Fayerweather Records was formed in 1983 as a platform for the first independent recording by Parker MacDonell. Parker, who had been playing clubs in LA and making demos of his songs, had the opportunity to go on the road to play the college circuit.  He wanted a product to sell at his shows, so he followed Walt Disney’s example and borrowed the cash value of his life insurance policy to capitalize Fayerweather Records.

For the name of the company, he chose the name of the dormitory from his freshman year at Dartmouth College.  It was a place where he formed lifelong friendships, and the logo for the company is an interpretation of the cupola on the top of Dartmouth Hall, the building he could see out of the window of his dorm room from Fayerweather Hall.

The first release, Home to the Heart, was recorded in 1983 at Weddington Studios in North Hollywood. It was co-produced by Parker and his musical partner Chris Petersen, who played lead guitar and sang backup vocals.  It featured John Raymond on bass; he later became the guitarist in Kenny G’s road band for over 40 years.  It also featured Jim King on keyboards, Sean McDonald on drums, David Sheils on background vocals, Jon Clarke from the Loggins & Messina band on woodwinds and Michael Fisher from the Rickie Lee Jones band on percussion.

The album sold well at Parker’s live performances, and it received ample college radio airplay in the markets where Parker performed.  A college friend sent a copy to DJ Dick Cerri, who played it on his weekly folk music show on a Washington, DC top 40 station.  Cerri sent a copy to his brother-in-music Pete Fornatale, who hosted a similar weekly show on WNEW in New York City. Fornatale’s listeners voted Parker as the Best New Artist in 1984; Parker played live on one of his shows.  Fornatale hosted the Hungerthon, an annual fundraiser for World Hunger Year, which had been formed by Harry Chapin and which Fornatale continued to support after Chapin’s untimely death.  Fornatale invited Parker to perform at the 1986 Hungerthon from the lobby of the United Nations, and he gave Parker a slot just after Marshall Crenshaw and just before Jesse Colin Young, two of Parker’s heroes.

In 1985, Parker made a second record for Fayerweather Records, Looking For You.  It featured all the players and singers from his first record, except for the addition of Scott Moser on drums.  The release of the record coincided with Parker’s return to graduate school that fall and a new career in finance.

In 2012, Parker went back to LA and invited his old friends to play and sing on a new record, The Present Tense.  It was produced by vaunted studio guitarist Joe DeBlasi.  Along with seven songs written by Parker, it had songs by Steve Goodman (Elvis Imitators), Rand Bishop & David Sheils (Veteran’s Day) and Jon Robbin (Mississippi Lawyer). It was released to Spotify and Apple Music.

In early 2027, Parker will release In My Years, a new recording produced by Craig Carothers, a hit songwriter and esteemed professor of songwriting on the faculty of the University of Miami. The recording will be available on streaming sites, as a CD and as a download. The record features songs by Parker, Craig Carothers (Little Hercules) & Don Henry (Where’ve You Been), Keith Larsen (Hold On), Tom Ruegger (Animanics) and Bill Troy.

The eleven songs cover a range of emotions from a life well-lived.  Next To You imagines the arc of a relationship, while Never Trusted Happiness channels Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies. She Was, She Was is a long goodbye; After All takes a wistful look at faded love. Guy For That provides hope in a Jackson Browne-sized package, and Wedding Day Waltz is a celebration of a sacred day.  Open Mike cuts like a knife through a hallowed songwriter tradition, then Better With Youturns to a love story for the second half of life.  I Can Breathe Now celebrates a life not lived in vain.  What I’ve Learnedis about looking back and starting over, and Two Letters sheds new light on a breakup.

Parker performs regularly at songwriter shows in Columbus, Ohio and in house concerts across the country.  His side project (Morgan, MacDonell & Maneri) takes listeners back to the great 3-part harmony songs of the late 60’s and early 70’s.