Songoftheday 9/8/17 - What about this over crowded land, how much more abuse from man can she stand?
from the album Don't Explain (1990)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10
Today's song of the day comes from British soul/rock singer Robert Palmer, whose 1990 album Don't Explain had returned him to the American top-40 pop chart with "You're Amazing" in the winter of 1991. Also, his collaboration with UB40 on the Bob Dylan song "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" went to #24 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart in the U.S. The third American single from the record would be a medley of two classic songs from Marvin Gaye. "Mercy Mercy Me", which was one of the many highlights of his most revered album, What's Going On, grooved on about the state of the ecology of the world and man's effect on it, while "I Want You" was a more direct call to the bedroom for some romance to get away from it all. Palmer was able to combine these two disparate songs to make one adult-pop gem that would be his final big hit in the States...
"Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You" became Palmer's ninth solo top-40 pop hit in America in April of 1991. The single was a huge hit on Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio format, peaking at #4 on that genre's chart in Billboard, and even crossed over to their R&B list at #90. Internationally, the medley reached the top ten in Canada (#6), France (#7), Ireland (#8), and the UK (#9).
In 1992, Palmer revised his earlier hit single "Every Kinda People" with a jazz-funk arrangement for a greatest hits album, and climbed to #8 on the American Adult Contemporary chart. Later that year, he released an album of pop standards, Ridin' High, which made the top-40 on the British albums chart, and gave him a minor hit there with his version of "Witchcraft" (#50). Two years later, he came back with Honey, which landed his final two British top-40 hits with "Know By Now" (#25) and "You Blow Me Away" (#38). In 1996 he rejoined with The Power Station for a second album, and hit #63 with "She Can Rock It". He closed out the decade with Rhythm & Blues, which had another Gaye cover in "Let's Get It On", and track "True Love" slipped on to the British chart at #94. In 2003, dance act Shake B4 Use remixed his "Addicted To Love" and nearly made the British top-40 at #42. Palmer recorded a gritty blues album Drive, but sadly while promoting the record he died of a heart attack in France.
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Here's Robert appearing on the Arsenio Hall show to perform as well as an interview...
Also in the 1990's, Madonna teamed up with Massive Attack for a cover of "I Want You", but for legal issues it was never released as a single, even though a video went to MTV and it got radio airplay...
Finally, here's Palmer on stage in fine form in 1991 with the medley...
Up tomorrow: A former girl-group singer claims part of the furniture.
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