Blue-eyed soul singer Bobby Paris entered the world in New York City, where he grew up as the child of a Puerto Rican household. His first taste of performing came in 1956 when he joined the local doo-wop outfit the Golden Keys. The Indigo label released his opening single, “Rockin’ Concerto,” in 1960, and the following year Magenta put out “Dark Continent.” Over the next several years Paris moved restlessly among small imprints, cutting “Is It You” for Jolar in 1962, “Are You the One” for Jairick in 1963, and “Love Passed Me By” for Chattahoochee in 1965.
His breakthrough arrived with the 1966 single “Night Owl,” whose central melody he had first played on piano at age five; the record proved large enough to keep the financially ailing Cameo/Parkway label afloat. Capitol then signed him, issuing the ballad “I Walked Away” as his initial release for the company in 1967 and simultaneously employing him as a staff producer. In that same year he co-produced Bobbie Gentry’s country-pop staple “Ode to Billie Joe.” Two more sides, “Per-So-Nal-Ly” and “Bye, Bye Blackbird,” appeared in 1968. The next year he recorded a version of the Hair standard “Let the Sunshine In,” after which he fell silent until 1973, when Capitol issued his final two singles, “Baby, Spread Your Love on Me” and “Love Looks So Good on You.”
In later decades the tracks “Night Owl,” “I Walked Away,” and “Per-So-Nal-Ly” became fixtures in Britain’s Northern Soul scene, a development unknown to Paris until 1999, when he was invited to participate in the documentary film The Strange World of Northern Soul and subsequently performed at its premiere party.
