Robert Palmer underrated great Rock voice. Always thought of him as the James Bond of Rock singers. This song is a banger and the drums on this were thumping big time!
Having the girls dance behind him is iconic. That’s what the Shania Twain video “Man, I Feel Like A Woman” was referencing when she had the guys dancing behind her.
FM radio used to play the first three songs on the Sneaking Sally Through the Alley album, Sailin' Shoes, Hey Julia and Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley all together, one after the other. They run together with no break between them. I needed some Robert Palmer music, so I bought a greatest hits album and the Sneakin' Sally album for these first three songs. I got them home. Turned out the greatest hits CD had the first three songs together on it.
Robert’s a legend! He had a really powerful voice and was great in concert, saw him in 1992. Sadly he passed away in 2003 at only 54. He was a producer, singer, songwriter and musician with an enormous ego, but I couldn’t help but love his music and especially his voice.
This song ALWAYS makes me laugh and takes me back to when I was 10 and my sister was 8. She sang the chorus and I immediately turned the volume down and asked her, "What did you say?" With such an innocent yet confident tone of voice she says, "Doctor, Doctor give me some booze....." I could not stop laughing! I turn 54 tomorrow and this has always been and will always be the lyrics I sing. Ha!
I remember him from the 80's when I was growing up. I also remember when he died. I believe he died at 54 in a Paris hotel room. He was getting ready for a concert when he suffered a fatal heart attack.
I love his suits. Lol. I remember this song was out before his string of big hits, with all those dancing guitar girls and I see they put it in there as like a montage. It almost seems like it could've been a one hit wonder, but like Brad said he's got the juice.
The shots of Robert and the girl running up the alley look like they are from the cover art shoot of his album "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley". Caught him in concert one time, a great show, even before he released "Addicted To Love" and " Simply Irresistible". RIP to a stellar performer.
“He’s got a lot of good hits” He also has a lot of great songs that were not hits. The deeper you get into his catalog the more impressed you will become.
Songwriter Moon Martin, who penned this song (and also plays on this session) said that at the very first time he ever performed it live, he had people singing along to it. Those people NEVER heard that song before, and they were already joining in. Martin called up his manager and said, "I think I just wrote a number one hit single!"
Yes, they were. But these videos certainly aren't for this song. He didn't make videos until MTV and this song came out in '79. It's a Mashup of several videos from MTV days, including a stage performance you can see him singing. It's also not the original mix.
Robert Palmer.... at one time considered the "Coolest guy in Rock and Roll"!! His Solo work, and as part of "Power Station"...a phenomenal artist! R.I.P.
You gotta be back in that time to really appreciate the songs of that time. A lot of today people try to understand the pass music. Some do and some don't just remember we who grew up with it will always love it ( 60's- 80's )
The video is from his 1980s revival, with the "mannequin" female dancers, but this is Robert's big 1979 hit. After this there were a few quiet years when he was best known as the rock critic for The New York Times before he formed The Power Station with former Duran Duran members and reinvigorated his solo career. Robert wrote or co-wrote almost all of his 1980s hits (both solo and with The Power Station), but this is a cover of a song by Moon Martin, a guitarist who never got past #30 on the charts, himself.
Quite possibly Robert Palmers best rock song , glad to see you guys do a reaction video to this absolute classic . Johnny and Mary is another classic and the video is so artistic . May is suggest you do a reaction video to Slave To Love by Bryan Ferry . That is one of my absolute favourite songs , it is a master class on music making and romance, by a masterclass artist
He was so versatile, maybe the most versatile of them all! This song is an absolute banger! The drums are killer! When I was a kid I always thought it was a rock band like foreigner or something, not the “every kind of people” Robert Palmer. Rip talented brother! So glad the world has your music to cherish forever!
He had another big hit from 1978 called Every Kinda People. Hope y'all hit that too. Addicted to Love, Simply Irresistible, and I Didn't Mean To Turn You On (the latter being my favorite) came nearly a decade later with his heavily stylized music videos. I really like his work with Power Station in the 80's which included the Taylor brothers from Duran Duran. Some Like It Hot and the remake of T. Rex's Bang a Gong were Power Station singles.
The group was formed by keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor, with the later addition of drummer Roger Taylor, and after numerous personnel changes, guitarist Andy Taylor (none of the Taylors are related, apparently) and lead singer Simon Le Bon. These five members featured in the most commercially successful line-up.
Palmer was a FUN performer, great energy and one of the first New Romantics. My favourite hit of his is the medley with "Sneaking Sally through the Alley" -- THAT is terrific fun!
I love Robert Palmer he has a pretty distinctive voice. Now you should listen to Paul Rodgers from the bans Free and Bad company. He has a very distinctive and fantastic voice.
Let's play "connections". Robert Palmer was in a band called Vinegar Joe with another great British singer, Elkie Brooks. His first solo album was Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley. Four tracks on that album featured both Lowell George from Little Feat AND members of the Meters, including Art Neville. One of Art's brothers is Aaron Neville, and they were, unsurprisingly, members of the Neville Brothers. Aaron made a hit duet with Linda Ronstadt. Linda Ronstadt was personally and professionally linked with Moon Martin, who wrote this song, and also with Lowell George/Little Feat. And that's without mentioning Steve Winwood, who played on one of the tracks, and the great New Orleans artist, Allen Toussaint, who wrote one of the songs, and guitarist Cornell Dupree, who played with Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker, Lou Rawls, and Donny Hathaway, amongst many others. I used to love reading sleeve notes, then searching the record shop for the names who played on the album. Discovered some great music that way.
Love watching you two , such different reactions. Lex, your laugh is so infectious . Can i recommend some songs for you to listen to. Here I Go Again by Whitesnake, Things My Farther Said by Black Stone Cherry and some songs by a great British Rock Band called THUNDER, they are Love Walked In, A Better Man and Dirty Love to begin with . Keep up the great videos . Andy,
Try his collaboration on a song called Some Like It Hot with Power Station and a couple of my other favorites, his cover of Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You and Every Kind of People. All the best to you and everyone in 2023!
Robert Palmer was from Bradford in the North of England. Sadly he’s no longer with us. Earlier in his career, in the 60’s he was in a Hippy Group called Vinegar Joe with a Singer by the name of Elkie Brookes, she is really worth looking into!
Robert Palmer is one of many talented artists who honed their songwriting skills for years, had some major hits but were never fully credited with how great they were. But, thats how the music buisness was back then especially. Onto the next big thing. Thank you for playing his songs. I recommend you play some Jeff Buckley too, SO talented and died tragically young as his star was rising.
You've covered his big 80s hits both solo and with The Power Station, except for Some Like It Hot, I think. Time to check out his '74 debut album and the title song, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley. Be ready to get funky.
Y'all need to hit Robert Palmer's - Sailin' Shoes/ Hey Julia/ Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley it's all one song and the backup band playing on the album (kind of dated myself) is Little Feat a great band in their own right. Palmer's got some great tunes but Sneaking Sally Through The Alley is tops in my humble opinion.
If I may give two recommendations for songs I recently rediscovered: Black Velvet by Alannah Myles and Wicked Games by Chris Isaac. The songs were released 12 days apart in July 1989, on the 26th and 14th respectively. They're pop-rock songs but from an era where quality still mattered. Both their voices are amazing and the music is great, very late 80's but without all the synths and electronics (although the baseline from Black Velvet wasn't played on a fretless bass, but a synth with a fretless bass effect). It shows the level of musical talent back in those days, whereas everything is just written by a team who then chose an artist to perform it based on how easy it is to market them.
I love anything by Palmer. He was great on any song. check out Sneaking Salley Thru the Alley. This is showing videos from different songs The dark girls dancing is from a cover song called Bang a Gong by T.Rex.
