Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story

Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story
by Tony Scherman

Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story
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Book Summary Information

Author: Tony Scherman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-05
ISBN: 030680980X
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780306809804
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story

Book Review: Earl Palmer did it all, and tells all!
Summary: 5 Stars

Yeah, it's gritty - but it's real! This is how rock and roll was shaped in America, or at least a very big part of it. New Orleans history musical history lesson with names, places, dates that are invaluable for future historians and of extreme interest for today's students of R&R. Above all, Earl was GOOD, GREAT - a musical genius. There isn't a person in the world who listens to Western music (American) that hasn't danced to Earl's drum beats. Little Richard to Sinatra to movie scores (reading EVERY note) and even the most difficult scores - CARTOONS! He did it all!
RIP, Earl. We all thank you for your gift!

Summary of Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story

There he is, drumming on "Tutti Frutti," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," and thousands of other songs. As a studio player in New Orleans and Los Angeles from the 1940s through the 1970s, Earl Palmer co-created hundreds of hits and transformed the lope of rhythm and blues into full-tilt rock and roll. He was, as a result, one of the first session men to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer's distinctive voice alternates with the insights of music journalist and historian Tony Scherman in an unforgettable trip through the social and musical cultures of mid-century New Orleans and the feverish world of early rock.

By the time Earl Palmer moved from New Orleans to join the Los Angeles session musician Mafia in 1957, he'd already had a couple of careers in entertainment. As a kid tap dancer in black vaudeville, he saw the country, crossing paths with the likes of Art Tatum and Louis Prima before embarking upon a stint in the segregated World War II Army ("You was always running into stuff you didn't like. At first you took it. After two years you ready to hurt somebody"). Back in Louisiana, he took up work as a jazz drummer, little knowing that he'd soon be part of a revolution in music. As a regular on the scene, Palmer played on the seminal sides by Little Richard, Fats Domino, and many other R&B and early-rock & roll performers. Marked by a preternatural sense of propulsion and delightfully sly fills, Palmer's drumming was an indispensable part of shaping the new sound. By the '60s, he was working with Sinatra and Phil Spector, playing jazz (his first love) in clubs and contributing to dozens of movie and TV soundtracks (you'll hear him next time you watch Harold and Maude, Cool Hand Luke, or a rerun of M.A.S.H. or The Odd Couple). Backbeat is an incisive, frequently hilarious read that opens doors on recording studios, show business, and race in America. --Rickey Wright

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