / I Had a Dream (Festival)
(Australia #-)
- May 1969 Dear PrudenceDear Prudence"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released by The Beatles as the second track on their 1968 double-disc album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album.-Composition:...
/ This Must Be the End (ColumbiaColumbia Graphophone CompanyThe Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
/EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
)
(Australia#5-19, Melbourne#2, Sydney#9, Brisbane#2, Adelaide#1)
- Aug 1969 Today (I Feel No Pain) / Theme From 12th House (Columbia/EMI)
(Withdrawn From Sale)
- Sep 1969 Without You / HairHair (song)"Hair" is the title song to the 1968 musical Hair, as well as the 1979 film version of the musical.The song was a major hit single for The Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. Their version spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100...
(Columbia/EMI)
(Australia#4-17, Melbourne#3, Sydney#7, Brisbane#4)
- March 1970 Baby Blue Eyes / Then I Run (Columbia/EMI)
(Australia#42-9*, Melbourne#22, Sydney# -) (*Both sides charted)
- Sep 1970 Purple Curtains / Pour Out All You've Got (Fable)
(Australia #-)
Extended Play
- 1970 Doug Parkinson In Focus (Columbia/EMI)
A/ Hair / Without You
B/ Today (I Feel No Pain) / Dear Prudence
FANNY ADAMS
Album
- June 1971 Fanny Adams (MCAMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
)
(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)
Single
- June 1971 Gotta Get A Message To You / They're All Losers Honey (MCA)
(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)
DOUG PARKINSON
Album
- June 1973 No Regrets (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
A/ Takin' It Easy/Tell Him I'll Be All Right/I Ain't Gonna Live That Way No More/And Things Unsaid/No Regrets
B/ Sweet Rock and Roll/Lonely/Get What You Can/Light My Fire/Dear Prudence, Love Gun
Singles
- Aug 1972 Lonely / Takin' It Easy (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
- April 1973 Love Gun / Dear PrudenceDear Prudence"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released by The Beatles as the second track on their 1968 double-disc album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album.-Composition:...
('73) (Polydor)
(Australia#99-1)
The LIFE ORGANISATION
Singles
- June 1973 In the Mood (Forties Style) / In the Mood (Seventies Style) (Polydor)
(Australia#76-6, Sydney#36)
DOUG PARKINSON
Single
- July 1973 Sweet Rock 'n' Roll / Tell Him I'll Be Alright (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
The LIFE ORGANISATION
Singles
- Nov 1973 Boogie Woogie / Little Brown Jug (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
- Feb 1974 Pink Steamroller / Boodilidoo (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
- May 1974 American Patrol / Opus No. 1 (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
- June 1974 The Time Warp / The Sweet Song (Sweet Transvestite) (Polydor)
(Australia #-)
- Aug 1974 Beyond the Blue Horizon / In the Mood (Polydor)
(Australia#87-4)
DOUG PARKINSON
Singles
- Nov 1974 Everlasting LoveEverlasting Love"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden that has been a hit for various artists, including Robert Knight, Carl Carlton, Love Affair, and Gloria Estefan.- Overview :...
/ All I Need Is A Song (AtlanticAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
)
(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#14, Sydney#25, Adelaide#16)
- May 1975 Love Is Like A Cloudy Day / One Track Mind (Atlantic)
(Australia#95-1)
- Sept 1975 Raised On Rock / I'm Gonna Get You (Wizard)
(Australia #-)
DOUG PARKINSON & THE SOUTHERN STAR BAND
Album
- Feb 1979 I'll Be AroundI'll Be Around (The Spinners song)"I'll Be Around" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners . The song was co-written by Thom Bell and Phil Hurtt and produced by Bell...
(Southern Star/ATA)
(Australia#37-15)
A/ I'll Be Around/In My Life/Now You're On Your Own/Rainbow In Your Eyes/Soon As Your Thing Is Done
B/ The Hungry Years/Riff Raff/Midnite Sky/Lonely/Shuffle Up
Singles
- July 1978 The Hungry Years / Soon As Your Thing Is Done (Southern Star/ATA)
(Australia#88-7)
- Jan 1979 I'll Be Around / Riff Raff (Southern Star/ATA)
(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#19, Sydney#20)
- April 1979 In My Life / Shuffle Up (Southern Star/ATA)
(Australia #-)
- Sept 1979 You Ain't Going Nowhere Without Me / Now You're on Your Own (Southern Star/ATA)
(Australia#70-7)
DOUG PARKINSON
Albums
- 1980 Rock Legends (Polydor)
Re-Issue of 1973's No Regrets
- March 1983 Heartbeat To Heartbeat CBSColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(Australia#59-3)
A/ Heartbeat To Heartbeat/Let Sleeping Dogs Lie/Don't Let Love Go/ It's Your Move/Better Keep Your Hands Off My (Potential New Girlfriend)
B/ I Can't Live With You/I Don't Unlove You/Thanks To You/What Does It Take/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
- Sept 1986 Reflections (Hammard)
(Australia #-)
A/ Reach Out, I'll Be There/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/A Whiter Shade of Pale/Without You/Reflections/You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/I Heard It Through the Grapevine/(Love Is Like A) Heatwave
B/You Keep Me Hangin' On/Dear Prudence/When a Man Loves a Woman/I'll Be Around/Endlessly/It's a Man's Man's World/You've Really Got a Hold On Me/You Are So Beautiful
- 2nd Sept 2005 Somewhere After Midnight (Roy Boy Records)
(Australia #-)
You Don't Know Me/The Look Of Love/Somewhere/Windmills Of Your Mind/At Last/My Love/Try A Little Tenderness/Nature Boy/If You Go Away/Norwegian Wood/Ruby/The Moon's A Harsh Mistress/Somewhere ( Reprise)
Singles
Further reading
- The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop - Ian McFarlane -Allen & Unwin, Sydney - 1999
- Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop-RigbyPublishers-1978
- The Who's Who of Australian Rock-Chris Spencer-Moonlight Publishing
- Gavin Ryans Chart Books