ArtistInfo

Keith Palmer

1957-1996
Country
A.k.a. Bryon Keith Palmer

Born 23/6/1957 - Died 13/6/1996 Keith was born Bryon Keith Palmer on June 23, 1957 in Hayti, Missouri and was raised in Corning, Arkansas. His name was actually supposed to be "Byron" but there was a mistake on the birth certificate. One of Keith's first professional jobs was touring with the Dixie Echoes, a gospel group. Keith moved to Nashville in the early 80s, signed as a writer with Merit Music, and established a working relationship with producer Norro Wilson. Keith also worked for Welk Music Group, and learned the skills of writing from veteran A. L. "Doodle" Owens, who wrote a great many of George Jone's hits, along with Keith's friend, Dennis Knutson. Keith also had great success as a songwriter. The list of songs and artists who recorded them is quite extensive, but his most successful was "For My Broken Heart" by Reba McEntire. Keith wrote "One Hell of a Heartache" which was recorded by another of my favorite artists, Gene Watson. Keith was featured in the "Showcase" for the song "I Didn't (Every Chance I Had)" by Keith and Bobby P. Barker, which was recorded by Johnny Rodriguez. He also wrote for Tom Collins Music. At one point, around 1987 or 1988, Norro was working with him to get him a recording contract. It failed, for unknown reasons. Keith did, however, sing backup for many artists and was highly in demand as a demo singer for songwriters. He appeared vocally on Bobby Vinton's album, "Timeless" (1989). Keith's first and only album, self titled, "Keith Palmer was released on Nov. 5, 1991. Keith had always said that if he ever got a recording deal, he would record songs by his friends. He was true to his word. "San Antonio Rose" was one of the many written by friends of his, Bobby P. Barker and James Dean Hicks. *Billboard* charts show that "Don't Throw Me in the Briar Patch" was released 9/28/91 as a single and reached #17 and was played for 54 weeks. "Forgotten But Not Gone" was released 1/25/92, reached #8 and remained on the charts for 60 weeks. One of Nashville's most famous (and brutally honest) music critics, Robert Oerrmann, wrote and raved about Keith's CD. Sadly, Keith didn't live long enough to gain the acclaim he so richly deserved. He died from cancer on June 13, 1996 ten days before his birthday, at his home in White House, Tennessee which is just outside of Nashville. Keith is survived by his wife, Carol Lee, and their son. Keith's version of "When I Close My Eyes" was played at his memorial service. A lot of you will recognize this song which was a hit for Kenny Chesney. It was written by a good friend of Keith's, Nettie Musick with Mark Allan Springer. It's great that the song finally gained fame and I'm sure Keith is happy for his friend's good fortune. On a personal note, I respect Kenny Chesney's talent greatly, but no one will ever sing that song as well as Keith Palmer did.