Top 10 Robert Palmer Songs

Photo: Nathan Callahan from Southern California, USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Our Top 10 Robert Palmer Songs list takes a look at 10 great songs from Robert Palmer’s wonderful musical catalog. Robert Palmer was one of the most unique singers in the rock and roll business. Robert Palmer never really looked like a rock star. Palmer looked more like James Bond and, in many ways, acted more like James Bond, at least on the ladies’ front. Nonetheless, Robert Palmer’s extreme musical talents developed a cult following in the 1970s before he became a huge star in the ’80s and ’90s, fueled by a series of massive MTV hit videos.

Robert Palmer’s music crossed many musical styles, especially in the 1970s. On his early albums, one can find elements of soul, R&B, jazz, rock and roll, funk, reggae, and blues. Robert Palmer employed some of the finest musicians in the business on his solo records, including members of Little Feat. Lowell George was among the musicians who helped shape Palmer’s early solo work, while the Meters also backed him on portions of his 1974 debut album.

Robert Palmer’s musical career shifted dramatically in 1985 when he formed the Power Station with Duran Duran’s John and Andy Taylor on bass and guitar and Chic’s Tony Thompson on drums. The band was highly successful with two big hits and plenty of MTV exposure, while Duran Duran had already become an MTV favorite. The sound was big, addictive, and short-lived. Robert Palmer left the touring version of the band after its first album and returned to his solo career. However, the muscular sound Robert Palmer had explored with the Power Station carried into Riptide and some of the biggest hits of his career.

This Top 10 Robert Palmer songs list covers the various musical periods of Robert Palmer’s career. It’s not a definitive list, as it only includes 10 Robert Palmer songs. However, if you aren’t familiar with this extraordinary talent, we think this is a good place to start.

# 10 – Sneakin’ Sally Thru the Alley

We open our top 10 Robert Palmer songs list with the excellent track “Sneakin’ Sally Thru the Alley.” Written by Allen Toussaint, the song was the title track from Robert Palmer’s 1974 debut solo album Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley. Palmer recorded the album with an extraordinary collection of musicians that included the Meters and Lowell George. Who could ever forget that iconic album cover?

# 9 – Mama Talk To Your Daughter

If you only knew the Robert Palmer of the mid-1980s MTV era, you probably would never know this one was Robert Palmer if you weren’t told so. If there’s one thing that defined Robert Palmer the most, it was his incredible voice and his ability to phrase and put over a song regardless of whatever style of music he was performing. “Mama Talk To Your Daughter,” originally associated with bluesman J.B. Lenoir, was the opening track on Drive. The album was a hard-rocking, blues-based record released in 2003. It became the final studio album of Robert Palmer’s career. Palmer died of a heart attack in Paris on September 26, 2003, at the age of 54.

# 8 – One Last Look

The photo of Robert Palmer playing strip poker with Playboy Playmate Denise Michele on the cover of his 1976 album Some People Can Do What They Like was another testament to Robert Palmer’s playboy image. Talk about wanting to become a rock star. That album cover probably inspired many young rock and rollers looking to make it big. Written by Bill Payne and Fran Tate, “One Last Look” was the album’s opening track. Smooth and brilliant.

# 7 – Looking For Clues

Robert Palmer’s “Looking For Clues” was released on the album Clues in 1980. The song was released as the second single from the record. While it was not one of Palmer’s biggest commercial hits, its historical value goes beyond just being a great song: the video was among those played on MTV’s first day of broadcasting on August 1, 1981. The song’s synth-driven new wave sound also showed just how quickly Palmer could move from one musical style to another.

# 6 – Johnny and Mary

“Johnny and Mary” was the first single released from the excellent album Clues. The song represented a particular sound that was gaining popularity during the dawn of the 1980s. New wave was the “in thing” at the time, with bands like the Pretenders, the Cars, Blondie, and many others enjoying great success. Palmer’s restrained vocal and the song’s pulsing electronic arrangement gave “Johnny and Mary” a melancholy quality that has allowed it to endure far beyond its original release.

# 5 – Some Like It Hot

We couldn’t compose a Top 10 Robert Palmer songs list without including at least one Power Station song. “Some Like It Hot” was the band’s biggest U.S. hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. It was written by Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor, and John Taylor and released on the album The Power Station. Tony Thompson’s enormous drums and Palmer’s commanding vocal gave the record a sound that was impossible to ignore.

# 4 – I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On

Robert Palmer’s recording of “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On,” written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and first recorded by Cherrelle, became one of the major singles from the successful Riptide album. The video continued the visual concept associated with “Addicted to Love,” featuring Palmer backed by a stylized all-female cast. The women were given the sleek, mannequin-like look that became inseparable from Palmer’s mid-1980s image and was often compared with the graphic style of Patrick Nagel. Nagel was also responsible for the iconic Duran Duran album cover Rio. The video was directed by fashion photographer Terence Donovan, who also directed “Addicted to Love” and “Simply Irresistible,” strengthening the visual connection among some of Robert Palmer’s biggest MTV-era hits.

# 3 – Simply Irresistible

“Simply Irresistible” was the first single released from Robert Palmer’s album Heavy Nova. Arriving on the heels of his incredibly successful album Riptide, Robert Palmer’s Heavy Nova spawned several memorable singles. “Simply Irresistible” became the second-biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of his career, reaching number two in the United States. It also topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and reached number one in Australia.

# 2 – Addicted to Love

“Addicted to Love” was a massive hit for Robert Palmer. Its muscular rock and funk attack clearly reflected the territory he had explored with The Power Station a year earlier. It became Robert Palmer’s only number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The Terence Donovan-directed video, with Palmer fronting the now-famous mannequin-like female band, created one of MTV’s defining images of the decade and established the visual concept he would revisit in later Robert Palmer videos.

# 1 – Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)

We close out our top 10 Robert Palmer songs list with our favorite Robert Palmer song, “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor).” Palmer’s version was released on the album Secrets in 1979. “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” was written and first recorded by Moon Martin before Palmer turned it into one of his signature performances. I remember being a freshman college student sitting in a town college bar called Gwen’s in Sullivan County, New York, watching a bar full of female college students singing every line in the song. You’ll understand if you know the lyrics in the song’s middle section. It’s a memory for obvious reasons that has never disappeared. This one will always be special.