wazman
09-26-2003, 10:03 AM
Robert Palmer...
Great musician... Singer. He was the lead singer in the band Power Station, he sang songs like "Addicted to Love", "Simply Irresistable", and had some big hits in the 70's like "Bad Case of Loving You"...
You've probably heard it - I think it was the 7up slogan song for a while (or some product): "Doctor, Doctor, give me the news - I've got a bad case of loving you. No pill's gonna cure my ills - I've got a bad case of loving you..."
Great singer with a distinctive voice... That's sad. I will miss him.
ChKFlores
09-26-2003, 12:59 PM
Originally posted by egarrard
I just heard on the radio that Robert Palmer died last night. No more "Addicted To Love". :Crying
Damn...first John Ritter, now HIM?!?!? There's enough tragedy as it already is... :Nope :Crying
Xilant
09-26-2003, 03:40 PM
SO many deaths... Yet, another day of mourning for the loss of a great artist
thephenom
09-26-2003, 03:47 PM
Originally posted by wazman
Robert Palmer...
Great musician... Singer. He was the lead singer in the band Power Station, he sang songs like "Addicted to Love", "Simply Irresistable", and had some big hits in the 70's like "Bad Case of Loving You"...
You've probably heard it - I think it was the 7up slogan song for a while (or some product): "Doctor, Doctor, give me the news - I've got a bad case of loving you. No pill's gonna cure my ills - I've got a bad case of loving you..."
Great singer with a distinctive voice... That's sad. I will miss him.
Doesn't ring a bell. :Nope
blpeterson
09-26-2003, 03:58 PM
Robet Palmer Bio
Robert Palmer, the singer who has R&B in his blood, tried ever and ever to give new impulses to his music by adding musical styles of other cultures to his nobel-styled songs. Fearing determination he produced "white soul for snobs" (Rolling Stone). Though his amazing qualities as a singer and songwriter he was lacking the big success in the beginning. While Robert, the autodidact, had been underestimated in Great Britain, he gained fame in the US and in the other parts of Europe. He did best in high-tech studios, where he could suit his songs to his ideas best. The "intellectual master in the art of living" (Musik Express) has always "everything under control and a special ear for correct phrasing" (Melody Maker).
Robert Palmer was born as Robert Alan Palmer on the 19th of January 1949 in Batley, Yorkshire, England. At the age of three, his parents moved to Malta, where he grew up. Black music from Nat King Cole to Otis Redding influenced him and showed him his musical direction. One after the other he learned playing guitar, harmonica, bass and drums. His most precious instrument has certainly been his voice with this unique constant and jetty vibrato.
At the age of 15 he toured with The Mandrakes through Scandinavia.
Four years later he replaced Jess Roden on vocals in the jazz-rock formation The Alan Bown Set, later known as The Alan Bown! They released the album "Kick Me Out", also known as The Early Years. In 1970, "Listen" was released on Island Records, but Robert left during the recording to join the more avantgardistic band Dada, who released one record. In Dada he met Elkie Brooks, with whom he formed Vinegar Joe in 1971. From 1971-1973 they recorded three albums:
"Vinegar Joe"
"Rock'n'Roll Gypsies"
"Six Star General"
Rock'n'Roll Gypsies and Six Star General were rereleased on one CD known as Six Star Gypsies.
During this time Robert's writing ambitions grew. In Vinegar Joe he was credited on vocals and on rhythm guitar. Although Vinegar Joe showed great tour and TV ambitions, the albums weren't that successful. The band with blues-rock ambitions split up in 1973.
After a short appearence with Keef Hartley he produced a demo himself and got a solo-contract at Island Records. A long-term relationship with Chris Blackwell 's Island Records began. Blackwell had faith in artists like Palmer and John Martyn and allowed their creativity to flow, over and above commercial considerations. "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley" (US#66) was produced under direction of Steve Smith (Jess Roden, Jim Capaldi) and with the help of the funkband Meters and Lowell George from Little Feat in New York. Robert sang blues-oriented rock but the album has not been the big shot.
At the end of 1975 he released "Pressure Drop", which had not been more successful.
For his third album, Robert changed his concept. In autumn 1976 he combined clear rock with reggae. "Some People Can Do What They Like" (US#49) succeeded better and his career began to take off continously.
The albums "Double Fun" (US#37), "Secrets" (US#31) and the singles "Every Kinda People" (US#18) and "Bad Case Of Loving You" (US#9) established him in North America. Robert Palmer, who has been living in Nassau, Bahamas since 1976, has been called as one of "the few white rock interpreters, who had a detached and fertile attitude towards Jamaican music" (Musik Express). For "Secrets", Robert put together an own band for the first time, which consisted of Pierre Brock (bass), Kenny Mazur (guitar), Steve Robbins (keyboards), Jack Waldmann (keyboards) and Dony Wynn (drums). For the first time he showed his personal touch on the stage. His songs ranged from soul, reggae, pop to R&B, what shot him in higher chart-regions.
In addition to his solo career, Robert worked for Stargard in 1979, helped the Talking Heads working on their Main In Light album and produced Moon Martin, Desmond Dekker and Peter Baumann later.
With the album "Clues" (GB#28, US#58, D#6) he finally succeeded even in Great Britain in September 1980. The single "Looking for clues" (D#3) was his first big hit in Germany. "He has probably been on the right place for the right time" (New Musical Express) and "surfed on the main rock/disco-wave" (Trouser Press). Robert Palmer began experimenting with synthesizers and produced more future-oriented popsongs. "Johnny & Mary" became the lead song for the Renault advertising campaign.
Partly recorded live, partly in the studio, "Maybe It's Live" showed the habitual Palmer-sound of high-quality, but not danceable songs. With the cover version of the former Persuaders-hit "Some Guys Have All The Luck" (GB#18, D#52), he landed a real chart topper in Europe in March 1982. Robert Palmer has been influenced by the Nigerian Ju-Ju-music (with his help King Sunny Ade got a worldwide contract).
In the summer of 1983 he approached the disco-people with "Pride" (GB#15, D#35) and the single "You Are In My System" (US#78, D#52). With "Pride", he temporarily set an end to his solo career.
In 1984, Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor (guitar) and John Taylor (bass) from Duran Duran, and Tony Thompson (drums), formed Power Station, named after the famous New Yorker studio. They released "The Power Station" (GB#8, US#6, D#23) with the singles "Some Like It Hot" (GB#12, US#6, D#16) and "Get It On" (GB#18, US#9, D#37), a cover version of a former T.Rex hit. Due to misunderstandings among the other members of the band, Robert left Power Station in August 1985. Michael des Barres from Chequered Past replaced him.
The songs on "Riptide" (GB#4, US#8), released in autumn 1985, ranged from Hard-Funk to Cole Porter-sentimentality. The "bombastic funk-album" (Trouser Press) has been his most successful one til then. For the video for "Addicted To Love" (GB#4, US#1), MTV honored him and he got the Grammy in the category "Best Male Video". "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" (GB#7, US#2), "Riptide" (GB#41) and "Hyperactive" (US#33) appeared as singles.
At the beginning of 1987, Robert moved to Lugano, Switzerland and began working on the soundtrack to the movie Sweet Lies. The single "Sweet Lies" (GB#58, US#94) was his first one after the departure from Island Records. He had joined EMI and recorded the album "Heavy Nova" (GB#17, US#13, D#50) in Mailand. "Heavy Nova" is a mixture of songs with very different styles as rock, jazz, funk, afro-styles and even yodel-elements ("Change His Ways"). His meeting of "Heavy Metal with Bossa Nova" (Melody Maker) succeeded best in the US and "Simply Irresistible" (GB#44, US#2, D#57), "She Makes My Day" (GB#6) and "Early In The Morning" (US#19) were released as singles.
In 1988, while Robert's records sold well, he had to cancel some concerts in Europe, especially in Germany, due to the stagnant for tickets. The Musik Express wrote: "It hasn't been a very positive effect, that Mr. Supercool, with the charisma and the enthusiasm of a James Last, having a cold, sneaked over the stage, and didn't even seem to notice the presence of the audience. A frustrating evening, babbling boringly without any highlights."
In February 1989 Robert got a Grammy for the "Best Male Artist" again for "Simply Irresistible".
He signed a contract with Pepsi Cola for $ 2.000.000.
Lacking new songs, "Change His Ways" (GB#28) and "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming" (US#60) were the only singles taken from "Heavy Nova" in this year.
In autumn 1989 the compilation "Addictions Vol. 1" (GB#7, US#79, D#32) was released and showed Robert's "feeling for good songs, sounds and trends" (Musik Express).
In March 1990 he contributed the song "Life In Detail" to the soundtrack for Pretty Woman, which got multi-platin.
Lateron, the "smart grocer" (Musik Express) recorded the Bob Dylan song "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (GB#6, D#14) with UB40 in this typical reggae-style.
Meanwhile honored as "Best Dressed Male Rock Artist" by the Rolling Stone, he worked on "Don't Explain" (GB#9, US#88), including Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me", and the titelsong from Billie Holliday. In 1990/91 "Don't Explain" (US#88), "You're Amazing" (US#28), "Mercy Mercy Me" (GB#9, US#16, D#33), "Happiness" (D#62) and "Dreams To Remember" (GB#68) appeared as singles.
In March 1992 the album "Addictions Vol. 2" was released. It's another compilation with remixes of very special songs, each of them with a comment in the liner notes, as also seen on "Addictions Vol. 1".
In October 1992 "Ridin' High" was released. For this album Robert was mainly influenced by the "glamour-dreamland of the swing-era" (Stereo). He showed his "unquestionable class" (Rock World), but split on the immense style-medley. Robert couldn't cope with the bad reviews, and when he refused playing his former hits in concerts, the audience left the halls.
In 1994, after some personal problems, "Honey" (GB#25) was released but failed to sell in significant numbers. Although Robert appeared on many TV shows, without the backing of EMI it was impossible to succeed. Robert, the perfectionist, had been working for nearly 20 months and the fresh mixture on "Honey", described as "some mainstream-pop, a pinch of funk, ballads, ethno-influences and rock'n'roll" (Musik Express), legitimized his efforts.
In October 1995 "The Very Best Of Robert Palmer" was released, including only one new song - "Respect Yourself". Nevertheless the compilation charted at GB#4 in the week of its release. Lateron Guardian Records released "Very Best Of Robert Palmer", featuring the same songs as "The Very Best Of", but including a remix of "Addicted To Love" from the movie with the same name.
At the end of 1996 Power Station released their second album titeled "Living In Fear". "She Can Rock It" appeared as the lead single. "Power Trippin'", included on the American release, had been replaced by "Let's Get It On", a cover version of a Marvin Gaye song, in the European release. Lateron a Japanese release included "Charanga". During 1996, John Taylor was suffering from personal problems and Bernard Edwards passed away. Although the band toured in the US and in Europe, the album did not chart.
On the 6th of October 1998, Robert's more ethnic album "Woke Up Laughing" was released on Metro Blue label.
In the same month a R&B album will be released on Sony Japan, including the Beatles-song "The Long And Winding Road" from the Subaru advert.
Maniacmous
09-26-2003, 04:34 PM
This is really sad...I was a pretty big fan of Robert Palmer's...he was a talented man without a doubt...sad that in the past year or so we've been losing all these really talented artists with nigh anyone to restore quality to music.
efernandez_98
09-27-2003, 08:44 AM
Originally posted by Maniacmous
This is really sad...I was a pretty big fan of Robert Palmer's...he was a talented man without a doubt...sad that in the past year or so we've been losing all these really talented artists with nigh anyone to restore quality to music. and videoes
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