Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer
Robert Allen Palmerwas an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was known for his distinctive soulful voice, eclectic mix of musical styles on his albums, combining soul, jazz, rock, pop, reggae, blues, and sartorial acumen. He found success both in his solo career and with the Power Station, and had Top 10 songs in both the UK and the US...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth19 January 1949
age black changed found heard listened listening motown music rock soul
My listening changed when I heard music from Stax, Atlantic, Motown because by that age I thought anything that my parents listened to must be square. So I had to find my own rock n' roll, as it were, and I found it in black soul music.
growing heard intrigued melodies music record since tv
The music I heard growing up, since there was no TV or cinema or record covers, I didn't know if it was black, white, hip, square, male, female... whatever. I'd hear melodies and things and got intrigued on that level.
attached crowd great heard music particular parties taken
My parents were part of a crowd that was attached to all the different navies stationed in Malta. When they would have parties in each other's houses, I would get taken along, and that's where I heard all this great music. I didn't distinguish particular styles; it was all music to me.
club determined hear home point records works
I've got to the point where I just get on with it and the content of what I put on the records is determined from what I learn from the audience, from what works live, from what I want to hear when I go to a club or what I'd like to play when I get home.
african cassettes folk fred listen music song talking time
I make up cassettes all the time - to take on the road with me - a song from this album, a song from that album. That's the way I listen to music; it's like one of those K Tel things: it's from all over. I listen to Fred Astaire, I listen to African folk music, I listen to Talking Heads.
appealed excesses front music people point rock roll
I loved the music, but the excesses of rock n' roll never really appealed to me at all. I couldn't see the point of getting up in front of a lot of people when you weren't in control of your wits.
bum good hardly hitting known
There's hardly anything I've ever done that's made me cringe; I've got pretty good pitch, for a start, so I'm not known for hitting bum notes.
best
Anything by Gonzalez Rubalcaba is unbelievable. I've been listening to the best of Django Reinhardt.
afford attitude concerned hopeful includes positive stuff toward
I'm not concerned that my stuff isn't extreme. I don't want to be heavy. I can't think of another attitude to have toward an audience than a hopeful and a positive one. And if that includes such unfashionable things as sentimentality, well, I can afford it.
band buy home joined lovely money rather rich son
I joined a band because I didn't like school, and there's nothing else I'd rather have done. If I really wanted to make money, I'd be in real estate. But I'm rich enough. I have a son and daughter, a lovely home, and if I see something I like, I can buy it. That's rich enough.
believe music side
I believe that my music is just about feelings, and the style is just a side effect.
across companies continuity deal either gets love mad pay record rock roll
I'm introverted, and I pay attention to my muse... Record companies used to go mad and say 'We don't know the deal with you. You have no continuity at all. You give us 'Addicted to Love,' and you're a rock n' roll star, then you give us 'She Makes My Day,' and what's that?' But that was a hit, too. It either gets across or it doesn't.
brought contribute enjoyed invitation johnson life robert time track
I had an invitation to contribute a track to a Robert Johnson tribute album, and it was the first time I'd done anything like that in my life. I was not brought up with the blues or anything like that, and I really, really enjoyed it.
victim bizarre currency
What happens often - although I'm not particularly a victim of this sort of thing - is that somebody will make a quote, or invent a remark and it gets printed, ends up on the 'net and it becomes currency. And some of them are so bizarre!