Singleton Palmer

Singleton Palmer
 
Bust of Singleton Palmer
 
 
St. Louis jazz musician Singleton Palmer began his musical career playing trumpet at Sumner High School. To increase his chances of getting a professional job, he also learned tuba and string bass, the instruments he played for most of his career. Playing in clubs, hotels, and riverboats, and touring with different groups, he caught the attention of Clark Terry, who invited him to join Count Basie’s band. After three years of touring, he returned to St. Louis and formed the Singleton Palmer Dixieland Sextet, which played at the Opera House in Gaslight Square for more than 10 years. After the decline of Gaslight Square, the group played on the Robert E. Lee and Goldenrod showboats.
 
Throughout Palmer’s career, he supplemented his earnings as a musician with a day job as a maintenance man at Chromalloy American Company, a foundry, manufacturer of protective coatings, and specialist in engine repair. In 1975, his fans at Chromalloy presented him with this bust of himself, “for the 25 years of pleasure you have given us and for a heart as big as your talent.”