Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, the son of an architect, Cedric King Palmer was educated at Tonbridge School and studied conducting and composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
[1] His teachers there included Ernest Read and Benjamin Dale (conducting) and William Alwyn and Norman Demuth (composition).
[3] He also took on the role of conductor at the Sevenoaks Musical Society, which performed Elgar's cantata King Olaf in 1934 under his baton.
[4] By 1937, Palmer had written his first stage show, Gay Romance (book and lyrics by Cossar Turfery) from which one song, "The Man For Me" gained a measure of separate popularity.
[12] Always a champion of amateur music making, Palmer also conducted the City Literary Institute Rehearsal Orchestra, formed in November 1949 by professional musicians working in various restaurants and theatres to play through the standard symphonic repertoire.
Examples include Hackney Carriage (memorably used by Oliver Stone in his 1995 film Nixon[16]), Toboggan Ride, Holiday Playtime and Jogging Along.
[20] Winifred died in 1973, after which King Palmer continued as a piano teacher, but also took training as a music therapist, working with patients in local hospitals and prisons.
Stage Shows: Romany Moon; The Night is Young; Gay Romance (1937); Hop o' my Thumb (1958); Two Weeks to Californiay (1962) (with his wife Winifred); Aladdin (1965); Coalblack and the Seven Giants (1965); The Snow Queen (1967) (music adapted from Grieg) Orchestral: With Pomp and Pride (ceremonial march, 1937); March of the Astronauts, Kingsway March;Springtime (intermezzi); Down a Country Lane (suite); Out of Doors (suite); Eight Period Pieces (suite); Studies in Motion (suite); Studies in Happiness (suite); Fairy Cobweb (1950); Pull Up Your Socks (1960) Library music/genre pieces: Blue Days at Sea, Busy Life, Country Market, Enchantment, Feather on the Breeze, Frivolity, Gala, Golden Harvest, Going Concern, Hackney Carriage, Jogging Along, Paddle Steamer, Paul Pry, Procession, Softly She Sleeps, Spindlelegs, Stormy Passage, Tomorrow the World Film and television music: Dark Eyes of London (1939), Rhythm of the Road (1946); The Eleventh Hour (1962); Cockney Kids' Adventure.