Big Joe Turner was the greatest of the blues shouters. For more than five decades, from Kansas City saloons to Carnegie Hall, through the swing era, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and soul music, Joe Turner sang, never wavering. Small bands, big bands, trios, pianists, rock groups, choirs, all styles of accompaniment rocked to his rhythm. Joe Turner was like a force of nature, making everyone feel fine.
During a lifetime of singing throughout the United States, with trips to Europe, Australia and Mexico, Big Joe Turner was the subject of myriad interviews and articles, followed by numerous appreciations thereafter. Yet despite this outpouring of thousands upon thousands of words, no full length biography of him has to date been published. This volume is an attempt to remedy that omission by providing a long overdue bio-discography, a starting point from which the singer and his music can be further studied and appreciated.
appreciation of this amazing music.
Time, of course, plays tricks on our memories. One year merges into another, chronology wanders, names and places are forgotten or misplaced. With incomplete information it is easy to make erroneous connections. This story is true but are the details?
So it was with Joe Turner and his contemporaries. Interviewed about their early careers, sometimes ten, twenty, thirty or more years after the event, it is not surprising that there are conflicts, contradictions, and uncertainties between various accounts. Even Turner's interviews give differing details. Did he meet Pete Johnson at the Sunset or the Backbiters' Club? Did he gain entry to a club when underage by drawing a moustache on his lip, by putting on a false moustache or actually growing one?
