Ken Parker

Ken Parker

Ken Parker is a Jamaican reggae singer from Westmoreland, Jamaica. Born Kenneth L. Farquharson in Darliston and raised in Savannah-La-Mar in Westmoreland Parish, he begins recording in the 1960s and dies in 2025. He grows up with gospel music in the home, as his father is a preacher, and gospel phrasing remains a feature of his singing throughout his career.

Early career and first group

Parker’s first group is the Blues Benders, formed in 1965. By 1967 he is working as a solo performer and records for many of the major Jamaican producers of the period, including Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, Bunny Lee, Rupie Edwards, Byron Lee, Joe Gibbs and Lloyd Charmers. His work with these producers places him in the transition from ska and rocksteady into early reggae.

Notable recordings

Among his best-known recordings is My Whole World Is Falling Down, cut at Studio One for Coxsone Dodd and a major hit in Jamaica in 1969. He also records True, True, True and Jimmy Brown at Treasure Isle for Duke Reid. For Lloyd Charmers, he records a version of Curtis Mayfield’s Queen Majesty.

Later years

Parker later moves to the United Kingdom after becoming disillusioned with the Jamaican music business. From the 1980s he runs his own label and production company there. In 2014 he appears at the International Ska and Reggae Festival in London, where he performs to a sold-out audience.