Buck Ormsby, Lassie Aanes, and Little Bill
Frank Dutra, Buck Mann, Rockin Robin Roberts
(circa 1958 - Photo Courtesy of Frank Dutra)
Little Bill & The Bluenotes
Tacoma, Washington
1958 ~ Present
|
Patti Allen ~ Vocals Brady Anderson ~ Guitar Hadi Al’Saadoon ~ Trumpet Keith Backman ~ Drums Jim Becker ~ Drums Jho Blenis ~ Guitar John Carmody ~ Guitar Ken Cole ~ Keyboards Rod Cook ~ Guitar Brian Craig ~ Guitar Gary Crooks ~ Guitar Frank Dutra ~ Saxophone Dickie Enfield ~ Drums Bill Engelhart ~ Guitar, Bass Buck England ~ B3 Keyboards Tom Giving ~ Saxophone Claude Hammond ~ Guitar Pat Hues ~ Keyboards Hans Ipsen ~ Guitar |
Jay Johansen ~ Guitar Larry Jobe ~ Saxophone Robbie Jordan ~ Saxophone Brian Kent ~ Saxophone Buck Mann ~ Saxophone Dian Marshall ~ Vocals Jim Michaelsen ~ Saxophone Tommy Morgan ~ Drums Bud Morreset ~ Guitar Buck Ormsby ~ Bass, Steel Guitar Randy Oxford ~ Trombone Lee Parker ~ Guitar Greg Parman ~ Saxophone Dick Powell ~ Harp, Keyboards Jim Pribbenow ~ Saxophone Robin Roberts ~ Vocals Mark Riley ~ Riley Tim Sherman ~ Guitar Billy Stapleton ~ Guitar Jill Wainsgard ~ Keyboards |
Dickie
Enfield
Claude
Hammond (7 March 1940 - 2 June 2001)
Claude
lost his battle with leukemia on June 2, 2001. His music will remain
in the heart of his family, and all who knew him.
Joe
Johansen (d: 4 June 1997)
Jim
Michaelsen
Bud
Morreset
Lee
Parker (25 April 1942 - 19 June 2010)
Robin
Roberts
Hans
Ipsen (d: January 2008)
Robbie
Jordan (d: 15 March 2010)
Jay
Johansen
Lee Parker (1942 - 2010)
Allyn Lee Parker, 68, lost his long battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Lee was born April 25, 1942 at the old Harrison Hospital in Bremerton to Asbery Mixon "Lee" Parker and Evelyn "Sheets" Parker. Lee was raised in Port Orchard and attended local schools. He was always interested in music and got his first guitar at age 10.
Many of you knew Lee through his music and the bands he formed, sang and played with when you were still teenagers here in Kitsap County. He never lost his love of music and after he could no longer sing and play his guitar commercially because of the COPD, he went back to school at Seattle University, received his BS in Psychology and worked as a substance abuse counselor in the Vancouver/Portland area for the past 20 years. He was very good at it! Lee often incorporated his musical talents into his counseling, writing parodies to old songs and singing them to his group session attendees to get his points across. It was quite effective. He made a difference in many troubled peoples' lives, showing them an alternative to their current lifestyle.
Lee was preceded in death by his father and daughter Carmen and first wife Janet (Story) Parker.
Lee met his wife of 13 years, Pat, an RN in the Vancouver area. Pat has two grown children, Emily (Jeff Axman) Matza and Adam Matza and one grandson, Isaac Axman, who Lee was as crazy about as he was his own three college age grandchildren, Scott, Zachery and Nicole Parker and his son Charlie Parker and wife Carmen all who live in Kitsap County. Charlie has his own band, Skinny Charles, in which he sings and plays the guitar just like his dad. His granddaughter Nicole and grandson Zak are equally as talented singers and Zak plays the guitar as well.
Lee is also survived by his mother, Evelyn J. Parker of Bremerton, two sisters, Lynda Brooks of Gig Harbor, Holly Parker Harden of Port Orchard, nine nieces and nephews, 11 great nieces and nephews and 13 first cousins.
Lee was a great son, brother, husband, father and grandfather and his presence will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
At his request, there will be no formal memorial. However, if you still live in the area and can remember back to the 50's and 60's when Lee first started his music career here in Kitsap County, please contact his sister Holly either by email at hparkerharden@wavecable.com or by phone at 360-895-3181. A private memorial in Lee's honor will be held at Holly and her husband Larry Harden's home on Sunday, July 11. There will be photos of Lee's music career dating back to his first band, The Sharps. Others will remember later bands such as Joe Faker and Little Bill and the Blue Notes. You are welcome to come share your memories with his family of the "Good old days" or your personal memories of Lee's music in your youth. You might remember the dances Lee played for all over the county in the 50's and 60's. To refresh some of your senior memories, there was Perl Maurer's of course plus every dance hall at County lakes from up north at Lamola, Island Lake and south to Horseshoe Lake. They all had dance halls and Lee's bands played at all of them. Before that was the old Bethel School House and the Bethel Grange and after that was the Armory on Mile Hill then later the Eagles and Bay Street Bowery. Lee and various bands later played all over the Seattle/Tacoma area and he received the Blues Master award a few years back at The Swiss Pub in downtown Tacoma. To those of you who knew Lee, thank you for being in his life. An RSVP is requested if you plan to attend the private memorial.
Obituary provided courtesy of Pat Hubbard (Parker)
I am one of the original Blue Notes who played Tenor Saxophone. Little Bill and I started the Blue Notes in 1958. I found this picture of the original Blue Notes in a family album. This was taken at my grandparents house in Tacoma in 1958 before we recorded "I Love An Angel".Frank Dutra, 21 March 2006
Little
Bill and The Bluenotes Circa 1958 with Rockin Robin Roberts
Little Bill in 1959 |
Robin Roberts with the Bluenotes |
If
you have corrections, a neat photo or more information, please send it
to:
Last
Update: 9 May 2013
Credits:
Don
Rogers, Brady Anderson, Dennis Dudley, Jeff
Miller, Paula (Hammond) Akers, Colleen Carmody, Wally
Hampton, Randy Oxford, Frank
Dutra, Walt Rattenbury, Randy Hoyle, Krys Lilly, Merri Sutton, Steve Metzker,
Tim Sherman, Pat Hubbard (Parker), Phizzone Ziegler, Bill
Engelhart, John Carmody
