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.
