Robbed Hit of the Week 7/16/12 - Paul Parker's "Right On Target"...

Paul Parker - "Right On Target"

from the album Too Much To Dream (1982)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: did not chart

This week's "robbed hit" is by San Franciscan dance singer Paul Parker. Parker started out as a protege of producer Patrick Cowley, who was instrumental in the career of R&B singer and gay icon Sylvester (he produced the track "Do You Wanna Funk"), and had a couple big post0disco dance hits of his own, including the #1 "Menergy" in 1981 (that song is currently on the dance charts in a remake by house music pioneer Ralphi Rosario). Parker was a background singer on Cowley's own track, and he repaid the favor by producing Parker's first album. From that, the song "Right On Target" became a #1 club hit in the summer of 1982.

Between Cowley's electronic beats and Parker's husky and smooth voice and deliriously good looks, that record fit right in at the time when dance music went back into an underground scene with gay clubs providing most of the promotion. However, while the song topped the dance chart, it missed the pop charts altogether.

While Paul Parker went on to record more singles, and even hitting the top of the dance chart again in 1986 with "One Look (Was Enough)", sadly Patrick Cowley would die by the end of the year, succumbing to a disease then still known as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency).

If you want to get your Paul Parker groove on, I recommend picking up a copy of his album Destiny, which includes a remade version of "Right On Target", along with a bunch of other great dance tracks. He also re-released a version of "Right On Target" in 2009 under his own label, and also released an album of new material, Take It From Me, the same year. Show him some love.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)




In 1982, "Right On Target" was part of legendary underground bootleg mixer Ser & Duff's "Big Apple Productions Vol. 1"....