An Interview with Bobby Paris

JP:  Can you tell me a little bit about your background, how did your family come to live in America? 

BP: My mother moved here from Puerto Rica before I was born.  It was at a time when there was a lot of immigration into the States.  She already had some family in New York and she went to live with them. When she got older she married another Puerto Rican, who was my natural father.  I was therefore born in New York, which makes me a ‘NewRican’, somebody born in New York, but of Puerto Rican descent.  My natural father deserted my mother when I was a baby, and she became very ill.  She found it difficult to look after me, so for the first three years of my life I was raised in a home.   Then one day my mother and her new boyfriend came to visit me, but as they were leaving I started crying.  Her boyfriend just turned round and picked me up and told me I was going home with them.  Since then I have always considered him to be my real father.  It was only then that I discovered that I had a sister called Iris.

JP:  As a Puerto Rican how did you come to be involved in soul music, which is traditionally an African-American style?  Why did you not get involved in Latin Music, which is more a part of your cultural heritage? 

BP:  I was brought up in Manhattan, which is a melting pot for all types of races.  There were lots of Italians,  Blacks, Irish and of course Puerto Ricans.  As a youngster I used to visit my aunt who had a piano.  By the age of four I could play it quite well, though I never had any formal training.  I picked it up by ear.  As I moved into adolescence I started hanging out with street gangs, many of whom passed their time as street corner harmony groups.  My group was called the Golden Keys, which was a Falsetto group, but I sang baritone and lead.  I first tuned into R&B by listening to Alan Freed’s radio show.  Being in a harmony group was a way to impress the girls, which was another reason why I wanted to sing.  The group was made up of two Italians, one Irish boy and one other whose race I cannot remember, but there were no black boys in our group. We sang R&B but without a single coloured person amongst us.  To be honest nobody took any note of race at that time, we all got on well together.  That was about 1956/57. 

JP:  Tell me a little more about your personal circumstances in your youth.  Did you come from a deprived or affluent background? 

BP:  To be honest it wasn’t an issue, there was no real recognition of rich or poor, everybody just accepted everybody else for who they were.  I always had what I needed, food in my mouth, clothes on my back.  I had some nice dress clothes for Sunday. 

JP:  Which artists were your biggest influences? 

BP:  I used to pick up my songs by listening to the Moondog Radio Station, but it wasn’t just that.  There were all sorts of music being played in the Bronx.  Everyone seemed to have an affinity for music.  I remember there was a lot of Latin music, and this influenced my music even today.   It is very similar to R&B, very intricate and using three counter rhythms.  My biggest influences were the Flamingos, The Moonglows, The Shirelles, The Spaniels and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. I always bought their records.  They made me appreciate music.  My group, the Golden Keys, would sing their numbers as a street corner symphony.   I lived by Central Park where we performed.   That was really my education.

JP:  Can you tell me a little about your recording of ‘Night Owl’?  How did that song come about?

BP:  I first composed Night Owl on my Aunt’s Piano when I was about five years old.  I later managed to get it released at Cameo Parkway.  I remember that I had to play it to Neil Bogart over the phone.  It was the money they made from my record that allowed the label to continue.  Neil later went on to form his own label Casablanca Records.  That’s how the label got its name, ‘Casablanca’ from ‘Bogart’ its owner.  

JP:  Apart from Soul have you ever worked with any other style of music? 

BP:  Yes of course.  I’ve been a producer of both classical and folk music.  I’ve written several instrumentals and I’m currently writing a symphony.  I’ve produced Dobie Gray and also Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billy Joe”.  I’ve worked in a wide variety of styles. 

JP:  On the Northern Soul scene here in England ‘Personally’, ‘I Walked Away’ and ‘Night Owl are considered to be anthems.  Are there any songs of yours, which you think could become popular on the scene, which might have been missed? 

BP:  Possibly ‘No, No, No Girl’ and the Four Tops influenced ‘I’m So Lonely’.  Maybe other stuff off my ‘Let Me Show You The Way’ Album.

JP:  The Music Industry is a tough world and many artists are not always complementary about it, often complaining of being ripped off, or not being paid their royalties.  Has this ever happened to you and what are your general feelings about the Industry as a whole? 

BP:  I’ve experienced both extremes.  Capitol Records were just like one big family to me.  I liked working there and things really worked out.  Other companies have not been as good.  ‘Night Owl’ has for example been released in both Germany and Korea, but I’ve not seen a penny in Royalties yet.  I plan to get my Attorneys involved in getting me what I’m owed. 

JP:  So what projects are you currently working on? 

BP:  I’m about two thirds of the way through making my new album which I am performing, producing, writing and arranging myself.  It’s called ‘Bobby Paris Rezz-Irrection’.

JP:  Is it a soul album? 

BP:  Of course, that’s how people know me now.  They call me ‘Bobby Soul’  

JP:  Do you plan to release it in the UK? 

BP: I certainly hope so.

JP:  Do you still perform live in concerts? 

BP:  Yes, whenever I have the opportunity.  I’ve got my own band, a white band and we’re called ‘The Golden Keys’.  I both play the drums and sing. 

JP:  What about your family Bobby? 

BP:  I’ve got two sons, Bobby Paris Junior who is aged 13 and Adam who is aged eleven.  The surprising thing is that we’re every one of us Virgo.  I’ve also just married my long time girlfriend Judy. 

JP:  Congratulations Bobby.  I’m sure all the Northern Soul Fraternity here in England wish you the very best.  What about your spare time?  How do you spend it?  Do you have any hobbies? 

BP:  Most of my time is spent working on my music.  When I’m not, I’m working on my wife Judy. 

JP:  Clearly the words of a newly wedded and contented man.  Let me thank you for taking the time out to talk to me Bobby.   I’m sure all visitors to ‘The Soul Review’ will enjoy reading your story.