Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950)[1] is an English drummer best known as a founding member of the supergroups Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Asia and sometimes Acoustic Alchemy. He has toured with his own bands since 2001, including Palmer, the Carl Palmer Band, and currently, Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. He previously was a touring drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and a founding member of Atomic Rooster.
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer
20 March 1950
Handsworth, Birmingham, England
Drummer
1964–present
- Asia
- Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy
Palmer was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1989,[2] and was awarded the Prog God Award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.[3]
Career[edit]
Early groups, Arthur Brown, and Atomic Rooster[edit]
Palmer began taking drum lessons as a young boy. He took lessons with Britain's best-known classical percussionist of the twentieth century, James Blades. His first band, formed with others from the Midlands area, was originally known as the King Bees, but changed its name to the Craig. In 1966, the band made its first record, "I Must Be Mad", with flip side "Suspense", produced by Larry Page. At this time, Palmer also did his first session work, playing on the song "Love Light" by the Chants, a group from Liverpool. Later in 1966, he was then invited to join Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds.[4]
Drachen Theaker was the original drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, founded by Arthur Brown. Theaker abruptly left the band during a U.S. tour in 1969. Palmer was quickly recruited as a replacement and became a permanent band member.[5]
Vincent Crane was the keyboard player with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and both he and Palmer left that group in the summer of 1969 to strike out musically on their own as Atomic Rooster, a trio formed with vocalist/bassist Nick Graham. Palmer reports that Brown himself had "gone missing on a commune on Long Island" and that this was a deciding factor in forming the new band.[6] There were several personnel changes in the band, and their first album was released in early 1970. Meanwhile, Palmer received a call from Keith Emerson to audition for a new group and left Atomic Rooster in the summer of 1970.
Influences[edit]
Having played with a variety of bands, including various anonymous schoolboy bands as a youth, Palmer's style was developed from a wide range of musical influences. Among Palmer's early drumming influences were Joe Morello, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.[12] Inspiration from their techniques can be heard in his own drumming style, which was initially influenced more from jazz than any other genre. Known for his technical prowess, another of Palmer's trademarks included solos in many of his performances. His later work in Asia saw a more basic approach, although he began to play double bass drums more frequently during that period, and was the eleventh drummer to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.[13]