Robert Palmer

• Genre: AOR
• Hometown: Batley
• Robert Palmer Website

About

Englishman Palmer came off like some sort of nattily attired blue-eyed soul man, nonchalant and oblivious to anything that is going on around him except the music. His first hit was a version of Allen Toussaint's "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley" on the album of the same name, which also found Palmer collaborating with Little Feat's Lowell George and recording with the Meters. After that, Palmer scored again with the song "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)," which followed what would become his formula: a little hard rock, a bit of reggae, and a bit of blue-eyed soul. In the mid-1980s Palmer had his biggest hit with "Addicted to Love," a smooth blend of dance rhythms and crunching electric guitars. No doubt its chart success had to do with its video, which featured Palmer singing in front of a phalanx of zombie-like supermodel "musicians." Palmer passed away in 2003, at age 54.

- Tom Heyman