Jorge Manuel d’Abreu Palma, known as Jorge Palma (born on June 4, 1950 in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

), is a Portuguese singer and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

.

Early life and career

At just the age of six, Palma learnt to play the piano and to read. When he was eight years old he performed his first piano audition in the Portuguese National Conservatory.

In 1963, aging 13, Palma finished second in a musical contest in Majorca, Spain. At the same time, he continued his studies, first at the Camões high school and next at a school in Abrantes. The next year, 1964, marked a turning point in Palma's musical style, after leaving his classical influences he started to play rock'n'roll and taught himself to play guitar.

In 1969, he joined the Hard rock band Sindikato while continuing his studies in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon. Being in the band gave him the opportunity to play in the very first edition of the Vilar de Mouros Festival

Vilar de Mouros Festival

Vilar de Mouros Festival is the oldest rock festival in Portugal. It is organised yearly near Caminha in Vilar de Mouros, northwestern Portugal.-1971:Main acts:* Pop Five Music Inc.* Psico* José Cid e o Quarteto 1111* Sindikato* Celos* Pentagono...

, in 1971. In that same year, aided by some friends, such as Rão Kyao, João Maló, Rui Cardoso and Vítor Mamede, he began to write lyrics and compose songs and in the end he recorded, with Sindikato, an album with a single and an album of covers.

In order to avoid conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 and the Portuguese Colonial War

Portuguese Colonial War

The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...

 in Portugal's overseas territories in Africa, Jorge Palma dropped out of university and went to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 with his wife, Gisela Brande, where he lived from 1973 to 1974 as a political refugee. In Denmark, he got a job at a hotel and presented some of his musical works through radio broadcast. After the Carnation Revolution

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

 on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Jorge Palma returned home.

First albums

Jorge Palma's solo career started with the release of the single The Nine Billion Names of God with lyrics in English language. After that he spent some time improving his writing skills in Portuguese language with the famous poet José Carlos Ary dos Santos. His first LP, named Com Uma Viagem na Palma da Mão was released in 1975.

In 1977 he released his second album, Té Já, album that made him play abroad, in Spain and
Brazil. Palma spent the following years, 1978 and 1979, in France, mainly in Paris, where he performed in several bars, playing songs of some major names of the musical panorama, such as
Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Crosby, Stills & Nash and others. After returning to Portugal, in 1979, Palma recorded and released his 3rd album, named Qualquer Coisa Pá Música, followed by live concerts alone or with the group O Bando.

In the early 1980s, he travelled to Paris, only returning in 1982 in order to finish the record of his 4th album, Acto Contínuo, album that was first meant to be a live album, but due to some difficulties, was recorded in studio. In 1983, when Palma was about to restart his musical studies, which he would finish in 1986, his first son, Vicente Palma, was born. In the next year, Palma recorded his 5th album, Asas e Penas, where he included a song dedicated to Vicente, named Castor (Beaver). In that same year he performed in Portugal, France and Italy, sometimes playing in the streets.

In 1985, Palma released one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, named O Lado Errado da Noite, the album included the single Deixa-me Rir, which became a huge success. The album received several musical awards and many music critics called it "the right side of Jorge Palma" (the album name is translated from Portuguese as "the wrong side of the night"). After releasing the album, Palma made a major Tournee, Azores and Madeira. In 1986 Palma finished his piano course and recorded the seventh album, Quarto Minguante, which was marked by the recording company's will of changing Palma's musical style, a thing he refused.

Recent years

After releasing his eighth album, Bairro do Amor, in 1989, Palma started a long period without releasing an album of originals, but continued his piano studies, finishing the Superior Course of Piano in the Portuguese National Conservatory in the next year. This last album was considered by many critics and newspapers among the best Portuguese albums of the century. The album was recorded by PolyGram, unlike the previous, as Palma had finished his contract with EMI after the refusal of the last in releasing the album. In 1991 was released a compilation titled Só, which revisited old songs with only vocals and Piano.

After the release of this album, Palma formed the Palma's Gang, with members of the bands Xutos & Pontapés and Rádio Macau, which released a live album in 1993, titled Palma's Gang - Ao Vivo no Johnny Guitar. In that same year, Palma participated in an album of the punk band Censurados. The next two years, Palma performed in several stages from north to south Portugal, alone or with Palma's Gang, some of them broadcast by the RTP - Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Meanwhile, his second son, Francisco Palma, was born.

In 1996, Palma accepted an invitation to join a new project, named Rio Grande, a band that included other famous Portuguese musicians, Tim (Xutos & Pontapés), João Gil (Ala dos Namorados), Rui Veloso and Vitorino.

The first album of the band was inspired in the Portuguese traditional music and became a major success in that year. In 1997, along with several concerts, Palma participated in several musical projects, such as Todo Este Céu with Né Ladeiras or Voz e guitarras, an acoustic album with several other artists. Also in 1997, the Rio Grande released their second album, a live album recorded in a major concert in Lisbon. In this album was present an un released song by Palma, Quem És Tu De Novo

In 1998, Palma played several major concerts, for university students in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

  and Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

, and also in the World's Fair Expo '98 in Lisbon.

Originals

1975 - Com Uma Viagem Na Palma da Mão (With a trip in the face of the hand)

1977 - 'Té Já (See You Later)

1979 - Qualquer Coisa Pá Música (Something For the Music)

1982 - Acto Contínuo (Continuous Act)

1984 - Asas e Penas (Wings and Feathers)

1985 - Lado Errado da Noite (The Wrong Side of the night)

1986 - Quarto Minguante

1989 - Bairro do Amor (Love Neighbourhood)

2001 - Jorge Palma

2004 - Norte (North)

2007 - Voo Nocturno

Voo Nocturno

-Track listing:# Encosta-te a Mim - 4:17# Voo Nocturno - 4:03# Rosa Branca - 2:16# O Centro Comercial Fechou - 2:56# Olá - 4:14# Abrir o Sinal - 3:21# Gaivota dos Alteirinhos - 3:27# Casa do Capitão - 3:18# Quarteto da Corda - 3:56...

 (Nocturnal Flight)

Compilations

1991 - Só

1993 - Palma's Gang - Ao Vivo no Johnny Guitar

1996 - Deixa-me Rir

1998 - Jorge Palma: O Melhor dos Melhores

2000 - Dá-me Lume: O Melhor de Jorge Palma

2000 - Clássicos da Renascença: Jorge Palma

2002 - No Tempo dos Assassinos

2004 - Estrela do Mar

2004 - A Arte e a Música de Jorge Palma

2008 - Voo Nocturno ao vivo

Singles

• 1971 - The Nine Billion Names Of God
• 1973 - A Última Canção
• 1975 - Pecado Capital
• 1976 - Viagem
• 2007 - Encosta-te A Mim

Albums with other artists

• 2001 - O Melhor de dois: Sérgio Godinho + Jorge Palma (with Sérgio Godinho
  Sérgio Godinho
  Sérgio Godinho, OL is a Portuguese poet, composer, and singer. He was born on August 31, 1945 in Porto, Portugal, and is one of the most influential popular musicians in Portugal...
  
  )