Biography
From 1950 to 1957, Earl Palmer functioned as the go-to drummer throughout New Orleans’s rhythm-and-blues recording world. Within a metropolis famous for its second-line rhythms and syncopated grooves, he became the indispensable percussionist, appearing on innumerable dates behind such legends as Little Richard, Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Dave Bartholomew, and an extensive roster of additional artists.
A vaudevillian mother gave birth to him, and by age four he was already internalizing rhythmic patterns as a tap dancer. Those surroundings regularly exposed him to drum kits, which he quickly learned to dominate. Bebop jazz remained his deepest passion, yet R&B and blues supplied steady income once he entered Bartholomew’s band in 1947.
Palmer continued as the principal drummer at Cosimo Matassa’s celebrated studio until 1957, when a Shirley & Lee date prompted Aladdin Records chief Eddie Mesner to offer him an A&R position. Los Angeles proved equally rich in session work, allowing him to expand into rock, jazz, and soundtrack projects while maintaining frequent R&B collaborations with guitarist Rene Hall and saxophonist Plas Johnson. On his own, he cut the instrumental “Johnny’s House Party” for Aladdin and issued a pair of early-1960s albums on Liberty.
Session players of the highest caliber nevertheless confront professional anonymity. Therefore, when listening again to Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” Smiley Lewis’s “I Hear You Knockin’,” Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” or Fats Domino’s “The Fat Man,” remember that Palmer supplied the driving beat, infusing each track with a spirited second-line feel that steered the songs into fresh and thoroughly original territory.
A vaudevillian mother gave birth to him, and by age four he was already internalizing rhythmic patterns as a tap dancer. Those surroundings regularly exposed him to drum kits, which he quickly learned to dominate. Bebop jazz remained his deepest passion, yet R&B and blues supplied steady income once he entered Bartholomew’s band in 1947.
Palmer continued as the principal drummer at Cosimo Matassa’s celebrated studio until 1957, when a Shirley & Lee date prompted Aladdin Records chief Eddie Mesner to offer him an A&R position. Los Angeles proved equally rich in session work, allowing him to expand into rock, jazz, and soundtrack projects while maintaining frequent R&B collaborations with guitarist Rene Hall and saxophonist Plas Johnson. On his own, he cut the instrumental “Johnny’s House Party” for Aladdin and issued a pair of early-1960s albums on Liberty.
Session players of the highest caliber nevertheless confront professional anonymity. Therefore, when listening again to Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” Smiley Lewis’s “I Hear You Knockin’,” Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” or Fats Domino’s “The Fat Man,” remember that Palmer supplied the driving beat, infusing each track with a spirited second-line feel that steered the songs into fresh and thoroughly original territory.