Backbeat - Earl Palmer's Story

[Rob Hall]

I don't know if it's still in print but Tony Scherman's 1999 biography of that name published by the Smithsonian Institution Press is an interesting, and informative, read which received glowing reviews at the time. Some excellent photographs too...

I've just finished this and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in Earl Palmer the man, New Orleans in the 30s/40s, the story of rock and roll, and/or the life of a jobbing West Coast session musician in the 60s. It's a short book - just about 150 pages excluding the discography and notes - but, for me, there was a notable revelation on roughly every third page.

[Alan Balfour]

What particularly struck me about the book was the sheer wealth of detail Earl brought to the interviews conducted by Scherman; names of long-forgotten places and characters - clubs, vice dens, funeral parlours, musicians, neighbours, hookers, pimps or the chap at the sandwich stand - all recalled with astonishing clarity and humour. At the time I thought £16.50 was a trifle extravagant for such a slim volume but no regrets here.