Raydio

In 1977 Ray Parker, Jr. assembled the ensemble Raydio together with vocalists Arnell Carmichael and Jerry Knight. Jerry Knight handled lead vocals on the outfit’s breakthrough single, “Jack and Jill,” which arrived in 1978. Larry Tolbert, Darren Carmichael, and Charles Fearing completed the roster. Parker kept the unit together until 1981, even as the billing changed to Ray Parker, Jr. & Raydio in 1980. A second Top Ten entry on both the R&B and pop charts followed with “You Can’t Change That” in 1979, after which “Two Places at the Same Time” climbed to number six on the R&B side in 1980. The group reached the pinnacle of the R&B listings in 1981 via “A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do),” a track that simultaneously rose to number four on the pop chart. Arista released every song and album the collective produced.