Bill wondered why I didn’t post anything about Robert Palmer’s death, instead mentioning George Plimpton. I don’t know. Palmer’s death really saddens me.
I really enjoyed his music. His was one of the first rock concerts I ever went to (the first being INXS (come on, cut me a break, it was the 80s)); my friend Glenn and I saw him play at, I believe, F&M University back in 1987 or 1988. He was backing up his album Heavy Nova.It was a great show, and not at all what I expected. Glenn and I really only knew Palmer’s 80s music, from Riptide and Heavy Nova, songs like “Addicted to Love”, “Simply Irrestible”, and “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On”. We had no idea he was also behind “Bad Case of Loving You”, and of course we’d never even heard of “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley”. But we learned that night.
Of course, the biggest disappointment that night was his band. Don’t get me wrong: musically, they were first rate, very impressive. But they didn’t look the way we’d hoped. I mean, this man’s music videos fueled our adolescent fantasies. We expected a much more attractive band. More like this:
But, alas, that wasn’t meant to be. I guess deep down inside I knew that those women weren’t chosen for the musical ability.
Other great Palmer songs include “From a Whisper to a Scream” from Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, “Get It Through Your Heart” from Riptide, “It Could Happen To You” from Heavy Nova, and perhaps the most original cover ever of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” on the album Double Fun.
So, I guess I didn’t write anything earlier because I was trying to figure out what to say, other than “Here’s to the best dressed man in rock’n’roll.”
PS: BBC News reported that one of Palmer’s best known hits was “Some Guys Have All The Luck”. Don’t be fooled; that was Rod Stewart.