Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. According to songwriter

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hal ...

, "

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fame was due to his rock and roll recordings in the 1950s, particularly " Shake, Rattle and Roll", but his career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

in 1987, with the Hall lauding him as "the brawny voiced 'Boss of the Blues.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called Turner "the premier blues shouter of the postwar era".

Life and career

Early days

Turner was born May 18, 1911, in

, United States. His father was killed in a train accident when Turner was four years old. He sang in his church, and on street corners for money. He left school at age fourteen to work in Kansas City's nightclubs, first as a cook and later as a singing bartender. He became known as "The Singing Barman", and worked in such venues as the Kingfish Club and the Sunset, and would frequently perform at these venues alongside his friend Pete Johnson on piano. The Sunset was managed by Piney Brown. It featured "separate but equal" facilities for white patrons. Turner wrote "Piney Brown Blues" in his honor and sang it throughout his career. At that time Kansas City nightclubs were subject to frequent raids by the police; Turner said, "The Boss man would have his bondsmen down at the police station before we got there. We'd walk in, sign our names and walk right out. Then we would cabaret until morning." His partnership with Johnson proved fruitful. Together they went to New York City in 1936, where they appeared on a playbill with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, but as Turner recounted, "After our show with Goodman, we auditioned at several places, but New York wasn't ready for us yet, so we headed back to K.C." Eventually they were seen by the talent scout John Hammond in 1938, who invited them back to New York to appear in one of his '' From Spirituals to Swing'' concerts at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, which were instrumental in introducing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

to a wider American audience. In part because of their appearance at Carnegie Hall, Turner and Johnson had a major success with the song " Roll 'Em Pete". The track was basically a collection of traditional blues lyrics. It was a song that Turner recorded many times, with various musicians, over the ensuing years.

1939 to 1950

In 1939, along with the boogie-woogie pianists

Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were ...

and Meade Lux Lewis, Turner and Johnson began a residency at Café Society, a nightclub in New York City, where they appeared on the same playbill as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and Frankie Newton's band. Besides "Roll 'Em, Pete", Turner's best-known recordings from this period are probably "Cherry Red", "I Want a Little Girl" and "Wee Baby Blues". "Cherry Red" was recorded in 1939 for the Vocalion

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, with Hot Lips Page on trumpet and a full band in attendance. During the next year Turner contracted with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

and recorded "Piney Brown Blues" with Johnson on piano. In 1941, he went to Los Angeles and performed in

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

's revue ''Jump for Joy'' in Hollywood. He appeared as a singing policeman in a comedy sketch, "He's on the Beat". Los Angeles was his home for a time, and during 1944 he worked in Meade Lux Lewis's Soundies musical movies. He sang on the soundtrack recordings but was not present for filming, and his vocals were mouthed by the comedian Dudley Dickerson for the camera. In 1945 Turner and Pete Johnson established the Blue Moon Club, a bar in Los Angeles. In 1945, he also signed a recording contract with National Records, for which he recorded under the supervision of

Herb Abramson Herbert Charles Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999) was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records. Life and career Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He studied to be a ...

. His first hit single was a cover of Saunders King's "S.K. Blues" (1945). He recorded the songs "My Gal's a Jockey" and the risqué "Around the Clock" the same year, and

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Philo Records Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of ...

released "Battle of the Blues", a duet with

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter best remembered as a singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...

. Turner stayed with National until 1947, but none of his recordings were big sellers. In 1950, he recorded the song "Still in the Dark", released by Freedom Records. Joe Turner also played at the Cavalcades of Jazz concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. on September 23, 1945, to a crowd of 15,000.

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, the Honeydrippers, The Peters Sisters, Slim and Bam and Valaida Snow were also featured artists. Turner also performed alongside

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

at the fourth annual Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at

in Los Angeles, on September 12, 1948. Also on the program that day were

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

, The Sweethearts of Rhythm, The Honeydrippers, Little Miss Cornshucks,

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

, The Blenders, and The Sensations. Turner was a significant figure in the development of

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

. According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Turner and

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

laid the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, "cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another". Turner made many albums with Johnson,

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Sammy Price, and other jazz groups. He recorded for several record companies. He also performed with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16- to 18-piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 19 ...

. During his career, Turner was part of the transition from

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s to

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. He was a master of traditional blues verses, and at Kansas City

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

s he could swap choruses with instrumental soloists for hours.

Success during the 1950s

Big Joe Turner Rock and Roll Revue Apollo Theater 1955

In 1951, while performing with the Count Basie Orchestra at Harlem's

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

as a replacement for

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

, he was spotted by Ahmet and

Nesuhi Ertegun Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International. Early life Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...

, who contracted him to their new recording company,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Turner recorded a number of successes for them, including the blues standards, " Chains of Love" and "Sweet Sixteen". Many of his vocals are punctuated with shouts to the band members, as in "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" ("That's a good rockin' band!", "Go ahead, man! Ow! That's just what I need!" ) and " Honey Hush" (he repeatedly sings, "Hi-yo, Silver!", a famous command used by the

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

on his popular radio show, to his horse named Silver). Turner's records reached the top of the rhythm-and-blues charts. Some of his songs were so risqué that some radio stations refused to play them, but they received much play on jukeboxes. Turner had great success during 1954 with " Shake, Rattle and Roll", which significantly boosted his career, turning him into a teenage favorite, and also helped to transform popular music. During the song, Turner yells at his woman to "get outta that bed, wash yo' face an' hands" and comments that she's "wearin' those dresses, the sun comes shinin' through! I can't believe my eyes, all that mess belongs to you." He sang it on film for the 1955 theatrical feature ''Rhythm and Blues Revue''. Although the cover version of the song by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

, with the risqué lyrics partly omitted, was a greater sales success, many listeners sought out Turner's version and were introduced thereby to rhythm and blues.

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" combined Turner's lyrics with Haley's arrangement, but was not a successful single. "The Chicken and the Hawk", "

Flip, Flop and Fly "Flip, Flop and Fly" is a song recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1955. Called a "prototypical rocker", it was recorded by several early rock and roll performers. In 1973, a version by the Downchild Blues Band reached the record singles chart in Canad ...

", "Hide and Seek", "Morning, Noon and Night", and "Well All Right" were successful recordings from this period. He performed on the

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

'' Showtime at the Apollo'' and in the movie '' Shake Rattle & Rock!'' (1956). The song " Corrine, Corrina" was another great seller during 1956. In addition to the rock music songs, he released ''Boss of the Blues'' album in 1956. "(I'm Gonna) Jump for Joy", his last hit, reached the US R&B record chart on May 26, 1958. He toured Australia in 1957 with Lee Gordon's Big Show sharing the bill with Bill Haley and the Comets,

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (born Delores Evans; November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American rhythm and blues singer who had several hit records on the pop charts in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were " Tweedle Dee" ...

and Freddie Bell and the Bellboys.

Awards

He won the ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine award for male vocalist in 1945. He won the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' award for best "new" vocalist of 1956.

Returning to Jazz

After a number of successes in popular music, Turner resumed singing with small jazz combos, recording numerous albums in that style during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966,

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

helped revive Turner's career by lending him the Comets for a series of popular recordings for the Orfeón label in Mexico. During the 1960s and 1970s he resumed performing jazz and blues music, performing at many music festivals and recording for

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Gra ...

Pablo Records Pablo Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Norman Granz in 1973, more than a decade after he had sold his earlier catalog (including Verve Records) to MGM Records. Pablo initially featured recordings by acts that Granz managed ...

. He also worked with Axel Zwingenberger. Turner also participated in a "Battle of the Blues" with

and T-Bone Walker. In 1965, he toured in England with the trumpeter

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

and the trombonist

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

, accompanied by Humphrey Lyttelton and his band. Part of a studio concert was televised by the BBC and later issued on DVD. A sound recording of a club appearance made during this tour is not thought of sufficient sound quality to justify commercial issue. He also toured Europe with Count Basie and his orchestra. He won the British ''Jazz Journal'' award as top male singer of 1965. In 1977, Turner recorded a cover version of Guitar Slim's song " The Things That I Used to Do", and "

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. It was popularized by ...

", for Spivey Records, with Lloyd Glenn on piano. Turner received top billing with Count Basie in the Kansas City jazz reunion movie '' The Last of the Blue Devils'' (1979), featuring

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

, Jimmy Forrest, and other players from the city. In 1983, two years before his death, Turner was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

. That same year, the album ''Blues Train'' was released by Muse Records; the album featured Turner with the band Roomful of Blues. Turner's career endured from the barrooms of Kansas City in the 1920s (when at the age of twelve he performed with a pencilled moustache and his father's hat) to European jazz festivals of the 1980s.

Death and tributes

Turner died of heart failure in November 1985, at the age of 74, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, having suffered from effects of arthritis, a stroke and diabetes. His funeral included musical tributes from

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

and Barbara Morrison. He was buried at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Gardena, California. He was posthumously inducted into the

in 1987. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' music critic Robert Palmer wrote of "his voice, pushing like a Count Basie solo, rich and grainy as a section of saxophones, which dominated the room with the sheer sumptuousness of its sound." In announcing Turner's death, the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', in its December 1985 issue, described him as "the grandfather of rock and roll". According to the Blues Hall of Fame, Turner "was a king of the jump blues genre, a boogie woogie belter, progenitor of rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll, and a respected performer in jazz circles. Dave Alvin wrote a song about an evening he spent with Turner, entitled "Boss of the Blues", for his 2009 album, ''Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women''. Alvin discussed the song in issue 59 of the ''Blasters Newsletter''. Alvin later collaborated with his brother and former Blaster Phil Alvin on a second reunion album, ''Lost Time'', released in 2015, containing four covers of songs by Turner, including "Cherry Red", "Wee Baby Blues" and "Hide and Seek". The brothers met Turner in Los Angeles, where he was playing in clubs on Central Avenue and living in the Adams district between tours in the 1960s. Phil Alvin opened for Turner a few times with his first band, Delta Pacific. Turner continued mentoring the Alvin brothers until his death in 1985. He is pictured on the back cover of ''Lost Time''. The biographical film '' The Buddy Holly Story'' refers to Turner and his contemporaries

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

as major influences on

Holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, who is portrayed collecting their vinyl recordings. A biography and discography, ''Big Joe Turner Feel So Fine'', written by Derek Coller was published by Hardinge Simpole in 2023 ().

Most famous recordings

* " Roll 'Em Pete" (1938), available in many versions over the years; used in the million-dollar opening scene of

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's 1992 film ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

'' * " Chains of Love" * (1951), Turner's first million-seller, written by

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...

under the pseudonym "Nugetre" for the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

and Vann "Piano Man" Walls for the music, reaching the million sales mark by 1954 * " Honey Hush" * (1953), Turner's second million-seller, written by Turner but credited to Lou Willie Turner * " Shake, Rattle and Roll" (1954), written by "Charles Calhoun", Jesse Stone's songwriting name * "

" * (1955), sold a million copies over the years; written by Charles Calhoun and Turner but credited to Lou Willie Turner * "Cherry Red" (1956) * " Corrine, Corrina" * (1956), his fourth million-seller, with adaption by J. Mayo Williams, Mitchell Parish and Bo Chatmon in 1932; reached number 41 and spent 10 weeks on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' record chart * "Wee Baby Blues" (1956), a song Turner had been singing since his Kingfish Club days * "Love Roller Coaster" (1956), with new lyrics to the Kansas City classic "Morning Glory" * " Midnight Special" (1957) Tracks marked with an asterisk were million-selling records.

Discography

Albums

* ''Kansas City Jazz'' (

DL 8044, 1951) * ''Joe Turner and Pete Johnson'' ( EmArcy, 1955) * '' The Boss of the Blues: Joe Turner Sings Kansas City Jazz'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1956) * ''Joe Turner: Rock & Roll'' (Atlantic, 1957) * ''Rockin' the Blues'' (Atlantic, 1958) * ''And The Blues'll Make You Happy Too'' (Savoy, 1958) * ''Careless Love'' (Savoy, 1958) * ''Big Joe is Here'' (Atlantic, 1959) * ''Big Joe Rides Again'' (Atlantic, 1960) * ''Jumpin' the Blues'' (Arhoolie, 1962) with Pete Johnson * ''Joe Turner and Jimmy Nelson'' (Crown, 1963) * ''Sings The Blues, Vol. 1'' ( Oriole, 1964) * ''Sings The Blues, Vol. 2'' (Oriole, 1965) * ''Feel So Fine'' (Fontana, 1965) with

; reissued as ''Buck Clayton Meets Joe Turner'' (Black Lion, 1992) * ''Presenting Big Joe Turner'' (Orfeon ex 1966) * ''

Singing the Blues "Singing the Blues" is a popular song composed by Melvin Endsley and published in 1956. The highest-charting version was by Guy Mitchell and the first recording of the song was by Marty Robbins. It is not related to the 1920 jazz song " Si ...

'' (ABC/BluesWay, 1967) reissued as ''Roll 'Em'' (ABC/BluesWay, 1973) * '' The Real Boss of the Blues'' (BluesTime/Flying Dutchman, 1969) * '' Super Black Blues'' (BluesTime/Flying Dutchman, 1969) with T-Bone Walker and

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924, or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Mississippi, ...

* ''Super Black Blues, Volume II'' (BluesTime/Flying Dutchman, 1970) with Leon Thomas, T-Bone Walker, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson * ''Turns On the Blues'' (Kent, 1970) * ''Texas Style'' (Black and Blue, 1971) * 1972 – ''Flip, Flop & Fly'' (Pablo, 1989) with

& His Orchestra * 1973 – ''Boss Man of the Blues'' (LMI Records, 1973) * 1973 – '' The Bosses'' (Pablo, 1974) with Count Basie * 1974 – ''Life Ain't Easy'' (Pablo, 1983) * 1974 – '' The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner'' (Pablo, 1975) with

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

, Harry "Sweets" Edison,

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

* 1975 – ''Everyday I Have the Blues'' (Pablo, 1978) with Pee Wee Crayton and

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

* 1975 – ''Nobody in Mind'' (Pablo, 1976) with

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

and Roy Eldridge * 1976 – ''In the Evening'' (Pablo, 1976) * 1976 – ''The Midnight Special'' (Pablo, 1980) * 1977 – ''Things That I Used to Do'' (Pablo, 1977) * 1977 – ''San Francisco 1977'' (RockBeat, 2017) with

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American blues guitarist and composer. Born in Chicago, he became one of the first popular music stars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrume ...

* 1977 – ''I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter'' (Spivey, 1978) with the Bill Dacey-Robert Ross Band * 1978 – ''Really the Blues'' (Big Town, 1978) * 1978 – ''Have No Fear Joe Turner is Here'' (Pablo, 1981) * 1974–1978 – ''Stormy Monday'' (Pablo, 1991) previously unissued Pablo recordings * 1980 – ''Kansas City Shout'' (Pablo, 1980) with Count Basie and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson * 1981 – ''Boogie Woogie Jubilee'' (Telefunken, 1981) with Axel Zwingenberger * 1981 – ''Rock This Joint'' (Intermedia, 1982) * 1981 – ''The Very Best Of Big Joe Turner Live'' (Intermedia, 1982) * 1981 – ''Boss Blues Live!'' (Intermedia, 1982) * 1981 – ''Roll Me Baby'' (Intermedia, 1982) * 1983 – ''Live at the Music Machine 1983'' (RockBeat, 2013) * 1983 – ''Blues Train'' (Muse, 1983) with Roomful of Blues * 1983 – ''Big Joe Turner with Knocky Parker and His House Rockers'' (Southland, 1985) * 1984 – ''Kansas City Here I Come'' (Pablo, 1984) * 1985 – ''Patcha, Patcha, All Night Long'' (Pablo, 1985) with

* 1938–1954 – ''Shout, Rattle And Roll (1938–1954)'' (Proper, 2005) 4-CD set * 1941–1946 – ''The Chronological Joe Turner 1941–1946'' (Classics, 1997) * 1946–1947 – ''The Chronological Joe Turner 1946–1947'' (Classics, 1998) * 1947–1948 – ''The Chronological Joe Turner 1947–1948'' (Classics, 1999) * 1949–1950 – ''The Chronological Joe Turner 1949–1950'' (Classics, 2001)

Singles

Bibliography

* ''The Encyclopedia of Jazz and Blues''. . * ''Jumpin' the Blues'', Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's Orchestra. Liner notes.

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was ...

. * ''Rocks in My Bed'', Big Joe Turner. Liner notes. International Music. * ''The Chronological Joe Turner'', 1949–1950. Liner notes. Classics Records. * ''Rock and Roll'', Big Joe Turner. Liner notes. Atlantic Records. * ''Shout, Rattle and Roll'', Big Joe Turner. Liner notes. Proper Records (four- CD

boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

), 2005. * ''I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter'', Big Joe Turner. Liner notes. Spivey Records, 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Big Joe 1911 births 1985 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Alligator Records artists American blues singers American jazz singers Arhoolie Records artists Atlantic Records artists Black & Blue Records artists EmArcy Records artists Flying Dutchman Records artists Jazz musicians from Missouri Jump blues musicians Jewel Records artists Kent Records artists Muse Records artists Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Pablo Records artists Rock and roll musicians RPM Records (United States) artists Savoy Records artists Southland Records artists Swing singers Vocalion Records artists