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Robert Palmer

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For other people named Robert Palmer, see Robert Palmer (disambiguation).
File:RobertPalmer Riptide albumcover.jpg
The Riptide album was Palmer's best selling work.

Robert Allen Palmer (January 19, 1949 – September 26, 2003), born in Batley, Yorkshire, England, was a British singer. He was known for his soulful voice and the eclectic mix of musical styles on his albums, combining soul, jazz, rock, reggae, blues, and even yodeling.

1964-1973: Early bands

The son of a British serviceman stationed in Malta, Palmer moved with his family to Scarborough, Yorkshire in 1959. Influenced as a child by blues, soul, and jazz music on American Forces Radio, Robert Palmer joined his first band, The Mandrakes, at the age of 15 while still an art student at Scarborough Technical College. His first major break came with the departure of singer Jess Roden from the band The Alan Bown Set in 1969, after which Palmer was invited to London to sing on their single "Gypsy Girl". The vocals for the album The Alan Bown!, originally recorded by Roden (and released in the US that way), were re-recorded by Palmer after the success of the single.

In 1970, Palmer joined the 12-piece jazz-rock fusion band Dada, which featured singer Elkie Brooks. The band lasted a year, after which Brooks and Palmer formed the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful rhythm and blues group, Vinegar Joe; Palmer sang and played rhythm guitar. Signed to the Island Records label, they released three albums: Vinegar Joe (1972), Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies (1972), and Six Star General (1973).

1974-1984: Early solo career

On the basis of his youthful looks, strong stage presence, and soulful voice, Island Records signed Palmer to a solo deal. His first solo album Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1974, was heavily influenced by the music of Little Feat and the funk fusion of The Meters who acted as backing band along with producer/guitarist Lowell George of Little Feat. His first single was a cover of Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes". Although moderately successful in the UK, both the album and single reached the Top 100 in the US.

Subsequently relocating from London to New York City with his wife, Palmer released Pressure Drop in 1975 (featuring famed Motown bassist James Jamerson). An album infused with his interests in reggae and rock music, it was noted for its cover art of a nude girl on a balcony rather than any commercially successful songs. (The lead single "Give Me An Inch" did win critical plaudits for Palmer's note-perfect delivery and its chord changes, which surprised George during the recording process.) He toured with Little Feat to promote that album.

File:Some People Can Do What They Like.jpg
Palmer with Denise Michele

However, with the failure of the follow-up Some People Can Do What They Like, Palmer decided to move to the Bahamas; after that, his "expatriate lifestyle" was likely to receive more coverage than his music in British newspapers.

In 1978, he released Double Fun, a collection of Caribbean-influenced rock, including a down-tempo and syncopated cover of "You Really Got Me". The album reached the Top 50 on the US Billboard magazine charts and scored a Top 20 single with the Andy Fraser-penned "Every Kinda People". It has become one of Palmer's best-loved songs, covered multiple times by other artists (including Chaka Demus and Pliers, Randy Crawford and Amy Grant) and cited by music fans and spiritual groups for its positive message.

Palmer's next album was an artistic departure, concentrating on a rockier direction. Secrets produced his second Top 20 single with Moon Martin's "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)".

The 1980s saw Palmer find an increasing amount of commercial success. The album Clues, produced by Palmer and featuring Chris Franz and Gary Numan, generated hits on both sides of the Atlantic, first with the radio-friendly single "Johnny and Mary" and then "Looking for Clues". Catchy music videos matching the synth pop stylings of New Wave gave him much needed exposure to a younger audience. The success was repeated with the 1982 EP release of Some Guys Have All the Luck.

The "Johnny and Mary" single would achieve immortality when its classic synth hook was used in a series of Renault TV commercials through the 1990s. Palmer was reputed to have a lucrative deal with the French car manufacturer to use the song's melody in its advertising, Renault having to authorize each new interpretation of the melody with Palmer in every new commercial it released.

1983 saw Palmer blend techno beats, early sampling and more of the island music of his adopted island into the adventurous album ‘‘Pride. Though the album wasn't the smash Clues, was, it did feature standout tracks in the title song and Palmer's cover of the System's "You Are In My System" -- with the System's David Frank contributing keyboard tracks to the latter song.

1985-1995: Power Station and MTV success

1985 was a milestone year for Palmer. After Duran Duran went on hiatus (shortly undergoing an acrimonious split), guitarist Andy Taylor and bass player John Taylor joined drummer Tony Thompson and Palmer to form the band Power Station. Their eponymous album, recorded mostly at the New York studio for which the band was named, reached the Top 20 in the UK and the US and spawned two hit singles with "Some Like It Hot" and the T. Rex cover "Get It On". Palmer performed live with the band only once that year, on Saturday Night Live; the band toured with singer Michael Des Barres when Palmer bowed out at the last moment to go back into the studio to further his newly revitalized solo career.

File:RobertPalmer Addicted Screenshot.jpg
The solemn and lovely ladies "play" their instruments in the often-parodied "Addicted to Love" video.

Palmer recorded the album Riptide in 1985, recruiting Thompson and Andy Taylor to play on some tracks and Power Station producer Bernard Edwards, who worked with Thompson in the group Chic, to helm the production.

Riptide featured the Number 1 single "Addicted to Love". The single was accompanied by a memorable and much parodied music video, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female "musicians". The singles "Hyperactive" and his cover of Cherrelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" also performed well. Another song, "Trick Bag" was written by one of his major influences, New Orleans jazz artist Earl King. In 1987, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his song "Addicted to Love".

Palmer was approached by Little Feat to replace Lowell George as they prepared their 1987 reunion, but had to decline for contractual reasons.

In 1987, Palmer moved to Lugano, Switzerland and set up his own recording studio. Producing Heavy Nova in 1988, Palmer again returned to experimenting, this time with bossa nova rhythms, heavy rock, and white soul balladeering. He repeated his previous success with "Addicted to Love" with the video of "Simply Irresistible", again Palmer with a troupe of female "musicians". The ballad "She Makes My Day" also proved to be a hit. In 1989, he won a second Grammy for "Simply Irresistible", which would later be featured in the Tony-winning musical "Contact." Rolling Stone magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for 1990.

Palmer collaborated with UB40 for his next album, Don't Explain. Released in 1990, it featured the Bob Dylan-penned Top 10 single "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and the Top 20 Marvin Gaye cover "Mercy Mercy Me". Throughout the 1990s, Palmer ventured further into diverse material. The 1992 album Ridin' High was a tribute to the Tin Pan Alley era.

In 1994, Palmer released the tropical album Honey to mixed reviews and commercial success. While the album failed to spawn any hit singles in the United States, he did find success in Britain with the release of 3 hit singles "Girl U Want", "Know By Now" and "You Blow Me Away".

In 1995, Palmer reunited with other members of The Power Station to record a second album. Bassist John Taylor eventually backed out of the project (due to personal problems), to be replaced by old colleague Bernard Edwards. Palmer and the rest of the band completed the album Living In Fear (released in 1997), and had just begun touring when Edwards died of pneumonia.

1996-2003: Late solo work and the blues

The next few years saw more touring and more compilations; the next release of new material, Rhythm and Blues (1999) contained a mixture of Little Feat influenced songs, rock, and pop. Palmer released a single from the album Rhythm and Blues called "True Love" which turned out to be a minor hit in Britain.

His final release, Drive (2003), was critically hailed as his grittiest and most heartfelt album of his career. Inspired by a previous collaboration with Carl Carlton on a Robert Johnson tribute album, Drive featured covers of fifteen blues standards, plus the original track "Lucky". He also conducted smaller scale tours, mostly around the lucrative casino circuit.

Palmer, who made his home in Lugano, Switzerland for the past 15 years, died in Paris, France of a heart attack at the age of 54. He is interred at the cemetery in Lugano. With Thompson's death later that year and Edwards' back in 1996, three members of the Power Station team that helped propel Palmer to his biggest success have met untimely ends.

Discography

Album Name, Year of Release

Albums by the group Power Station:

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1976 "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" #63 - - - Some People Can Do What They Like
1978 "Every Kinda People" #16 - - #43 Double Fun
1979 "Bad Case Of Loving You" #14 - - #61 Secrets
1979 "Can We Still Be Friends" #53 - - - Secrets
1980 "Johnny And Mary" - - - #44 Clues
1980 "Looking For Clues" - - - #33 Clues
1982 "Some Guys Have All The Luck" - - #59 #16 Maybe It's Live
1983 "You Are In My System" #78 - - #53 Pride
1983 "You Can Have It (Take My Heart)" - - - #66 Pride
1985 "Discipline Of Love" #82 - - #68 Riptide
1986 "Addicted To Love" #1 - #1 #5 Riptide
1986 "Hyperactive" #33 - #21 - Riptide
1986 "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" #2 - - #9 Riptide
1988 "Sweet Lies" #94 - - #58 Sweet Lies [single]
1988 "Simply Irresistible" #2 - #1 #44 Heavy Nova
1988 "Early In The Morning" #19 - #40 - Heavy Nova
1988 "She Makes My Day" - - - #6 Heavy Nova
1989 "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming" #60 - - - Heavy Nova
1989 "Change His Ways" - - - #28 Heavy Nova
1989 "It Could Happen To You" - - - #71 Heavy Nova
1990 "Life in Detail" - #14 #7 - Pretty Woman [Soundtrack]
1990 "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" - #24 - #6 Don't Explain
1990 "You're Amazing" #28 - #5 - Don't Explain
1991 "Mercy Mercy Me/The Ecology (I Want You)" #16 - - #9 Don't Explain
1991 "Dreams To Remember" - - - #68 Don't Explain
1992 "Witchcraft" - - - #50 Ridin' High
1994 "Girl U Want" - - - #57 Honey
1994 "Know By Now" - - - #25 Honey
1994 "You Blow Me Away" - - - #38 Honey
1995 "Respect Yourself" - - - #45 The Very Best Of
1999 "True Love" - - - #94 Rhythm and Blues
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