Review by Scott Yanow
With the exception of one selection ("Pennies from Heaven") left over from his 1956 record The Boss of the Blue, the music on this album was all recorded in September 1959. Veteran blues singer Big Joe Turner returns to his roots, belting out blues and early standards while accompanied by an octet arranged by Ernie Wilkins. Among the key sidemen are the great tenor Coleman Hawkins, trombonist Vic Dickenson, trumpeter Paul Ricard and altoist Jerome Richardson; and the highlights include "Nobody in Mind," "Rebecca" and "Don't You Make Me High." An excellent outing for Turner, whose boisterous style would be largely unchanged over his half-century career.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/big-joe-rides-again-mw0000651666
Biography
by Matt Collar
A monumental figure in American music, Big Joe Turner was the premiere blues shouter of the post-war era with a roaring voice and hard-swinging style that prefigured rock & roll. Turner started performing in the late 1920s as a singer for Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and others. Over the next couple of decades, he helped define the boogie-woogie, R&B, and jump-blues styles, alongside the likes of Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, and Roy Brown. In the early '50s, he laid down the template for rock & roll with hits like "Chains of Love," "Honey Hush," and the landmark "Shake, Rattle & Roll." His style proved an enormous influence on the first generation of rock & roll artists (many of whom covered the songs Turner made famous). Turner continued to perform well into the '70s, having solidified his legendary status by the time of his passing in 1985.
Born Joseph Vernon Turner, Jr. in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, Turner was a product of his hometown's swinging, wide-open jazz and blues scene. Blessed with both a big voice and large stature (hence the nickname) Turner looked more than mature enough by his teens to gain entry to various K.C. night clubs. He ended up simultaneously tending bar and singing the blues before hooking up with boogie piano master Pete Johnson during the early '30s. Theirs was a partnership that would endure for 13 years.
The pair initially traveled to New York at John Hammond's behest in 1936. On December 23, 1938, they appeared in the fabled Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall on a bill with Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, the Golden Gate Quartet, and Count Basie. Turner and Johnson performed "Low Down Dog" and "It's All Right, Baby" in that historic show, kicking off a boogie-woogie craze that landed them a long-running slot at the Cafe Society (along with piano giants Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons).
As 1938 came to a close, Turner and Johnson waxed the thundering "Roll 'Em Pete" for Vocalion. It was a thrilling uptempo number anchored by Johnson's crashing 88s, and Turner would re-record it many times over the decades. Turner and Johnson waxed their seminal blues "Cherry Red" the next year for Vocalion with trumpeter Hot Lips Page and a full combo in support. In 1940, the massive shouter moved over to Decca and cut "Piney Brown Blues" with Johnson rippling the ivories. But not all of Turner's Decca sides teamed him with Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith accompanied him on the mournful "Careless Love," while Freddie Slack's Trio provided backing for "Rocks in My Bed" in 1941.
Turner ventured out to the West Coast during the war years, building quite a following while ensconced on the L.A. circuit. In 1945, he signed on with National Records and cut some fine small combo platters under Herb Abramson's supervision. Turner remained with National through 1947, belting an exuberant "My Gal's a Jockey" that became his first national R&B smash. Contracts didn't stop him from waxing an incredibly risqué two-part "Around the Clock" for the aptly named Stag imprint (as Big Vernon) in 1947. There were also solid sessions for Aladdin that year that included a wild vocal duel with one of Turner's principal rivals, Wynonie Harris, on the ribald two-part "Battle of the Blues."
Most West Coast indie labels in the late '40s boasted at least one or two Turner titles in their catalogs. The shouter bounced from RPM to Down Beat/Swing Time to MGM (all those dates were anchored by Johnson's piano) to the Texas-based Freedom (which moved some of their masters to Specialty) to Imperial in 1950 (his New Orleans backing crew there included a young Fats Domino on piano). But apart from the 1950 Freedom 78 "Still in the Dark," none of Turner's records were selling particularly well. When Atlantic Records bosses Abramson and Ahmet Ertegun fortuitously dropped by the Apollo Theater to check out Count Basie's band one day, they discovered that Turner had temporarily replaced Jimmy Rushing as the Basie band's frontman, and he was having a tough go of it. Atlantic picked up his spirits by picking up his recording contract, and Turner's heyday was about to begin.
At Turner's first Atlantic date in April of 1951, he imparted a gorgeously world-weary reading to the moving blues ballad "Chains of Love" (co-penned by Ertegun and pianist Harry Van Walls) that restored him to the uppermost reaches of the R&B charts. From there, the hits came in droves: "Chill Is On," "Sweet Sixteen" (yeah, the same downbeat blues B.B. King's usually associated with; Turner did it first), and "Don't You Cry" were all done in New York, and all hit big.
Turner had no problem whatsoever adapting his prodigious pipes to whatever regional setting he was in. In 1953, he cut his first R&B chart-topper, the storming rocker "Honey Hush" (later covered by Johnny Burnette and Jerry Lee Lewis), in New Orleans, with trombonist Pluma Davis and tenor saxman Lee Allen in rip-roaring support. Before the year was through, he stopped off in Chicago to record with slide guitarist Elmore James' considerably rougher-edged combo and hit again with the salacious "T.V. Mama."
Prolific Atlantic house writer Jesse Stone was the source of Turner's biggest smash of all, "Shake, Rattle and Roll," which proved his second chart-topper in 1954. With the Atlantic brain trust reportedly chiming in on the chorus behind Turner's rumbling lead, the song sported enough pop possibilities to merit a considerably cleaned-up cover by Bill Haley & the Comets (and a subsequent version by Elvis Presley that came a lot closer to the original's leering intent).
Suddenly, at the age of 43, Turner was a rock star. His jumping follow-ups -- "Well All Right," "Flip Flop and Fly," "Hide and Seek," "Morning, Noon and Night," "The Chicken and the Hawk" -- all mined the same good-time groove as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," with crisp backing from New York's top session aces and typically superb production by Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.
Turner turned up on a couple episodes of the groundbreaking TV program Showtime at the Apollo during the mid-'50s, commanding center stage with a joyous rendition of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in front of saxman Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams' band. Nor was the silver screen immune to his considerable charms: Turner mimed a couple of numbers in the 1957 film Shake Rattle & Rock (Fats Domino and Mike "Mannix" Connors also starred in the flick).
Updating the pre-war number "Corrine Corrina" was an inspired notion that provided Turner with another massive seller in 1956. But after the two-sided hit "Rock a While"/"Lipstick Powder and Paint" later that year, his Atlantic output swiftly faded from commercial acceptance. Atlantic's recording strategy wisely involved recording Turner in a jazzier setting for the adult-oriented album market; to that end, a Kansas City-styled set (with his former partner Johnson at the piano stool) was laid down in 1956 and remains a linchpin of his legacy.
Turner stayed on at Atlantic into 1959, but nobody bought his violin-enriched remake of "Chains of Love" (on the other hand, a revival of "Honey Hush" with King Curtis blowing a scorching sax break from the same session was a gem in its own right). The '60s didn't produce too much of lasting substance for the shouter -- he actually cut an album with longtime admirer Haley and his latest batch of Comets in Mexico City in 1966.
By the tail-end of the decade, Turner's essential contributions to blues history were beginning to receive proper recognition; he cut LPs for BluesWay and BluesTime. During the '70s and '80s, Turner recorded prolifically for Norman Granz's jazz-oriented Pablo label. These were super-relaxed impromptu sessions that often paired the allegedly illiterate shouter with various jazz luminaries in what amounted to loosely run jam sessions. Turner contentedly roared the familiar lyrics of one or another of his hits, then sat back while somebody took a lengthy solo. Other notable album projects included a 1983 collaboration with Roomful of Blues, Blues Train, for Muse. Although health problems and the size of his humongous frame forced him to sit down during his latter-day performances, Turner continued to tour until shortly before his death in 1985. They called him the Boss of the Blues, and the appellation was truly a fitting one: when Turner shouted a lyric, you were definitely at his beck and call.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-joe-turner-mn0000060726/biography
by Matt Collar
A monumental figure in American music, Big Joe Turner was the premiere blues shouter of the post-war era with a roaring voice and hard-swinging style that prefigured rock & roll. Turner started performing in the late 1920s as a singer for Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and others. Over the next couple of decades, he helped define the boogie-woogie, R&B, and jump-blues styles, alongside the likes of Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, and Roy Brown. In the early '50s, he laid down the template for rock & roll with hits like "Chains of Love," "Honey Hush," and the landmark "Shake, Rattle & Roll." His style proved an enormous influence on the first generation of rock & roll artists (many of whom covered the songs Turner made famous). Turner continued to perform well into the '70s, having solidified his legendary status by the time of his passing in 1985.
Born Joseph Vernon Turner, Jr. in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, Turner was a product of his hometown's swinging, wide-open jazz and blues scene. Blessed with both a big voice and large stature (hence the nickname) Turner looked more than mature enough by his teens to gain entry to various K.C. night clubs. He ended up simultaneously tending bar and singing the blues before hooking up with boogie piano master Pete Johnson during the early '30s. Theirs was a partnership that would endure for 13 years.
The pair initially traveled to New York at John Hammond's behest in 1936. On December 23, 1938, they appeared in the fabled Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall on a bill with Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, the Golden Gate Quartet, and Count Basie. Turner and Johnson performed "Low Down Dog" and "It's All Right, Baby" in that historic show, kicking off a boogie-woogie craze that landed them a long-running slot at the Cafe Society (along with piano giants Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons).
As 1938 came to a close, Turner and Johnson waxed the thundering "Roll 'Em Pete" for Vocalion. It was a thrilling uptempo number anchored by Johnson's crashing 88s, and Turner would re-record it many times over the decades. Turner and Johnson waxed their seminal blues "Cherry Red" the next year for Vocalion with trumpeter Hot Lips Page and a full combo in support. In 1940, the massive shouter moved over to Decca and cut "Piney Brown Blues" with Johnson rippling the ivories. But not all of Turner's Decca sides teamed him with Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith accompanied him on the mournful "Careless Love," while Freddie Slack's Trio provided backing for "Rocks in My Bed" in 1941.
Turner ventured out to the West Coast during the war years, building quite a following while ensconced on the L.A. circuit. In 1945, he signed on with National Records and cut some fine small combo platters under Herb Abramson's supervision. Turner remained with National through 1947, belting an exuberant "My Gal's a Jockey" that became his first national R&B smash. Contracts didn't stop him from waxing an incredibly risqué two-part "Around the Clock" for the aptly named Stag imprint (as Big Vernon) in 1947. There were also solid sessions for Aladdin that year that included a wild vocal duel with one of Turner's principal rivals, Wynonie Harris, on the ribald two-part "Battle of the Blues."
Most West Coast indie labels in the late '40s boasted at least one or two Turner titles in their catalogs. The shouter bounced from RPM to Down Beat/Swing Time to MGM (all those dates were anchored by Johnson's piano) to the Texas-based Freedom (which moved some of their masters to Specialty) to Imperial in 1950 (his New Orleans backing crew there included a young Fats Domino on piano). But apart from the 1950 Freedom 78 "Still in the Dark," none of Turner's records were selling particularly well. When Atlantic Records bosses Abramson and Ahmet Ertegun fortuitously dropped by the Apollo Theater to check out Count Basie's band one day, they discovered that Turner had temporarily replaced Jimmy Rushing as the Basie band's frontman, and he was having a tough go of it. Atlantic picked up his spirits by picking up his recording contract, and Turner's heyday was about to begin.
At Turner's first Atlantic date in April of 1951, he imparted a gorgeously world-weary reading to the moving blues ballad "Chains of Love" (co-penned by Ertegun and pianist Harry Van Walls) that restored him to the uppermost reaches of the R&B charts. From there, the hits came in droves: "Chill Is On," "Sweet Sixteen" (yeah, the same downbeat blues B.B. King's usually associated with; Turner did it first), and "Don't You Cry" were all done in New York, and all hit big.
Turner had no problem whatsoever adapting his prodigious pipes to whatever regional setting he was in. In 1953, he cut his first R&B chart-topper, the storming rocker "Honey Hush" (later covered by Johnny Burnette and Jerry Lee Lewis), in New Orleans, with trombonist Pluma Davis and tenor saxman Lee Allen in rip-roaring support. Before the year was through, he stopped off in Chicago to record with slide guitarist Elmore James' considerably rougher-edged combo and hit again with the salacious "T.V. Mama."
Prolific Atlantic house writer Jesse Stone was the source of Turner's biggest smash of all, "Shake, Rattle and Roll," which proved his second chart-topper in 1954. With the Atlantic brain trust reportedly chiming in on the chorus behind Turner's rumbling lead, the song sported enough pop possibilities to merit a considerably cleaned-up cover by Bill Haley & the Comets (and a subsequent version by Elvis Presley that came a lot closer to the original's leering intent).
Suddenly, at the age of 43, Turner was a rock star. His jumping follow-ups -- "Well All Right," "Flip Flop and Fly," "Hide and Seek," "Morning, Noon and Night," "The Chicken and the Hawk" -- all mined the same good-time groove as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," with crisp backing from New York's top session aces and typically superb production by Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.
Turner turned up on a couple episodes of the groundbreaking TV program Showtime at the Apollo during the mid-'50s, commanding center stage with a joyous rendition of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in front of saxman Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams' band. Nor was the silver screen immune to his considerable charms: Turner mimed a couple of numbers in the 1957 film Shake Rattle & Rock (Fats Domino and Mike "Mannix" Connors also starred in the flick).
Updating the pre-war number "Corrine Corrina" was an inspired notion that provided Turner with another massive seller in 1956. But after the two-sided hit "Rock a While"/"Lipstick Powder and Paint" later that year, his Atlantic output swiftly faded from commercial acceptance. Atlantic's recording strategy wisely involved recording Turner in a jazzier setting for the adult-oriented album market; to that end, a Kansas City-styled set (with his former partner Johnson at the piano stool) was laid down in 1956 and remains a linchpin of his legacy.
Turner stayed on at Atlantic into 1959, but nobody bought his violin-enriched remake of "Chains of Love" (on the other hand, a revival of "Honey Hush" with King Curtis blowing a scorching sax break from the same session was a gem in its own right). The '60s didn't produce too much of lasting substance for the shouter -- he actually cut an album with longtime admirer Haley and his latest batch of Comets in Mexico City in 1966.
By the tail-end of the decade, Turner's essential contributions to blues history were beginning to receive proper recognition; he cut LPs for BluesWay and BluesTime. During the '70s and '80s, Turner recorded prolifically for Norman Granz's jazz-oriented Pablo label. These were super-relaxed impromptu sessions that often paired the allegedly illiterate shouter with various jazz luminaries in what amounted to loosely run jam sessions. Turner contentedly roared the familiar lyrics of one or another of his hits, then sat back while somebody took a lengthy solo. Other notable album projects included a 1983 collaboration with Roomful of Blues, Blues Train, for Muse. Although health problems and the size of his humongous frame forced him to sit down during his latter-day performances, Turner continued to tour until shortly before his death in 1985. They called him the Boss of the Blues, and the appellation was truly a fitting one: when Turner shouted a lyric, you were definitely at his beck and call.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-joe-turner-mn0000060726/biography
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Reseña de Scott Yanow
Con la excepción de una selección ("Pennies from Heaven") que quedó de su disco de 1956 The Boss of the Blue, la música de este álbum fue grabada en septiembre de 1959. El veterano cantante de blues Big Joe Turner regresa a sus raíces, cantando blues y estándares tempranos acompañado por un octeto arreglado por Ernie Wilkins. Entre los sidemen dominantes están el gran tenor Coleman Hawkins, el trombonista Vic Dickenson, el trompetista Paul Ricard y el trompetista Jerome Richardson; y los puntos culminantes incluyen "Nobody in Mind", "Rebecca" y "Don't You Make Me High". Una excelente salida para Turner, cuyo estilo bullicioso no se modificaría en gran medida a lo largo de su carrera de medio siglo.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/big-joe-rides-again-mw0000651666 Biografía
por Matt Collar
por Matt Collar
Big Joe Turner, una figura monumental de la música estadounidense, fue el principal cantante de blues de la época de posguerra, con una voz rugiente y un estilo duro que prefiguró el rock & roll. Turner empezó a actuar a finales de los años 20 como cantante de Bennie Moten, Count Basie y otros. Durante las dos décadas siguientes, ayudó a definir los estilos boogie-woogie, R&B y jump-blues, junto a músicos como Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris y Roy Brown. A principios de los años 50, estableció la plantilla del rock & roll con éxitos como "Chains of Love", "Honey Hush" y el emblemático "Shake, Rattle & Roll". Su estilo ejerció una enorme influencia en la primera generación de artistas de rock & roll (muchos de los cuales versionaron las canciones que Turner hizo famosas). Turner continuó actuando hasta bien entrada la década de los 70, habiendo consolidado su estatus de leyenda en el momento de su fallecimiento en 1985.
Nacido como Joseph Vernon Turner, Jr. en 1911 en Kansas City, Missouri, Turner era un producto de la escena de jazz y blues de su ciudad natal. Dotado de una gran voz y una gran estatura (de ahí su apodo), Turner parecía lo suficientemente maduro en su adolescencia como para entrar en varios clubes nocturnos de Kansas City. Acabó atendiendo el bar y cantando blues al mismo tiempo, antes de unirse al maestro del piano boogie Pete Johnson a principios de los años 30. La suya fue una asociación que perduró durante 13 años.
La pareja viajó inicialmente a Nueva York a instancias de John Hammond en 1936. El 23 de diciembre de 1938, aparecieron en el legendario concierto Spirituals to Swing en el Carnegie Hall, junto a Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, el Golden Gate Quartet y Count Basie. Turner y Johnson interpretaron "Low Down Dog" y "It's All Right, Baby" en ese histórico espectáculo, iniciando una locura por el boogie-woogie que les valió un espacio de larga duración en el Cafe Society (junto con los gigantes del piano Meade "Lux" Lewis y Albert Ammons).
A finales de 1938, Turner y Johnson grabaron para Vocalion la estruendosa "Roll 'Em Pete". Se trata de un emocionante número uptempo anclado por los estruendosos 88s de Johnson, y Turner lo volvería a grabar muchas veces a lo largo de las décadas. Turner y Johnson grabaron su blues seminal "Cherry Red" al año siguiente para Vocalion con el trompetista Hot Lips Page y un combo completo de apoyo. En 1940, el enorme gritón se pasó a Decca y grabó "Piney Brown Blues" con Johnson tocando los marfiles. Pero no todos los temas de Turner en Decca se hicieron con Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith le acompañó en el lúgubre "Careless Love", mientras que el Freddie Slack's Trio le acompañó en "Rocks in My Bed" en 1941.
Turner se aventuró en la Costa Oeste durante los años de la guerra, y consiguió un buen número de seguidores mientras estaba instalado en el circuito de Los Ángeles. En 1945, firmó con National Records y grabó algunas pequeñas placas de combo bajo la supervisión de Herb Abramson. Turner permaneció con National hasta 1947, cantando un exuberante "My Gal's a Jockey" que se convirtió en su primer éxito nacional de R&B. Los contratos no le impidieron grabar un tema increíblemente atrevido en dos partes, "Around the Clock", para el sello Stag (como Big Vernon) en 1947. También hubo sólidas sesiones para Aladdin ese año, que incluyeron un salvaje duelo vocal con uno de los principales rivales de Turner, Wynonie Harris, en el desgarrador bipartito "Battle of the Blues".
La mayoría de los sellos discográficos independientes de la Costa Oeste a finales de los años 40 contaban con al menos uno o dos títulos de Turner en sus catálogos. El cantante pasó de RPM a Down Beat/Swing Time, a MGM (todas esas fechas estaban ancladas por el piano de Johnson), a Freedom, con sede en Texas (que trasladó algunos de sus discos a Specialty), a Imperial en 1950 (su equipo de apoyo de Nueva Orleans incluía a un joven Fats Domino al piano). Pero aparte del Freedom 78 de 1950 "Still in the Dark", ninguno de los discos de Turner se vendía especialmente bien. Cuando los jefes de Atlantic Records, Abramson y Ahmet Ertegun, se pasaron un día por el Apollo Theater para ver a la banda de Count Basie, descubrieron que Turner había sustituido temporalmente a Jimmy Rushing como líder de la banda de Basie, y que lo estaba pasando mal. Atlantic le levantó el ánimo al firmar su contrato de grabación, y el apogeo de Turner estaba a punto de comenzar.
En la primera cita de Turner con Atlantic, en abril de 1951, ofreció una magnífica lectura de la conmovedora balada de blues "Chains of Love" (coescrita por Ertegun y el pianista Harry Van Walls) que le devolvió a los primeros puestos de las listas de R&B. A partir de ahí, los éxitos se sucedieron: "Chill Is On", "Sweet Sixteen" (sí, el mismo blues deprimente con el que se suele asociar a B.B. King; Turner lo hizo primero), y "Don't You Cry" se hicieron en Nueva York, y todos triunfaron.
Nacido como Joseph Vernon Turner, Jr. en 1911 en Kansas City, Missouri, Turner era un producto de la escena de jazz y blues de su ciudad natal. Dotado de una gran voz y una gran estatura (de ahí su apodo), Turner parecía lo suficientemente maduro en su adolescencia como para entrar en varios clubes nocturnos de Kansas City. Acabó atendiendo el bar y cantando blues al mismo tiempo, antes de unirse al maestro del piano boogie Pete Johnson a principios de los años 30. La suya fue una asociación que perduró durante 13 años.
La pareja viajó inicialmente a Nueva York a instancias de John Hammond en 1936. El 23 de diciembre de 1938, aparecieron en el legendario concierto Spirituals to Swing en el Carnegie Hall, junto a Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, el Golden Gate Quartet y Count Basie. Turner y Johnson interpretaron "Low Down Dog" y "It's All Right, Baby" en ese histórico espectáculo, iniciando una locura por el boogie-woogie que les valió un espacio de larga duración en el Cafe Society (junto con los gigantes del piano Meade "Lux" Lewis y Albert Ammons).
A finales de 1938, Turner y Johnson grabaron para Vocalion la estruendosa "Roll 'Em Pete". Se trata de un emocionante número uptempo anclado por los estruendosos 88s de Johnson, y Turner lo volvería a grabar muchas veces a lo largo de las décadas. Turner y Johnson grabaron su blues seminal "Cherry Red" al año siguiente para Vocalion con el trompetista Hot Lips Page y un combo completo de apoyo. En 1940, el enorme gritón se pasó a Decca y grabó "Piney Brown Blues" con Johnson tocando los marfiles. Pero no todos los temas de Turner en Decca se hicieron con Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith le acompañó en el lúgubre "Careless Love", mientras que el Freddie Slack's Trio le acompañó en "Rocks in My Bed" en 1941.
Turner se aventuró en la Costa Oeste durante los años de la guerra, y consiguió un buen número de seguidores mientras estaba instalado en el circuito de Los Ángeles. En 1945, firmó con National Records y grabó algunas pequeñas placas de combo bajo la supervisión de Herb Abramson. Turner permaneció con National hasta 1947, cantando un exuberante "My Gal's a Jockey" que se convirtió en su primer éxito nacional de R&B. Los contratos no le impidieron grabar un tema increíblemente atrevido en dos partes, "Around the Clock", para el sello Stag (como Big Vernon) en 1947. También hubo sólidas sesiones para Aladdin ese año, que incluyeron un salvaje duelo vocal con uno de los principales rivales de Turner, Wynonie Harris, en el desgarrador bipartito "Battle of the Blues".
La mayoría de los sellos discográficos independientes de la Costa Oeste a finales de los años 40 contaban con al menos uno o dos títulos de Turner en sus catálogos. El cantante pasó de RPM a Down Beat/Swing Time, a MGM (todas esas fechas estaban ancladas por el piano de Johnson), a Freedom, con sede en Texas (que trasladó algunos de sus discos a Specialty), a Imperial en 1950 (su equipo de apoyo de Nueva Orleans incluía a un joven Fats Domino al piano). Pero aparte del Freedom 78 de 1950 "Still in the Dark", ninguno de los discos de Turner se vendía especialmente bien. Cuando los jefes de Atlantic Records, Abramson y Ahmet Ertegun, se pasaron un día por el Apollo Theater para ver a la banda de Count Basie, descubrieron que Turner había sustituido temporalmente a Jimmy Rushing como líder de la banda de Basie, y que lo estaba pasando mal. Atlantic le levantó el ánimo al firmar su contrato de grabación, y el apogeo de Turner estaba a punto de comenzar.
En la primera cita de Turner con Atlantic, en abril de 1951, ofreció una magnífica lectura de la conmovedora balada de blues "Chains of Love" (coescrita por Ertegun y el pianista Harry Van Walls) que le devolvió a los primeros puestos de las listas de R&B. A partir de ahí, los éxitos se sucedieron: "Chill Is On", "Sweet Sixteen" (sí, el mismo blues deprimente con el que se suele asociar a B.B. King; Turner lo hizo primero), y "Don't You Cry" se hicieron en Nueva York, y todos triunfaron.
Turner no tuvo ningún problema en adaptar sus prodigiosas gaitas a cualquier entorno regional en el que se encontrara. En 1953, grabó en Nueva Orleans su primer éxito en las listas de R&B, el asombroso tema rockero "Honey Hush" (que más tarde fue versionado por Johnny Burnette y Jerry Lee Lewis), con el trombonista Pluma Davis y el saxo tenor Lee Allen como apoyo. Antes de que terminara el año, se detuvo en Chicago para grabar con el combo del guitarrista de slide Elmore James, considerablemente más duro, y golpeó de nuevo con la salaz "T.V. Mama".
El prolífico guionista de Atlantic Jesse Stone fue la fuente del mayor éxito de Turner, "Shake, Rattle and Roll", que fue su segundo éxito en las listas de éxitos de 1954. Con la colaboración de los cerebros de Atlantic en el estribillo tras la estruendosa voz principal de Turner, la canción tenía suficientes posibilidades pop como para merecer una versión considerablemente mejorada de Bill Haley & the Comets (y una versión posterior de Elvis Presley que se acercaba mucho más a la intención lasciva del original).
De repente, a los 43 años, Turner era una estrella del rock. Sus siguientes canciones - "Well All Right", "Flip Flop and Fly", "Hide and Seek", "Morning, Noon and Night", "The Chicken and the Hawk"- explotaron el mismo ritmo de buen tiempo que "Shake, Rattle and Roll", con el apoyo de los mejores ases de la sesión de Nueva York y una producción magnífica de Ertegun y Jerry Wexler.
Turner apareció en un par de episodios del innovador programa de televisión Showtime at the Apollo a mediados de los 50, dominando el escenario con una alegre interpretación de "Shake, Rattle and Roll" al frente de la banda del saxofonista Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams. Tampoco la pantalla de cine fue inmune a sus considerables encantos: Turner hizo la mímica de un par de números en la película de 1957 Shake Rattle & Rock (Fats Domino y Mike "Mannix" Connors también protagonizaron la película).
La actualización del número de preguerra "Corrine Corrina" fue una idea inspirada que proporcionó a Turner otro éxito de ventas en 1956. Pero después del éxito de dos caras "Rock a While"/"Lipstick Powder and Paint" de ese mismo año, su producción en Atlantic perdió rápidamente la aceptación comercial. La estrategia de grabación de Atlantic consistió en grabar a Turner en un entorno más jazzístico para el mercado de los álbumes orientados a los adultos; para ello, en 1956 se grabó un conjunto al estilo de Kansas City (con su antiguo compañero Johnson al piano) que sigue siendo uno de los pilares de su legado.
Turner permaneció en Atlantic hasta 1959, pero nadie compró su remake de "Chains of Love", enriquecido con violín (por otro lado, un revival de "Honey Hush" con King Curtis soplando un abrasador corte de saxo de la misma sesión fue una joya por derecho propio). Los años 60 no produjeron demasiada sustancia duradera para el gritón; de hecho, grabó un álbum con su admirador de siempre, Haley, y su última hornada de Comets en Ciudad de México en 1966.
A finales de la década, las contribuciones esenciales de Turner a la historia del blues empezaron a recibir el reconocimiento adecuado; grabó LPs para BluesWay y BluesTime. Durante los años 70 y 80, Turner grabó prolíficamente para el sello Pablo, orientado al jazz, de Norman Granz. Se trataba de sesiones improvisadas muy relajadas que a menudo emparejaban al supuestamente analfabeto gritón con varias luminarias del jazz en lo que equivalía a sesiones de improvisación sin rumbo fijo. Turner rugía alegremente las conocidas letras de uno u otro de sus éxitos y luego se sentaba mientras alguien hacía un largo solo. Otros proyectos discográficos notables fueron una colaboración en 1983 con Roomful of Blues, Blues Train, para Muse. Aunque los problemas de salud y el tamaño de su enorme cuerpo le obligaron a sentarse durante sus últimas actuaciones, Turner siguió de gira hasta poco antes de su muerte en 1985. Le llamaban el Jefe del Blues, y el apelativo era realmente acertado: cuando Turner gritaba una letra, estabas definitivamente a su disposición.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-joe-turner-mn0000060726/biography
El prolífico guionista de Atlantic Jesse Stone fue la fuente del mayor éxito de Turner, "Shake, Rattle and Roll", que fue su segundo éxito en las listas de éxitos de 1954. Con la colaboración de los cerebros de Atlantic en el estribillo tras la estruendosa voz principal de Turner, la canción tenía suficientes posibilidades pop como para merecer una versión considerablemente mejorada de Bill Haley & the Comets (y una versión posterior de Elvis Presley que se acercaba mucho más a la intención lasciva del original).
De repente, a los 43 años, Turner era una estrella del rock. Sus siguientes canciones - "Well All Right", "Flip Flop and Fly", "Hide and Seek", "Morning, Noon and Night", "The Chicken and the Hawk"- explotaron el mismo ritmo de buen tiempo que "Shake, Rattle and Roll", con el apoyo de los mejores ases de la sesión de Nueva York y una producción magnífica de Ertegun y Jerry Wexler.
Turner apareció en un par de episodios del innovador programa de televisión Showtime at the Apollo a mediados de los 50, dominando el escenario con una alegre interpretación de "Shake, Rattle and Roll" al frente de la banda del saxofonista Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams. Tampoco la pantalla de cine fue inmune a sus considerables encantos: Turner hizo la mímica de un par de números en la película de 1957 Shake Rattle & Rock (Fats Domino y Mike "Mannix" Connors también protagonizaron la película).
La actualización del número de preguerra "Corrine Corrina" fue una idea inspirada que proporcionó a Turner otro éxito de ventas en 1956. Pero después del éxito de dos caras "Rock a While"/"Lipstick Powder and Paint" de ese mismo año, su producción en Atlantic perdió rápidamente la aceptación comercial. La estrategia de grabación de Atlantic consistió en grabar a Turner en un entorno más jazzístico para el mercado de los álbumes orientados a los adultos; para ello, en 1956 se grabó un conjunto al estilo de Kansas City (con su antiguo compañero Johnson al piano) que sigue siendo uno de los pilares de su legado.
Turner permaneció en Atlantic hasta 1959, pero nadie compró su remake de "Chains of Love", enriquecido con violín (por otro lado, un revival de "Honey Hush" con King Curtis soplando un abrasador corte de saxo de la misma sesión fue una joya por derecho propio). Los años 60 no produjeron demasiada sustancia duradera para el gritón; de hecho, grabó un álbum con su admirador de siempre, Haley, y su última hornada de Comets en Ciudad de México en 1966.
A finales de la década, las contribuciones esenciales de Turner a la historia del blues empezaron a recibir el reconocimiento adecuado; grabó LPs para BluesWay y BluesTime. Durante los años 70 y 80, Turner grabó prolíficamente para el sello Pablo, orientado al jazz, de Norman Granz. Se trataba de sesiones improvisadas muy relajadas que a menudo emparejaban al supuestamente analfabeto gritón con varias luminarias del jazz en lo que equivalía a sesiones de improvisación sin rumbo fijo. Turner rugía alegremente las conocidas letras de uno u otro de sus éxitos y luego se sentaba mientras alguien hacía un largo solo. Otros proyectos discográficos notables fueron una colaboración en 1983 con Roomful of Blues, Blues Train, para Muse. Aunque los problemas de salud y el tamaño de su enorme cuerpo le obligaron a sentarse durante sus últimas actuaciones, Turner siguió de gira hasta poco antes de su muerte en 1985. Le llamaban el Jefe del Blues, y el apelativo era realmente acertado: cuando Turner gritaba una letra, estabas definitivamente a su disposición.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-joe-turner-mn0000060726/biography
Tracklist:
A1 Switchin' in the Kitchen 3:36
A2 Nobody in Mind 3:41
A3 Until the Real Thing Comes Along 3:26
A4 I Get the Blues When It Rains 2:55
A5 Rebecca 7:05
B1 When I Was Young 5:19
B2 Don't You Make Me High 2:55
B3 Time After Time 3:53
B4 Pennies From Heaven 4:15
B5 Here Comes Your Iceman 3:52
Credits:
Alto Saxophone – Jerome Richardson (tracks: A1 to B3, B5), Pete Brown (2) (tracks: B4)
Bass – Doug Watkins (tracks: A1 to B3, B5), Walter Page (tracks: B4)
Drums – Charlie Persip (tracks: A1 to B3, B5), Cliff Leeman (tracks: B4)
Guitar – Freddie Greene (tracks: B4), Jim Hall (tracks: A1 to B3, B5)
Piano – Jimmy Jones (3) (tracks: A1 to B3, B5), Pete Johnson (tracks: B4)
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins (tracks: A1 to B3, B5), Seldon Powell (tracks: B4)
Trombone – Lawrence Brown (tracks: B4), Vic Dickenson (tracks: A1 to B3, B5)
Trumpet – Ernie Royal (tracks: A1, B1 to B3, B5), Jimmy Nottingham (tracks: B4), Paul Ricard (tracks: A2 to A5)
Vocals – Big Joe Turner
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