This day in 2003 – English singer, songwriter Robert Palmer died of a heart attack aged 54 in Paris France. He was a member of Vinegar Joe and The Power Station (with Duran Duran members Andy Taylor and John Taylor with drummer and former Chic member Tony Thompson). As a solo artist had the 1986 US No.1 & UK No.5 single ‘Addicted To Love’ and the 1988 hit ‘Simply Irresistible’.
Island Records signed Palmer in 1974. 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. Although unsuccessful in the UK, both the album and single reached the Top 100 in the US. Notably, “Sailin’ Shoes” (the album’s first track, and a Little Feat cover), Palmer’s own “Hey Julia” and the Allen Toussaint-penned title track carry virtually the same rhythm, and were packaged on the album as a “trilogy” without a pause between them.
After relocating with his wife to New York City, Palmer released Pressure Drop, named for the cover version of the reggae hit by Toots and the Maytals, in November 1975 (featuring Motown bassist James Jamerson). He toured with Little Feat to promote the reggae- and rock-infused album.
With the failure of follow-up album Some People Can Do What They Like, however, Palmer decided to move to Nassau, Bahamas, directly across the street from Compass Point Studios.
In 1978, he released Double Fun, a collection of Caribbean-influenced rock, including a cover of “You Really Got Me”. The album reached the Top 50 on the US Billboard chart and scored a Top 20 single with the Andy Fraser-penned “Every Kinda People”. The song has been covered by other artists including Chaka Demus and Pliers, Randy Crawford and Amy Grant. It reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Palmer’s next album was an artistic departure, concentrating on pure rock. 1979’s Secrets produced his second Top 20 single with Moon Martin’s “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)”. The number 14 hit also gave Palmer his second Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart hit.
The 1980s saw Palmer find an increasing amount of commercial success. The album Clues, produced by Palmer and featuring Chris Frantz of Talking Heads 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.
In April 1983 Pride was released, which, while not as commercially successful as Clues, did feature 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. On 31 May 1983, Palmer’s concert at the Hammersmith Palais was recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 1. On 23 July 1983, Palmer performed at Duran Duran’s charity concert at Aston Villa football ground, where he struck up friendships with members of Duran Duran that would spawn the supergroup the Power Station.
Palmer recorded the album Riptide at Compass Point Studios in 1985, recruiting Thompson and Andy Taylor to play on some tracks plus Power Station record producer Bernard Edwards, who worked with Thompson in Chic, to helm the production. Riptide featured the US number 1 and UK number 5 single “Addicted to Love”. “Addicted to Love” reached number 1 in the United States. The single was accompanied by a memorable and much-imitated music video, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female models simulating “musicians”. Donovan also directed videos for the hits “Simply Irresistible” and “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”. In September 1986, Palmer performed “Addicted to Love” at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. In 1987, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Addicted to Love”. At the 1987 Brit Awards, Palmer received his first nomination for Best British Male.
Another single from Riptide, his cover of Cherrelle’s “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”, also performed well (US number 2, UK number 9). Another song, “Trick Bag”, was written by one of his major influences, New Orleans jazz artist Earl King.
Concerned about the rising crime rate in Nassau, Palmer moved to Lugano, Switzerland in 1987 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 of “Addicted to Love” with the video of “Simply Irresistible”, again with a troupe of female “musicians”. The song reached number 2 in the US and was Palmer’s final Top Ten hit there. The ballad “She Makes My Day” also proved to be a hit in the UK, peaking at number 6. In 1989, he won a second Grammy for “Simply Irresistible”, which would later be featured in the Tony Award-winning musical Contact. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Palmer received his second nomination for Best British Male, and “Simply Irresistible” was nominated for Best British Single. Rolling Stone magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for 1990.
Palmer’s final album was 2003’s “Drive”, an album of soulful blues tunes. If you’ve never heard Robert Palmer’s take on the blues, you’re in for a treat. From “Drive”, here’s the leadoff track, “Mama, Talk To Your Daughter”.
Source: Wikipedia
