Jay Parker Dies

John G. Parker was born in Tuscaloosa in 1925. As a child, he moved to Florence, later attending Coffee High School and playing in the band with Sam Phillips. As adults, both men moved to Memphis where Phillips founded his iconic Sun Records label and Parker began work as an artist. In the early 1950s, Parker's mainstay was advertising work and it gave him a chance to create history in 1952.

The two friends from Florence met by chance one day at a Memphis Krystal where Sam told Jay of his new business and asked if he could create a logo. Jay had never created a logo for a record label, but offered to give it a shot. He sold the now famous sun and rooster icon to Phillips for $50.00.

Like Sam, Jay went on to create a name for himself in his chosen field and was known not only for his commercial work, but also as an accomplished water colorist. Among his other iconic commercial works were logos for Alka-Seltzer and Super Bubble Gum. Jay passed away in Memphis on July 30th at the age of 87. Besides his wife and two children, Jay is survived by his brother Floyd "Rusty" Parker of Florence.

Special Thanks to one of our readers for making us aware of this.
 

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It's a nice quiet weekend, almost like a calm before a storm. Perhaps one is coming to the area on Monday?



Shoalanda