Charlie Parker

This paper discusses the career and emotional problems of the musician Charlie Parker and contends that Parker’s musical achievements were extremely influential.

Charlie Parker was born Charles Parker, Jr. to Adelaide (Addie) Bailey Parker and Charlie Parker, Sr. in Kansas City, Kansas on August 29, 1920. His mother Addie was of African-American-Choctaw descent from Oklahoma while his father was an African American from Mississippi and Tennessee. Charlie Sr. wet to Kansas to work as an entertainer and stayed there for a while. (Charlie Parker: His Music, His Life).
There isn’t a whole lot known about Charlie’s father who was said to have had a son, John, with a previous wife. When Charlie Sr. married Addie, he brought John with him. It seems to be a cliche to mention that Charlie Sr. had an alcohol problem, for it seems that alcohol has played a part in so many musicians’ lives, but he did. Because of this problem, Charlie’s parents separated when Charlie was only quite young.