Almost anything in life can be a country song.
Just ask Duane Parker. From lost love to the starry sky to deer totaling his car, it’s all subject to finding its way to his paper as he crafts new tunes.
Parker has been singing and playing country music since he was 5, but it has taken nearly five decades for his music to find the charts. He has been playing VFWs, tunnels, honky tonks, basically anywhere he can pick up a little bit of cash since he was 16. He has played his way across the country and back, at times with only $40 in his pocket. But the honky tonks and his deep, raspy voice provided the cash to keep on moving.
Submitted / TPI Duane Parker writes country music from tales of his life. One of his songs is climbing country music charts.
“I just been touring around the country with me and my guitar and going around, just exploring,” Parker said. “I’ll find me a honky tonk, walk in and talk. They’ll normally let me play and usually turns out good. Made my way to Montana back that way.”
Parker has more than 150 songs in his inventory and has recorded a few albums along the way.
Now, Parker finally has a track climbing the Cashbox Music independent country charts. Primarily a trade publication with more than eight decades of history, each monthly issue includes music news, new music releases, radio airplay charts, special features, artist interviews, spotlights on industry leaders and companies, music history and latest trends.
Parker’s song 3 More Sets debuted in May at No. 83 and is at 67 in June.
“I feel like I did something this time,” Parker said. “I made history. It's my mark on the wall and can't nobody paint over it.”
Parker released his song “I Know” on May 18, and he will release another song in a month or two.
The attention Parker’s music is getting has him Nashville this week. He will be playing at various CMA Fest activities in Tennessee through Monday.
“Then I'm headed out west to Arizona,” Parker said. “I've got a bunch of stuff to do out there.”
Parker might pan for gold like he does in the creeks and rivers of Elmore County. He might find a place to camp out for a night or even a week. It’s the same thing Parker’s been doing for years, writing songs surrounding his experiences and mindset at the time.
“It’s always been my therapy,” Parker said. “Because somebody, my brother, would make me mad, and I'd make up songs about him going to woods and singing just trees. So it was coming from the heart. I've just been writing stories about whatever I see and experience all my life.”