CARL PALMER

Overview

Carl Palmer is a drummer’s drummer. A consummate professional, a brilliant technician and a dynamic showman, he has thrilled listeners and audiences alike for nearly four decades with some of music’s most memorable bands including Atomic Rooster, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Asia and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Along the way his dexterity, speed and mastery of the drums, combined with his infectious stage personality, have secured for him a respected place in history as one of Rock and Roll’s greatest drummers.

Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer was born in Birmingham, England, on March 20th, 1950. From the beginning it was clear that music was in the stars for the young Carl Palmer. His grandfather played the drums, his great-grandmother was a classical guitarist; and his father sang, danced and played the guitar and drums as a semi-professional entertainer. In a musical family where even his brothers picked up the guitar and drums, Carl’s fascination with music began early and classical violin studies followed, and by the age of 7 had learned to play the banjolele.

As he grew older, his tastes began to broaden. He was influenced by a film he saw in 1959 entitled “Drum Crazy” (aka “The Gene Krupa Story”). It starred American film icon Sal Mineo and captured Carl’s imagination. The film set him on his way and he was hooked. His biggest influences from that point forward were Krupa and drum legend Buddy Rich, who would later become a close personal friend of Carl’s