David Parton

This singer-songwriter and producer was based in Stoke, England and was occasionally known as Des Parton. He was the mainstay of the group Strange Fox, who were taken under the wing of Tony Hatch in the early 70s. Parton discovered the group Sweet Sensation and together with Hatch wrote and produced their hits, including the 1974 UK number 1 ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’. Since he had a voice similar to Stevie Wonder, he was the ideal choice to cover Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, when Stevie decided he did not want to release his version on a single. Parton’s version on Pye Records shot into the UK Top 10 in 1977 but it was to be his sole hit as an singer. He later worked in production and songwriting based in Cheshire.