Robert Palmer

One of the great underappreciated singers of the rock era, Robert Palmer sang with such ease that it disguised both his vocal skill and his adventurous tastes. Deeply rooted in soul, he pivoted to a variety of sounds throughout his career, often operating at the vanguard of fashion or perhaps right on the edge of the mainstream. The latter designation suited the albums he made in the mid-'70s, when he played New Orleans funk with the assistance of the Meters, then dabbled with reggae. Palmer's career started to come into focus with the breezy island sounds of "Every Kinda People" gave him his first American hit, while the pounding arena rock of "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" gave him his second. After a sojourn into new wave on Clues, Palmer joined John Taylor and Andy Taylor in their Duran Duran offshoot the Power Station, an allegiance that brought him back to the Top Ten and opened the door for his 1986 blockbuster Riptide and its accompanying smash single, "Addicted to Love." Thanks to his stylish, winking videos -- the besuited singer was backed by a band of supermodels -- Palmer became a superstar on MTV, and he stayed there into the early '90s, when the tastes of the network and the singer diverged. During the last decade of his life, he targeted an older audience while taking the time to push himself into fresh musical territory, whether it was the old-fashioned pop of Ridin' High or the contemporary blues of his final album, Drive.