Jeff
Parker began playing guitar at the age of six. His
father, Vester Parker, was a musician at the Renfro Valley Barn Dance and he was
the first musical influence on Jeff. At the age of 12, Jeff started playing mandolin
with his family band called Sounds of Gospel. Jeff's first professional
gig was as a fill-in mandolin player for Larry Sparks on a show at Renfro Valley.
Jeff and other friends formed a band called
Train 45 when he was 19. They played locally for a couple of years. In
1986, at the age of 25, Jeff was hired as a full time staff musician at Renfro
Valley. He worked there until 1994. In 1995, Jeff, along with his brother Mike,
Terry Wolfe, and David Osborne, formed the band Wilderness Trail. The
band played locally for the next six years. On October 5, 2001, Jeff received
an audition with The Lonesome River Band and he got the job. He has been their
mandolin player and singer ever since. As a member of Lonesome River Band, Jeff
has had the opportunity to travel the country and do what he loves all at the
same time. Jeff was a part of the highly successful Lonesome River Band album,
Window of Time.
