Billy Parker is a native Oklahoman who grew up in country music, playing guitar and singing since age 11, and singing professionally since age 14. With many nationally charted records to his credit, he has played with the best of them: Bob Wills, Red Foley, and Ernest Tubb. Parker has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, Hee Haw, and on the Nashville Network's Nashville Now.
Parker began his radio career in Tulsa in 1959 at KFMJ and did radio and TV — with stops at Wichita's KFDI and Oklahoma City's KLPR. Billy left Tulsa to become the front man for the Texas Troubadour, he toured continually and worked with many of the greatest names in country music, including Bob Wills.
Tiring of the road, but continuing his country music recording career, Parker joined Clear Channel giant KVOO in 1971. There, he began his ascension to country-radio superstardom. It didn't take long for the industry to notice. In 1974, only three years after he started his radio show KVOO, the Country Music Association awarded him a Disc Jockey of the Year honor. The next year, the Los Angeles-based Academy of Country Music followed suit, recognizing Parker as its Disc Jockey of the Year in 1975... and in 1977, 1978, and 1984. In the 1990s the accolades continued. He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 1992, the Western Swing Hall of Fame in 1993, and scored the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters' Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Through it all, he's continued with his recordings and live performances. Among his best known hits are 1982's "Who's Gonna Sing The Last Country Song," 1978's "Until The Next Time," and an evergreen called "Lord, If I Make It To Heaven (Can I Bring My Own Angel Along)," a 1977 single that is one of his most requested songs to this day. His many albums include a gospel offering, "I'll Speak Out For You, Jesus," which earned him the Top Country Personality Award from the International Gospel Music Association.
Billy knows, appreciates, and loves western-swing music and the people who made, and make, it. His love of KVOO doesn't only prove that; it also shows that this Hall of Famer is a man who, after all of his honors and achievements, remains a major force in country music.