New Orleans drum legend Earl Palmer dies in L.A. at 83 (you must have heard his work)

New Orleans Times-Picayune ^ | September 20, 2008 1:13PM | by Keith Spera, Music writer

[weegee]

Earl Palmer, the New Orleans drummer who largely defined the beat of rock 'n roll on thousands of recordings from the late 1940s on, died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 83...

...Mr. Palmer's distinct back beat, built on a heavy bass kick and New Orleans second line shuffle, was also informed by bebop jazz...

Mr. Palmer provided the pulse on scores of Fats Domino singles, including his 1949 debut "The Fat Man" and his hits "I'm In Love Again," "I'm Walkin" and "My Blue Heaven." He backed Little Richard on "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti," Smiley Lewis on "I Hear You Knocking," Lloyd Price on "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and Shirley & Lee on "Let the Good Times Roll."

...Unlike most musicians, Mr. Palmer was not required to attend rehearsals for film scores. "They knew that no matter what they put in front of him, no matter what oddball thing, he could cut it," Matassa said.

Directly and indirectly, Mr. Palmer influenced countless drummers. John Bonham's thunderous prelude to Led Zeppelin's 1971 anthem "Rock 'n Roll" "is his tribute to Earl Palmer," said Galatic drummer Stanton Moore, a student of both drummers' styles. "Earl was the first to put a jazz skip beat in a slow-three blues. John Bonham and everybody since has done that -- listen to (Led Zeppelin's) 'Dazed and Confused.'"

...In 2000, San Francisco pianist Mitch Woods organized a reunion in New Orleans of surviving alumni of Dave Bartholomew's legendary 1950s studio band, including Mr. Palmer. They recorded an album, "Big Easy Boogie."...

"This wasn't complicated at all, as it shouldn't be," Mr. Palmer continued. "You don't want to complicate this kind of music. That's what made it last so long."

[weegee]

This was a hard one to parse down for excerpt, but I know some readers don't make the jump...

His credits include work for Fats Domino, Little Richard, Smiley Lewis, Lloyd Price Clawdy", Shirley & Lee, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Paul Anka, Mel Torme, the Ronettes, Jan & Dean, Lou Rawls, James Brown, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan and Neil Young, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, Maria Muldaur, Little Feat, and Teena Marie...

His sountrack work includes the films "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World," "Cool Hand Luke," "In the Heat of the Night," "Valley of the Dolls," "Rosemary's Baby," "Kelly's Heroes," "Harold and Maude," "Lady Sings the Blues," "What's Up, Doc?," "Walking Tall," "The Longest Yard", "The Rose", "Gremlins," "Top Gun," "Predator," "Cocktail", "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and tv soundtrack themes and/or scores that include "I Dream of Jeannie," "Green Acres," "Ironside," "The Brady Bunch," "The Partridge Family," "The Odd Couple" and "M.A.S.H."

[weegee]

Rock & Roll PING.

(with Ponderosa Stomp biography with audio interview) More credits too (including Eddie Cochran’s “Somethin’ Else,” Sheb Wooley’s “Purple People Eater” and Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba)

http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more.php/15/Earl+Palmer

[Drumbo]

An Army veteran, he played on the seminal rock and roll recordings of Little Richard (Tutti-Fruiti" & Lucille"), who wrote in his autobiography that Palmer, "is probably the greatest session drummer of all time." Earl was the driving force behind Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep - Mountain High" and literally hundreds of hit songs.

He played on thousands of rock, jazz, R&B and soundtrack sessions over the years. After leaving New Orleans, from his home base in Los Angeles, he drummed on sessions for producer Phil Spector and for Barry Gordy at Motown. Besides those already listed in the article, his list of session credits includes artists as diverse as Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Duane Eddy, Frank Sinatra, The Monkees, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Otis and Elvis Costello. His first love was always jazz — "I lived in a jazz world," he says in his 1999 autobiography Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story, but he laid the foundation for rock'n'roll drumming with his solid stickwork and feverish backbeats.

He mentored us all. Gosh, we've lost another great one.



Godspeed and good rest,
In peace, be blessed.

[Aquinasfan]

The piece of rock ‘n’ roll drumming that stands out most to me is Steve Gadd’s drumming on “Aja.” Wow!

[Kathy in Alaska]

TAPS

RIP Earl Palmer, Army Vet and Drummer

Amazing Grace

[Titan Magroyne]

All the big names cited in the article ... of course I’ve heard him play. But this stuck out for me:

“Unlike most musicians, Mr. Palmer was not required to attend rehearsals for film scores. “They knew that no matter what they put in front of him, no matter what oddball thing, he could cut it,” Matassa said.”

[AZamericonnie]

Rest in Peace Army Vet & drum legend Earl Palmer.

[KevinB]

Wow, weegee, I bet you’d be a great guy to have a beer with. In my circles I’m usually the teacher on this stuff. With you I’d be the student.