Man Parrish

Manuel "Man" Parrish (born May 6, 1958)[2] is an American songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez, Lotti Golden, Richard Scher and Aldo Marin, helped create and define electro in the early 1980s.[2]

Man Parrish
Birth nameManuel Parrish
Born (1958-05-06) May 6, 1958
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • record producer
  • songwriter
Years active1982–present
Labels
Websitewww.manparrish.com

Early life

Parrish was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.[3] He left home at the age of 14 and became a member of the crowd that converged nightly at the Studio 54 nightclub in Manhattan.[2] The nickname "Man" was given to Parrish by Andy Warhol,[4] and first appeared in Warhol's Interview magazine.[2]

Career

Parrish's early live shows at Bronx hip-hop clubs were spectacles of lights, glitter, and pyrotechnics, which drew as much from the Warhol mystique as the Cold Crush Brothers.[2]

His first release was "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)" issued in 1982,[5] which Parrish said faced a racial backlash from the African-American hip hop community: "I was making the music that they played, and then they found out I was white and gay they pulled it. It didn't hurt sales but it was shocking."[6] The song was featured in the film Shaun of the Dead, the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which sold millions of copies. It was sampled in Sway & King Tech's 1991 song "Follow 4 Now", from their second album, Concrete Jungle. His biggest chart success in the UK was his recording of "Male Stripper" with Man 2 Man, which peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart.[5]

He eventually signed with Elektra Records via David Bowie's manager Tony DeFries who also managed his music career, but was dropped from the label in 1984, when they decided not to release the album he had recorded for them. Elektra signed him for dance music, his manager wanted him to create pop-rock.

He has mixed, produced and worked with various artists such as Boy George, Michael Jackson and Gloria Gaynor.[2] He later served as the road manager for the Village People.[2]

In 2010s, Parrish was in negotiations with Pink Biscuit Records and was scheduled to release a record via Southern Fried Records, the label owned by Fatboy Slim. Parrish started his own label instead.

From 2000 to 2015, he created the longest running underground New York City club party, at the CockBar.

In 2018, three pieces of his musical works were accepted into the Museum of Modern Art's MoMA permanent collection in New York City. Film scores for Behive, (a modern dance film), The Jones's, (an indie art film) and his 1983 music video for "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)".

In 2018, he also did a sound performance – installation for MoMA PS1 titled The Box, asking the question: Is Sound Considered Art?

Personal life

Parrish is gay.[7] He lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida.[4]

Discography

Albums
  • Man Parrish (Importe/12 Records, 1982)
  • Boogie Down (Rams Horn Records, 1985)
  • The Best of Man Parrish (Rams Horn Records, 1991)
  • Dreamtime (Hot Records, 1996)
  • Star (Parrish Digital, 2017)

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[8]		 US Dance
[9][10]		 US R&B
[9]		 AUS
[11]		 NZ
1982 "Man Made" – – – – –
"Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop)" 41 4 66 – –
1983 "Heatstroke" 83 – – – –
1984 "Boogie Down (Bronx)" 56 – 76 – –
1985 "Hey There, Home Boys" – – – – –
1986 "Male Stripper"
(with Man 2 Man)		 4 – – 3 8
1987 "Brown Sugar" – – – – –
1991 "From Here to Eternity"
(with Paul Parker)		 – – – – –
"–" denotes releases that did not chart.

References
  1. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Nomi, Klaus". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. [Klaus Nomi] worked with Man Parrish, the New York electro and hi-NRG producer, on his self-titled debut album.
  2. Cooper, Sean. "Man Parrish Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2022. Born May 6, 1958 in Brooklyn, NY.
  3. Parrish, Man (October 23, 2013). "Interview: Man Parrish on "Hip Hop Be Bop," Klaus Nomi and (Not) Sleeping with Madonna" (Interview). Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. LeRoy, Dan (2022). Dancing to the Drum Machine: How Electronic Percussion Conquered the World. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 181. ISBN 9781501367267.
  5. Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 209. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
  6. Lawrence, Tim (2016). Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor 1980–1983. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-8223-6186-2.
  7. Lawrence, Tim (2016). Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor 1980–1983. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-8223-6186-2.
  8. "MAN PARISH | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  9. "Man Parrish Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  10. "Chart History - Man Parrish: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  11. "ARIA Charts". Chart Beats. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. "Man 2 Man - Male Stripper". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
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