Big Joe Turner

Biography

Big Joe Turner, born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr. on May 18, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, grew up in the city’s vibrant Black entertainment district during Prohibition.[1][2][3] Singing in church and on the streets as a youth, he became known locally as a “singing bartender” at Kansas City saloons and the Sunset Club, where his huge, thunderous baritone rode easily over noisy rooms while pianist Pete Johnson backed him with driving boogie‑woogie.[2][3] His commanding voice and improvised blues lyrics earned him the nickname the “Boss of the Blues,” and his Kansas City years forged his trademark blend of blues feeling with jazz swing.[3][7]

Turner’s national breakthrough came when jazz critic and producer John Hammond brought him and Pete Johnson to New York for the landmark 1938 Carnegie Hall concert “Spirituals to Swing,” which led to extended engagements at Café Society and recording dates with leading jazz players.[1][2][5] Through the 1940s he worked with big bands and combos, appeared in Duke Ellington’s stage revue Jump for Joy (1941), and recorded for labels including Vocalion, Decca, and various West Coast independents.[1] In the early 1950s, after signing with Atlantic Records, he scored major rhythm‑and‑blues hits such as “Chains of Love,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “Honey Hush,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and “Flip, Flop and Fly,” records that fused jump blues, boogie‑woogie, and a propulsive backbeat that made him a crucial forerunner of rock and roll.[2][3][8]

Across a career spanning roughly five decades, Turner moved fluidly among blues, jazz, swing, rhythm and blues, and early rock, yet he always remained essentially a blues shouter whose aggressive but relaxed delivery could fill a hall with or without a microphone.[1][2][8] In the 1960s and 1970s he returned largely to jazz and small‑band blues settings, touring internationally and recording extensively, including later projects such as Blues Train with Roomful of Blues, which won a Grammy Award in 1983.[3] Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his foundational role in jump blues and rock and roll, Turner continued performing despite health problems until shortly before his death in Inglewood, California, on November 24, 1985; his recordings remain a touchstone for singers across blues, R&B, and rock.[1][3][8]

Fun Facts

• Turner earned his “Big Joe” nickname both to distinguish him from a pianist of the same name and because he stood over six feet tall and became notably rotund from years of good living.[1]
• At age twelve he survived a house fire by jumping from a second‑story window, breaking both legs; lingering damage meant he often performed seated onstage throughout his adult career.[1]
• Turner preferred fast, up‑tempo numbers and openly said that slow blues songs “made no sense” to him, shaping his reputation as a powerhouse jump‑blues shouter rather than a ballad singer.[1]
• Despite later recognition and a 1983 Grammy‑winning album, Turner, like many early R&B pioneers, died in relative poverty even as his songs remained central to the rock and roll canon.[3][4]

Associated Acts

• Joe Turner and His Memphis Men - eponymous, original
• Big Joe Turner & His Blues Kings - eponymous, original
• Big Joe Turner & Orchestra - eponymous, original
• Joe Turner and His Band - eponymous, original
• Joe Sullivan and His Café Society Orchestra
• Big Joe Turner and His Fly Cats - eponymous, original
• Art Tatum and His Band

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Kansas City jazz and blues scene - Formative environment; the 1920s–30s Kansas City speakeasies and nightclubs shaped his shouting style, improvisational approach, and fusion of blues with jazz swing. (Early performances at the Sunset Club and other Kansas City saloons with Pete Johnson rather than formal recordings.) [Late 1920s–1930s]
• John Hammond - Champion and career catalyst; Hammond discovered Turner in Kansas City and brought him and Pete Johnson to New York, launching his national profile. (1938 Carnegie Hall concert “From Spirituals to Swing” and subsequent Café Society bookings and recording opportunities.) [From 1938 through early 1940s]

Key Collaborators

• Pete Johnson - Primary musical partner; Kansas City house pianist whose boogie‑woogie style meshed perfectly with Turner’s blues shouting both locally and on the national stage. (Joint appearance at 1938 “Spirituals to Swing” concert; Café Society engagements; early boogie‑woogie and blues recordings for Vocalion and Decca.) [Late 1920s–1940s (with later reunions)]
• Count Basie - Bandleader with whom Turner toured; Basie’s swinging big‑band settings highlighted Turner’s Kansas City blues roots. (Touring in the U.S. and Canada; various live performances pairing Turner’s vocals with Basie’s orchestra.[2][3]) [1940s]
• Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis - Boogie‑woogie pianists who, alongside Pete Johnson, formed a celebrated piano‑plus‑shouter unit with Turner after the Carnegie Hall success. (Appearances as a boogie‑woogie quartet at Café Society following the 1938 concert.[1]) [Late 1930s–early 1940s]
• Duke Ellington - Turner appeared as a featured blues singer in Ellington’s stage musical revue. (Stage show Jump for Joy (Los Angeles, 1941).) [1941]
• Roomful of Blues - Modern jump‑blues band that backed Turner on a late‑career project, helping reintroduce him to contemporary audiences. (Album Blues Train, which won a Grammy Award in 1983.[3]) [Early 1980s]

Artists Influenced

• Bill Haley - Rock and roll pioneer who covered Turner’s R&B hits with toned‑down lyrics, helping carry Turner’s material into the pop mainstream. (Covers of “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and other Turner hits using expurgated lyrics.[2]) [Mid‑1950s]
• Chuck Berry - Key rock and roll figure influenced by Turner’s jump‑blues feel, rhythmic drive, and crossover from R&B to rock audiences.[3] (Early rock and roll singles that draw on jump‑blues structures and lyrical swagger.) [1950s–1960s]
• Bo Diddley - Adopted elements of Turner’s blues shouting and stage presence within a rock and R&B context.[3] (Classic Bo Diddley recordings that fuse blues‑based vocals with driving rhythm.) [1950s–1960s]
• Elvis Presley - Part of the first rock and roll generation shaped by Turner’s jump‑blues vocals and repertoire; Presley and peers drew on the R&B tradition Turner helped define.[3][8] (Early rock and roll recordings and performances influenced by R&B shouters and songs like “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”) [1950s]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Shake, Rattle and Roll (Shake Rattle & Rock)
2. Shake, Rattle & Roll (Flip, Flop And Fly 1951-1955)
3. Honey Hush (Big Joe Turner: The Rhythm & Blues Years)
4. Boogie Woogie Country Girl (Shake Rattle & Rock)
5. Corrine Corrina (Shake Rattle & Rock)
6. Shake, Rattle and Roll
7. Flip, Flop And Fly (Flip, Flop And Fly 1951-1955)
8. Roll 'Em Pete (Jumpin' With Joe)
9. Lipstick, Powder and Paint (Big Bad & Blue - The Joe Turner Anthology)
10. Flip, Flop and Fly

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #blues, #jump-blues, #r&b