Meet Marvin Parks: The "American Jazz Singer" in Paris

Feb 26, 2017

3 min read

I met Marvin, an American, in a hostel in Paris. He left me a negative impression at first sight, fumbling through his coins to pay for his bed while I was waiting impatiently behind. In fact, he was paying the full amount in coins. At that moment, I thought to myself, “This guy is definitely trying to be funny.” Ironically enough, I found out he was my roommate. A chanced encounter changed all these negative impressions of him.

Marvin has this ability to crack random jokes and comments, in a room full of strangers, with complete ease. One morning in the hostel room, while he was making some random comments, we started a conversation about the homeless in Paris. That was when I knew more about his life story. He told me that he was homeless for a while in New York and had to spend some time sleeping in the streets.

It is common for homeless people to be judged, but as Marvin puts it,

“Being homeless doesn’t always mean that they are bad people, some just do not have a roof over their head and they just need a temporary place to stay. They are not going to be there forever.”

Marvin was born in Baltimore. He came from an American gospel choir singers background and he started singing at the age of 4. His mum actually named him after Marvin Gaye. As an aspiring Jazz singer in New York, he was barely making ends meet while pursuing his singing dream.

Marvin lived in New York for 6 years prior to Paris. He ended up in Paris after discovering cheap New York-Paris round trip tickets; they cost him only $83 after deducting his airline miles. His initial intention was to be away for 3 weeks. Instead, he ended up staying in Paris for 3 years. He didn’t look back since. It is funny how he ended up singing and buskering in the metro station of Paris. This is what he had to say about that:

"One day I was invited out and this ATM machine swallowed up my card “Carte Capturée”. It’s 8:30 and I’m like “Oh my God! What is this!”. I gotta take those things like I’m watching it on the big screen, and this was like the turning part in a movie where I’m staring blankly in disbelief. So my only solution was to sing in the metro the next day. However, a little later after I had been singing for a little while, I was going through my suitcase looking for something and I discovered the REAL card! The reason why they kept my card was because it was a dead card, it had already expired. I had called my bank to cancel my card, I was singing in the metro for money and it turns out I actually had my card the whole time! (laughs). And now I happen to be one of the most well known buskers in the city of Paris. That was never my idea nor my plan when I first set off for Paris."

Never in his wildest dream would he have expected to gain some following and recognition in a foreign land. And, that was how he got all his coins to pay off his hostel stay!

Through singing in the metro, he would go on to be featured on French national newspaper, television channel and radio stations. He uses buskering as a platform to promote his gigs in the jazz clubs of Paris. The day that newspaper article came out, the jazz club he was performing at was fully packed. By the way, he is signed to a record deal with an Italian label.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAfKxEANhx8

He told me many beautiful stories he encountered while singing in the metro station. It brings tremendous satisfaction to him when he could turn a commuter’s bad day into a good one through his performance. He believes in connecting with his audience by giving them his real self.

Marvin’s journey is a story of luck and resilience. It is his persistent stubbornness that makes him unique. He is street-smartness at its best. To quote him, “Life is like a board game, every decision will open up new doors and lead you somewhere.”