Rissi Palmer
Encyclopedia
Rissi Palmer is an American country music
artist. Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Dona Mason in 1987. "Country Girl" peaked at #54 on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts, and served as the lead-off single to her self-titled debut album
, which also produced the #59 hit "Hold on to Me". Also in 2008, Palmer covered "No Air
", an R&B hit originally performed by Jordin Sparks
and Chris Brown.
, a suburb of Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania and lived there until moving with her family to Eureka
, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, at the age of 12. Her parents were natives of Georgia
. Palmer has said her mother, who died when Palmer was seven, "was a huge Patsy Cline
fan", while her father loved musicians such as Johnny Cash
, Dolly Parton
, Chaka Khan
, and Santana
. Palmer said she knew from a young age that she wanted to sing. As a child, she sang on a Mickey Mouse Club
-like local television show called Team 11. At age 16, she performed country music at the Arkansas
State Fair.
When she was 19, R&B producers James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis offered her a deal on their Flyte Tyme Records
. Palmer rejected the deal because she said they wanted to turn her "twangy" country style into a "pop/soul hybrid." As she said, "I love R&B and urban music, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I knew I wouldn't be happy doing that." After that, Palmer sang jingles for Barbie
commercials, performed on the Dance Fever
television show, and competed on Star Search
, all while trying in vain for seven years to land a Nashville
recording contract
.
Palmer was at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
in Denver on August 26, 2008 and supported Barack Obama
.
that put Palmer among the top 5 best-selling country artists on iTunes
. Palmer was also featured in a 2005 Country Music Television
documentary about African-Americans and country music.
Palmer's debut album, Rissi Palmer
, was released on October 23, 2007, by 1720 Entertainment. Palmer co-wrote nine of the 12 tracks. She is also the featured artist on Yahoo! Music's "The New Now," which highlights talented newcomers, from October 17 through November 21, 2007.
", a cover by Jordin Sparks
and Chris Brown. The song debuted at #58 and eventually reached #47, becoming her first Top 50 single on the Hot Country Songs
chart. The single planned to be included on a reissue of her debut self-titled album, however, the album was never reissued.
Also after "No Air" fell from the charts, she released a Christmas single, "Grown Up Christmas List", however, the song failed to enter the country charts.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Dona Mason in 1987. "Country Girl" peaked at #54 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts, and served as the lead-off single to her self-titled debut album
Rissi Palmer (album)
Rissi Palmer is the self-titled debut album from country music singer Rissi Palmer, issued on 1720 Entertainment. It debuted at #56 on the Top Country Albums chart, in addition to peaking at #16 on the Top Heatseekers and #41 in the Indie charts...
, which also produced the #59 hit "Hold on to Me". Also in 2008, Palmer covered "No Air
No Air
"No Air" is a song by American recording artist Jordin Sparks featuring American R&B singer Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Eric Griggs, Michael Scala, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas and Steve Russell...
", an R&B hit originally performed by Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
and Chris Brown.
Biography
Palmer was born in SewickleySewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
, a suburb of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania and lived there until moving with her family to Eureka
Eureka, Missouri
Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, between St. Louis and Pacific, Missouri, along Interstate 44. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 10,189. The city is west of the former site of Times Beach, the site of dioxin contamination discovered in...
, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, at the age of 12. Her parents were natives of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Palmer has said her mother, who died when Palmer was seven, "was a huge Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
fan", while her father loved musicians such as Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, and Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
. Palmer said she knew from a young age that she wanted to sing. As a child, she sang on a Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
-like local television show called Team 11. At age 16, she performed country music at the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
State Fair.
When she was 19, R&B producers James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis offered her a deal on their Flyte Tyme Records
Flyte Tyme Records
Flyte Time Records is the record label started by producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It is now part of Universal Records....
. Palmer rejected the deal because she said they wanted to turn her "twangy" country style into a "pop/soul hybrid." As she said, "I love R&B and urban music, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I knew I wouldn't be happy doing that." After that, Palmer sang jingles for Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
commercials, performed on the Dance Fever
Dance Fever
Dance Fever is an American musical variety series that aired weekly in syndication from January 1979 to September 1987. The series was created and produced by Merv Griffin and written by Tony Garofalo....
television show, and competed on Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
, all while trying in vain for seven years to land a Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
Palmer was at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
in Denver on August 26, 2008 and supported Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Debut album: Rissi Palmer (2007-2008)
In 2006, Starbucks Entertainment distributed a four-song EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
that put Palmer among the top 5 best-selling country artists on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. Palmer was also featured in a 2005 Country Music Television
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
documentary about African-Americans and country music.
Palmer's debut album, Rissi Palmer
Rissi Palmer (album)
Rissi Palmer is the self-titled debut album from country music singer Rissi Palmer, issued on 1720 Entertainment. It debuted at #56 on the Top Country Albums chart, in addition to peaking at #16 on the Top Heatseekers and #41 in the Indie charts...
, was released on October 23, 2007, by 1720 Entertainment. Palmer co-wrote nine of the 12 tracks. She is also the featured artist on Yahoo! Music's "The New Now," which highlights talented newcomers, from October 17 through November 21, 2007.
New single, album re-issue (2008)
In 2008, Palmer released her third single, "No AirNo Air
"No Air" is a song by American recording artist Jordin Sparks featuring American R&B singer Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Eric Griggs, Michael Scala, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas and Steve Russell...
", a cover by Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
and Chris Brown. The song debuted at #58 and eventually reached #47, becoming her first Top 50 single on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart. The single planned to be included on a reissue of her debut self-titled album, however, the album was never reissued.
Also after "No Air" fell from the charts, she released a Christmas single, "Grown Up Christmas List", however, the song failed to enter the country charts.
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
||
| Rissi Palmer Rissi Palmer (album) Rissi Palmer is the self-titled debut album from country music singer Rissi Palmer, issued on 1720 Entertainment. It debuted at #56 on the Top Country Albums chart, in addition to peaking at #16 on the Top Heatseekers and #41 in the Indie charts... |
|
56 | 16 | 41 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
|||
| 2007 | "Country Girl" | 54 | Rissi Palmer |
| 2008 | "Hold On to Me" | 59 | |
| "No Air No Air "No Air" is a song by American recording artist Jordin Sparks featuring American R&B singer Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Eric Griggs, Michael Scala, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas and Steve Russell... " |
47 | ||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Country Girl" | Kristin Barlowe |
| 2008 | "No Air" | |