17 Facts About Earl Palmer

Earl Palmer's father is thought to have been the local pianist and bandleader Walter "Fats" Pichon.

Earl Palmer served in the United States Army during World War II and was posted in the European theatre.

Earl Palmer's job, loading and handling ammunition, was relatively technical, but his duty was clear: to serve white infantrymen.

Earl Palmer started drumming with the Dave Bartholomew Band in the late 1940s.

Earl Palmer's playing on "The Fat Man" featured the backbeat that has come to be the most important element in rock and roll.

Earl Palmer left New Orleans for Hollywood in 1957, initially working for Aladdin Records.

Earl Palmer soon started working with the Wrecking Crew, a loose-knit group of session musicians who recorded nonstop during their heyday from 1962 to 1968.

The musicians union tracked Earl Palmer playing on 450 dates in 1967 alone.

Earl Palmer remained in demand as a drummer throughout the 1970s and 1980s, playing on recordings for albums by Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Buckley, Little Feat and Elvis Costello.

In 1982, Earl Palmer was elected treasurer of the Local 47 of the American Federation of Musicians.

In later years, Earl Palmer played with a jazz trio in Los Angeles.

Earl Palmer is interviewed in the 2008 documentary film about Los Angeles session musicians, The Wrecking Crew.

Earl Palmer died in September 2008, in Banning, California, after a long illness.

Earl Palmer is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

In 2000, Earl Palmer became one of the first session musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Earl Palmer was the session drummer for a number of film scores, including:.

Earl Palmer was the session drummer for a number of television show themes and soundtracks, including:.