Big Joe Turner
May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985
Big Joe Turner was a jump blues singer who has been rightfully called “The Boss of the Blues.” He is also considered to be one of the direct influences on early rock ‘n roll. Turner’s career began during the 1920s as a singing bartender in around his hometown of Kansas City. He eventually moved to New York City where, in 1938, legendary talent scout, John Hammond Sr. gave him a slot on the groundbreaking From Spiritual to Swing concerts. By the early ’40s, Turner was living in Los Angeles where he worked with the likes of Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Count Basie, and Meade Lux Lewis. In 1951, Turner signed with the up-and-coming label, Atlantic Records where he began releasing a string of upbeat songs that would help establish rock ‘n roll as a new art form. Such records included “Sweet Sixteen,” “Chains of Love,” “Corrine Corrina” and “Shake Rattle and Roll,” which would be made into hits by Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Turner returned to a more traditional blues sound during the ’60s. Big Joe Turner was 74 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on November 24, 1985.
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