Musician inducted into West Virginia all-black hall of fame

PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) - Years ago, a local man known for his music performed for a man known for his talent on the golf course. Their talents were different, but they did have a name in common.

Now 73 years old, Arnold Palmer of Princeton, who was recently inducted into the West Virginia All-Black Sports and Academic Hall of Fame, still remembers the day when he performed for golfing legend Arnold Palmer, who passed away recently. In 1980, Palmer was performing at the Holiday Inn near Princeton when he was approached by a secretary who worked for Arnold Palmer the golfer.

“She wanted me to come down and perform for the Arnold Palmer Golf Open, and of course I said yes,” he recalled. Palmer soon found himself playing his music at the golf open in Pinehurst, North Carolina. His golfing namesake was surprised by the featured musician’s name.

“He couldn’t believe we had two Arnold Palmers in the same room. That was one of the highlights of my musical career,” Palmer said. “I’ve toured the Midwest and probably all the states on the Eastern Seaboard. It just goes on and on and on, and I’m still doing it.”

Palmer’s lifetime of accomplishments were recognized by the state when he was inducted Sept. 17 into the West Virginia All-Black Sports and Academic Hall of Fame. As a musician, he had to either have a masters degree in music or be a professional musician.

“And play professionally, which I have been doing for some time. And, of course, they expect you to be an upstanding citizen in the community,” he said. “My recordings are all over West Virginia; I’ve had several CDs out and I’ve been pretty well noticed for that.”

Palmer took his first steps into the music profession when he was a child.

“Years ago, my dad was a coal miner, but he taught us how to play music at a very early age. I used to worry my mom to death by playing the drums on the kitchen table. They finally bought me a little set of toy drums, so I started there and kept going. I taught myself to play several musical instruments at that time. I play about six or seven. We just picked it up. It was God’s gift to us,” Palmer said.

A professional career started at age 16 when the group Arnold Palmer and the Jeffetts was formed.

“And since then I’ve played with all the local groups: the Redcoats, Blues Limited, the Collegians. I was the lead singer with the Collegians for years. I played with my brother Clarence Palmer, who was a great jazz organist,” he said.

Besides music, Palmer is working on establishing the Arnold Palmer Community Center on High Street in Princeton.

“I’ve gotten a fantastic donation of $250,000,” he said, adding the donor wished to remain anonymous now. It’s geared toward helping young people by keeping them off the streets, to be a safe haven for them away from drugs,” he said.

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Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, https://www.bdtonline.com