Big Joe Turner
| Big Joe Turner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Vernon Turner Jr |
| Also known as | The Boss of the Blues |
| Born |
May 18, 1911 Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
| Died | November 24, 1985 (aged 74) Inglewood, California, United States |
| Genres | Jump blues, rock and roll, swing music |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1920s–1980s |
| Labels | Atlantic, London, National, Vocalion, Decca, Pablo, Rhino |
| Associated acts | Pete Johnson, Count Basie Orchestra |
Joseph Vernon "Joe" Turner, Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985), best known as Big Joe Turner, was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." While he had his greatest fame during the 1950s with his rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Turner's career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, with the Hall lauding him as "the brawny voiced 'Boss of the Blues'".
Known variously as The Boss of the Blues, and Big Joe Turner (due to his 6'2", 300+ lbs stature), Turner was born in Kansas City. His father was killed in a train accident when Joe was only four years old. He first discovered a love of music in his involvement at church. He began singing on street corners for money, quitting school at age fourteen to work in Kansas City's nightclubs, first as a cook, and later as a singing bartender. He became known eventually as The Singing Barman, and worked in such venues as The Kingfish Club and The Sunset, where he and his piano playing partner Pete Johnson became resident performers. The Sunset was managed by Piney Brown. It featured "separate but equal" facilities for caucasian patrons. Turner wrote "Piney Brown Blues" in his honor and sang it throughout his entire career.
At that time Kansas City nightclubs were subject to frequent raids by the police, but as Turner recounts, "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 boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson proved fruitful. Together they went to New York City in 1936, where they appeared on a playbill with Benny Goodman, but as Turner recounts, "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 witnessed by the talent scout, John H. Hammond in 1938, who invited them back to New York to appear in one of his "From Spirituals to Swing" concerts at Carnegie Hall, which were instrumental in introducing jazz and blues to a wider American audience.
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