Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003), born in Batley, Yorkshire, was an English singer-songwriter, known as the best dressed man in rock and roll. He was known for his distinctive voice and the eclectic mix of musical styles on his albums, combining soul, jazz, rock, pop and blues. He found success both in his solo career and in the band Power Station and had Top 10 songs in both the US and the UK. His iconic music videos for hits "Simply Irresistible" and "Addicted to Love" featured identically dressed dancing women with pale faces, dark eye makeup and bright red lipstick, which resembled the women in the art of Patrick Nagel, an artist popular in the 1980s.

1964–1973: Early bands

Palmer's father was a British naval intelligence officer 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 at Scarborough Boys' High School. 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 January 1970, Palmer married Suzan Eileen Thatcher. That same year, 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, stage presence, and distinctive 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. Notably, "Sailin' Shoes" (the album's first track), Palmer's own "Hey Julia" and the Allen Toussaint–penned title track carry virtually the same rhythm, and are packaged on the CD as a "trilogy" without a pause between them.

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.

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 charts and scored a Top 20 single with the Andy Fraser–penned "Every Kinda People". With its blend of Caribbean steel pan, violins and moving lyrics, "Every Kinda People" 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. It reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Palmer's next album was an artistic departure, concentrating on a rockier direction. 1979's Secrets produced his second Top 20 single with Moon Martin's "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)", which like "Every Kinda People" became one of his signature tunes. The #14 hit also gave Palmer his first Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart hit, just eking on at #99.

The 1980s saw 'Compass Point Star' Palmer find an increasing amount of commercial success. The album Clues, produced by Palmer and featuring Chris Frantz 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. That arrangement was later used by Rod Stewart after Palmer's death, where he began using the Palmer arrangement instead of the arrangement that was used by Stewart in live concerts.

1983 saw Palmer blend techno beats, early sampling and more of the island music of his adopted Bahamas (including steel pan) 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. Later that year on July 23, Palmer performed at Duran Duran's charity concert at Aston Villa football ground 1983 which was a very special event which he struck up friendships with members of Duran Duran that in late 1984 helped to produced the supergroup Power Station.

"You Are in My System" was an example of Palmer's passion for R&B covers. He jammed the song onto the Pride album after the other tracks were finished. Hearing the track in a Paris club, Palmer rushed back to his Bahamas hometown, where the reconvened band (co-composer Frank included) put together the number. Esquire magazine recounted the tale of the last-minute addition later that year. Palmer did the same in liner notes for his 1992 Addictions Volume 2 CD, which included his re-voiced version of "You Are In My System."

1985–1995: Power Station and MTV success

1985 was an important year for Palmer. After Duran Duran went on hiatus, their guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor joined renowned session drummer and former Chic member 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 Top 10 in the US and spawned two hit singles with "Some Like It Hot" (#6) and a cover of the T.Rex song "Get It On (Bang a Gong)", which peaked one position higher than the original at #9. Palmer performed live with the band only once that year, on Saturday Night Live. The band toured, and even played Live Aid, with singer Michael Des Barres after Palmer bowed out at the last moment to go back into the studio to further his newly revitalized solo career.

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. Robert recruited Wally Badarou, another Compass Point Star who had laid synthesizer tracks on the Power Station album, plus his long-term drummer, Dony Wynn, for this production as well.

Riptide featured the #1 single "Addicted to Love". The song was originally cut with Chaka Khan sharing lead vocals but due to contractual problems Chaka was removed for the final mix. 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," either mimicking or mocking the painting of Patrick Nagel. Palmer was later to parody himself in the music video for the single "Change His Ways", wherein the ladies are replaced by tall thin identically dressed lady ducks, and with verse illustrations with a crazed yellow duck who has several questionable episodes that inspire him to change his ways.

The singles "Hyperactive" and his cover of Cherrelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" also performed well, with the latter being a #2 US and #9 UK hit single. 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".

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 song reached #2 in the U.S. and is Palmer's most recent Top Ten hit there. The ballad "She Makes My Day" also proved to be a hit in the UK, peaking at #6. In 1989, he won a second Grammy for "Simply Irresistible", which would later be featured in the Tony Award–winning musical Contact. Rolling Stone magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for 1990.

Palmer expanded his range even further for his next album, the eclectic Don't Explain. Released in 1990, it covered diverse musical styles including rock, R&B, jazz and Bahamian influences. It, also, featured the Bob Dylan–penned Top 10 single "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", in a collaboration with UB40, that secured a #6 placing in the UK 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 three 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 (because of 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 1996), and had just begun touring when Edwards died of pneumonia.

Literature

Palmer's favourite author was Jack Vance and he was especially fond of Cugel. Jack Vance paid homage to Robert Palmer in his novel "Night Lamp", whose first lines are: "Toward the far edge of the Cornu Sector of Ophiuchus, Robert Palmer's Star shone brilliant white, its corona flaring with films of blue, red and green colour."

Personal

Palmer and his wife, Sue, had two children, James and Jane, who were born in 1979 and 1980 respectively. The couple divorced in 1993. Also in 1993, Palmer relocated from the Bahamas to a converted mill-house in Lugano, Switzerland after he found that the islands had become overrun with drugs and guns and were no longer safe Palmer's companion at the time of his death was Ohio-born Mary Ambrose, whom Palmer had met in the early 1990s when she was a waitress in California.

Death

Palmer, who made his home in Lugano, Switzerland for his last 15 years, died in Paris, France in 2003 of a sudden heart attack at the age of 54. He is interred at the cemetery in Lugano.

In October 2004, newspapers reported on the struggle for Palmer's estate, worth an estimated £30 million ($46 million), between Mary Ambrose and Palmer's two children. Although Palmer had changed his will to favour Ambrose, Swiss law does not recognise common-law wives, resulting in a battle between Ambrose and James and Jane Palmer.

On her All The Best compilation album, Palmer's Switzerland neighbour Tina Turner added a live version of "Addicted to Love" in tribute to him.

Your biography was well written. However, one small detail needs attention. Geraldine Edwards was Robert Palmer's companion at the time of his death, according to Wikipedia and six other biography sites. Mary Ambrose was Robert Palmer's live-in Housekeeper and Personal Assistant who was hired by Palmer in 2000 after his 1999 divorce from Susan Palmer. Although Robert Palmer admitted to certain insiders that he casually dated Mary Ambrose, he always announced Geraldine Edwards as his girlfriend. He gave an interview on Access Hollywood in 2003 to that effect. Mary Ambrose had two children fathered by friends of Robert Palmer while employed by him. One son, born in 2001, was the result of Ambrose's relationship with Mick Carter, Robert Palmer's manager. Mick Carter was the person who initially announced Mary Ambrose's name as both Robert Palmer's companion and the person he was vacationing with in Paris, France, at the time of his death. This information was not correct. Robert Palmer was vacationing with his good friend Jack Bruce in Paris, not Mary Ambrose (Ambrose was in Switzerland at the time of Palmer's death). Carter was later legally prohibited from further announcing Ambrose as Robert Palmer's partner by the Palmer family. Ambrose was served with an Cease and Desist Order forbidding her from giving further interviews announcing herself as Palmer's girlfriend. She was also legally prohibited from writing a book about herself and Robert Palmer. On an amusing note, Geraldine Edwards was the woman Almost Famous was written about. She was also close friends with and dated Eric Clapton.

Your biography was well written. However, one small detail needs attention. Geraldine Edwards was Robert Palmer's companion at the time of his death, according to Wikipedia and six other biography sites. Mary Ambrose was Robert Palmer's live-in Housekeeper and Personal Assistant who was hired by Palmer in 2000 after his 1999 divorce from Susan Palmer. Although Robert Palmer admitted to certain insiders that he casually dated Mary Ambrose, he always announced Geraldine Edwards as his girlfriend. He gave an interview on Access Hollywood in 2003 to that effect. Mary Ambrose had two children fathered by friends of Robert Palmer while employed by him. One son, born in 2001, was the result of Ambrose's relationship with Mick Carter, Robert Palmer's manager. Mick Carter was the person who initially announced Mary Ambrose's name as both Robert Palmer's companion and the person he was vacationing with in Paris, France, at the time of his death. This information was not correct. Robert Palmer was vacationing with his good friend Jack Bruce in Paris, not Mary Ambrose (Ambrose was in Switzerland at the time of Palmer's death). Carter was later legally prohibited from further announcing Ambrose as Robert Palmer's partner by the Palmer family. Ambrose was served with an Cease and Desist Order forbidding her from giving further interviews announcing herself as Palmer's girlfriend. She was also legally prohibited from writing a book about herself and Robert Palmer. On an amusing note, Geraldine Edwards was the woman Almost Famous was written about. She was also close friends with and dated Eric Clapton.

Then send an e-mail to Wikipedia. That was the bio they had when I made this thread.

Thank you for your response. Please refer to Wikipedia's current Biography of Robert Palmer. Some fundamental changes were made and you may have to change a couple of threads as current information has been added.

Oh oooh you like to think that your immune to this stuff but yeah!!!