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It’s twenty past one in the morning and I can’t sleep. A friend of mine just sent me a news clip from the AP and I still can’t believe the headline: ‘Spenser’ novelist Robert Parker dies at age 77.

Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010)

This has nothing to do about music so it may seem out of place here; but I really feel like you should know. Robert Parker was always a hero to me. His character, Spenser, was as tough and cool as they come and, from the moment that I read the opening chapter of the first “Spenser” novel, The Godwulf Manuscript, I knew I’d be a life-long fan.

The book that started it all

I discovered Parker’s books just as I began attending college in Boston and I remember thinking how cool it was that many of them took place there. In fact, Spenser’s office was not too far from my dorm room and, sometimes when I went for a walk, I’d think to myself that the tough-looking guy headed down Massachusetts Ave. was surely the PI in the flesh.

Whenever the guys and I hit the road, I always take a backpack full of books. On our last tour, when our tires weren’t exploding and when we weren’t being accused of trying to rob banks, I spent a lot of my time reading Parker novels. It may seem weird to be so inspired by a series of detective stories but seriously, every time Spenser got out of a tight spot or solved a crime I felt really stoked. Trust me, that means a lot when you’re stuck in a sixteen-passenger van with three other dudes for hours on end each day.

On tour reading Parker's book, Mortal Stakes

My heart goes out to Parker’s friends and family. I can only imagine how devastated they are by his loss. While I never had the privilege of meeting him, I know that he was a good man. It would be impossible for someone without incredible character to write so honestly and eloquently. Rest in peace Robert Parker, you will be missed.