Rissi Palmer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rissi Palmer
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Rissi Palmer performs at the Chicago Music Country Festival 2008 at Soldier Field
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 19, 1981 |
| Origin | Sewickley, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
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Rissi Palmer (born August 19, 1981) is an American country music artist. She is a talented singer, songwriter, and radio host. Rissi Palmer became well-known in 2007 with her song "Country Girl." This song was a big deal because it made her the first African-American woman to have a country song on the music charts since 1988.
"Country Girl" reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was the main song from her first album, Rissi Palmer. Another song from that album, "Hold On to Me," also became a hit. In 2008, Rissi Palmer also sang a cover of "No Air," which was originally an R&B hit by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Today, she is also the host of a show on Apple Music Country called Color Me Country Radio with Rissi Palmer.
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About Rissi Palmer
Rissi Palmer was born in Sewickley, a town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she was 12, her family moved to Eureka, near St. Louis. Her parents were from Georgia. Rissi has shared that her mother, who passed away when Rissi was seven, loved Patsy Cline's music. Her father enjoyed artists like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Chaka Khan, and Santana.
Early Singing Days
Rissi knew from a young age that she wanted to sing. As a child, she sang in a local TV group called Team 11, which was similar to the Mickey Mouse Club. When she was 16, she performed country music at the Arkansas State Fair.
When Rissi was 19, famous R&B music producers James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis offered her a music deal. However, Rissi turned it down. She said they wanted to change her "twangy" country style into a "pop/soul" sound. Rissi explained that while she liked R&B music, it wasn't what she truly wanted to do. She knew she wouldn't be happy singing that style.
After that, Rissi sang jingles for Barbie commercials. She also recorded music for the Dance Fever TV show. She even competed on Star Search. For seven years, she tried to get a recording contract in Nashville, which is known as the home of country music.
Highlighting Black Artists in Country Music
In 2004, Rissi was featured in a documentary called Waiting in the Wings: African-Americans in Country Music. This film showed the important contributions of African-Americans to country music. It also asked why not many Black artists had become very successful in the genre. The documentary was shown on CMT on February 27, 2004.
In 2007, Rissi performed at the 2nd Annual Black Girls Rock ceremony. She sang alongside other artists like Jean Baylor and Emily King. Rissi also supported Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver on August 26, 2008. She was also invited to perform at the White House for the National Tree Lighting Ceremony in December 2008.
Rissi starred in and hosted a Travel Channel show called Rissi Palmer's Country. The show was meant to explore the music of different cities. The first episode focused on the blues music in Chicago. This episode aired on February 28, 2009, but the show was not made into a full series. In June 2024, she appeared in the country music documentary Rebel Country. After some disagreements, Rissi Palmer left her record label, 1720 Entertainment, in 2009.
Rissi Palmer's Music Journey
First Album: Rissi Palmer (2007–2008)
In 2006, Starbucks Entertainment released a four-song collection of Rissi's music. This helped Rissi become one of the top 5 best-selling country artists on iTunes. She was also featured in a 2005 CMT documentary about African-Americans and country music.
Rissi Palmer's first album, Rissi Palmer, came out on October 23, 2007. It was released by 1720 Entertainment. Rissi helped write nine of the 12 songs on the album. She was also featured on Yahoo! Music's "The New Now," which highlights new talented artists. This album had two songs that became hits: "Country Girl" and "Hold On to Me." "Country Girl" reached number 54, and "Hold On to Me" reached number 59 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
In 2008, Rissi released a new song, which was a cover of "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. This song started at number 58 and then reached number 47. It became her first song to reach the Top 50 on the Hot Country Songs chart. This song was added to a new version of her first album later that year. Rissi also released a Christmas song in late 2008 called "Grown Up Christmas List." After this, she left her record label.
The Back Porch Sessions EP (2015)
On March 18, 2014, Rissi started a Kickstarter campaign. This was to get money to create her next music project, a five-song collection called The Back Porch Sessions. This project was produced by Grammy Award-winning producers Shannon Sanders and Drew Ramsey. They had also worked on her first album.
Rissi has described the sound of this collection as "Southern Soul." This means it's a mix of country, soul, R&B, and a bit of gospel music. The title of the project is a tribute to her great-grandmother's porch in Summerville, Georgia. Rissi says she started singing there as a child. The Back Porch Sessions was released on May 26, 2015, through Rissi's own label, Baldilocks LLC.
Music critics gave the project good reviews. It was featured in magazines like Rolling Stone and People Magazine. It was also mentioned on Perez Hilton's popular website.
Revival (2019)
On October 22, 2019, Rissi released her full-length album, Revival. Brian Owens, Shannon Sanders, and Rissi herself produced this album. The first song released from the album was "Seeds" on October 15, 2019. A video for "Seeds" was also released. "Seeds" has been called a "protest song." The second song released was "Soul Message," which was featured in Rolling Stone Country's "10 Best Songs of the Week." The third song from the album was "You Were Here (Sage's Song)," released on February 3, 2020, with an animated video. This song was written about a personal loss Rissi experienced.
Revival has been described as a powerful mix of soul, R&B, and country music. It is also Rissi's most personal work so far. Kyesha Jennings from Indy Week said that Revival offers "pure inspiration for navigating love, racial tensions, self-acceptance, and, above all, perseverance."
Color Me Country Radio with Rissi Palmer
On August 30, 2020, Color Me Country Radio with Rissi Palmer started on Apple Music Country. This show aims to highlight the history of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx artists in country music. These artists have often been overlooked in mainstream music. The show airs every two weeks and has featured interviews with artists like Darius Rucker, Mickey Guyton, The War and Treaty, and Crystal Shawanda.
The name of the show comes from the debut album of country artist Linda Martell. Linda Martell was the highest-charting solo Black woman on the Billboard Country Chart. She was also the first to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 1969.
As an extension of the show, Rissi created the Color Me Country Artist Grant Fund. This fund works with Apple Music Country Host Kelly McCartney's Rainey Day Fund. Its purpose is to support Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) artists in country music. The grant provides small cash gifts of up to $1,000. The fund was started on December 18, 2020, and all the money goes directly to artists.
In 2023, Rissi Palmer was featured in an episode of the PBS series American Masters called "In the Making." The episode highlighted her leadership of a Color Me Country day at a music festival in England. In 2024, Rissi Palmer's first album was updated and re-released on streaming platforms. It included three extra songs that were not on the original record.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Rissi Palmer (2007)
- Best Day Ever (2013)
- Revival (2019)
