Biography
Primarily recognized for laying down the foundational bass parts in Buffalo Springfield, one of the most influential rock ensembles of the 1960s, Bruce Palmer contributed neither vocals nor original songs yet supplied essential rhythmic drive to the group’s folk-rock blend through his inventive and forceful playing. He remained the outfit’s most elusive figure, routinely turning away from crowds during performances and frequently appearing in publicity shots with his features obscured or averted. Repeated personal setbacks and legal troubles cut short his time with the band on multiple occasions, culminating in his replacement by Jim Messina not long before the group dissolved. Although he later rejoined former Buffalo Springfield colleagues for occasional projects, none matched the visibility he attained in his early twenties. He also issued a solitary solo record in the early 1970s that stands among the most unconventional releases ever issued by a major label under an established artist’s name.
Born in Canada like his Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young, Palmer began performing in Toronto R&B and rock ensembles while still in his mid-teens. During the mid-1960s he spent time in Jack London & the Sparrows, a British Invasion-styled act that scored a pair of Canadian hit singles after his departure; he subsequently moved to the Mynah Birds, whose lead singer was the AWOL American sailor Rick James, later to achieve fame in funk and soul. The exchange brought Nick St. Nicholas, later of Steppenwolf, into Jack London & the Sparrows. Early in 1966 Neil Young joined the Mynah Birds, securing a Motown contract under which the group recorded unreleased material. James’s arrest for going AWOL dissolved the lineup only weeks after Young’s arrival.
Young and Palmer then drove to Los Angeles in Young’s hearse with the intention of locating Stephen Stills, whom Young had met earlier, to discuss forming a new band. Lacking an address, they searched for days before nearly abandoning the effort and turning toward San Francisco; yet on Sunset Boulevard they encountered Stills and Richie Furay traveling in the opposite direction, an improbable meeting that immediately coalesced into the core of Buffalo Springfield, completed by the addition of drummer Dewey Martin.
Palmer appears on every track of Buffalo Springfield’s debut album and on most of the second, but he is absent from the majority of the third and final LP. He first exited the group in January 1967 after a marijuana-possession arrest that resulted in deportation to Canada. Ken Koblun and Jim Fielder filled the bass chair during his absence until Palmer reentered the United States and rejoined in June. A subsequent arrest involving speeding without a license and drug possession prompted his definitive exit in January 1968, after which Jim Messina took over; the band continued only a few more months before disbanding in May 1968.
Roughly a year later Palmer was briefly auditioned for the bassist role in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, yet David Crosby and Graham Nash objected most strongly to retaining him permanently. Two tracks featuring his playing—a rendition of “Helplessly Hoping” and a cover of Terry Reid’s “Horses Through a Rainstorm”—later surfaced on the Crosby, Stills & Nash box set. Shortly afterward MGM offered him a solo album despite his complete lack of prior songwriting or vocal experience. The resulting early-1970s release, The Cycle Is Complete, proved almost entirely instrumental, consisting of four extended, jam-oriented pieces that fused psychedelic rock, free jazz, and more experimental idioms. Supporting musicians included four members of Kaleidoscope plus Rick James, who contributed percussion and occasional scat-style vocals.
The album attracted minimal commercial interest, after which Palmer withdrew from the music industry. He resurfaced unexpectedly in the early 1980s to perform live with Neil Young and to contribute to Young’s album Trans. In the mid-1980s he assembled the tribute group Buffalo Springfield Revisited, whose only other original member was Dewey Martin. Palmer died on October 1, 2004, following a heart attack.
Born in Canada like his Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young, Palmer began performing in Toronto R&B and rock ensembles while still in his mid-teens. During the mid-1960s he spent time in Jack London & the Sparrows, a British Invasion-styled act that scored a pair of Canadian hit singles after his departure; he subsequently moved to the Mynah Birds, whose lead singer was the AWOL American sailor Rick James, later to achieve fame in funk and soul. The exchange brought Nick St. Nicholas, later of Steppenwolf, into Jack London & the Sparrows. Early in 1966 Neil Young joined the Mynah Birds, securing a Motown contract under which the group recorded unreleased material. James’s arrest for going AWOL dissolved the lineup only weeks after Young’s arrival.
Young and Palmer then drove to Los Angeles in Young’s hearse with the intention of locating Stephen Stills, whom Young had met earlier, to discuss forming a new band. Lacking an address, they searched for days before nearly abandoning the effort and turning toward San Francisco; yet on Sunset Boulevard they encountered Stills and Richie Furay traveling in the opposite direction, an improbable meeting that immediately coalesced into the core of Buffalo Springfield, completed by the addition of drummer Dewey Martin.
Palmer appears on every track of Buffalo Springfield’s debut album and on most of the second, but he is absent from the majority of the third and final LP. He first exited the group in January 1967 after a marijuana-possession arrest that resulted in deportation to Canada. Ken Koblun and Jim Fielder filled the bass chair during his absence until Palmer reentered the United States and rejoined in June. A subsequent arrest involving speeding without a license and drug possession prompted his definitive exit in January 1968, after which Jim Messina took over; the band continued only a few more months before disbanding in May 1968.
Roughly a year later Palmer was briefly auditioned for the bassist role in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, yet David Crosby and Graham Nash objected most strongly to retaining him permanently. Two tracks featuring his playing—a rendition of “Helplessly Hoping” and a cover of Terry Reid’s “Horses Through a Rainstorm”—later surfaced on the Crosby, Stills & Nash box set. Shortly afterward MGM offered him a solo album despite his complete lack of prior songwriting or vocal experience. The resulting early-1970s release, The Cycle Is Complete, proved almost entirely instrumental, consisting of four extended, jam-oriented pieces that fused psychedelic rock, free jazz, and more experimental idioms. Supporting musicians included four members of Kaleidoscope plus Rick James, who contributed percussion and occasional scat-style vocals.
The album attracted minimal commercial interest, after which Palmer withdrew from the music industry. He resurfaced unexpectedly in the early 1980s to perform live with Neil Young and to contribute to Young’s album Trans. In the mid-1980s he assembled the tribute group Buffalo Springfield Revisited, whose only other original member was Dewey Martin. Palmer died on October 1, 2004, following a heart attack.
Albums