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“The Shouter” and his place in Rock and Roll music history Group 4: Katie Duhr, Angela Kenney, Austin Stack, Yu
Vang
} Joe Turner’s music had a lot of elements found in rock and roll music long before the genre was officially recognized
} According to Doc Pomus, “Rock and Roll would never have happened without him.”
} Born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr. ◦ May 18, 1981-November 24, 1985
} American Blues Shouter from Kansas City, Missouri
} Greatest fame cam from 1950’s ◦ Career as a performer from 1920’s-1980’s
} Named “Big Joe Turner” because he was a huge man with a husky, booming voice ◦ He was also known as “The Boss of the Blues”
} Began his career as a bartender and singer
} One of the first to combine R&B with boogie-woogie to create jump blues
} Often sang risqué songs ◦ Employed coy slang words and metaphors for sex
} Recorded with various labels } Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1987; two years after his death (Big Joe Turner biography, 2010)
} Turner was one of the first artists “to mix R&B with boogie-woogie, resulting in jumping blues- a style that presaged the birth of rock and roll.”
} He helped to innovate “jump blues” in the “late Thirties and early Forties,” (Big Joe Turner,” 2010) ◦ He would later return to this style of blues after rock and
roll became mainstream in the Sixties } Turner was the original performer of the famous
song “Shake, Rattle and Roll” ◦ This would later be covered by Bill Haley and the Comets in
1954 (Stuessy, & Lipscomb, 2009 27) ◦ 1954 was the first year that rock and roll began to emerge
onto the music scene (Stuessy, & Lipscomb, 2009 26)
} Had a very unique, recognizable voice and performed without a microphone ◦ Was one of the R&B singers who helped to
develop a “shouting style several decades before rock and roll,” Stuessy, & Lopscomb, 2009 19)
} Came to be known as the Shouter
} Joe’s style of music wasn’t something that he changed to fit in the time, it just so happened that he was unique and had a versatile voice and musical style that fit into my multiple music genres of the time
} His music often had a swing feel to it, which made Turner’s music easy to dance to and “added to his popularity” as a musician
} Because of the different elements of his music, jazz, 12-bar blues, swing/dance feel, it was a predecessor to what would become early Rock and Roll music ◦ This was 25 years before rock and roll would be
recognized as a genre of music, therefore his music and style had a great impact on what would become rock and roll
} Along with “Shake, Rattle and Roll” he recorded many “early rock and roll classics,” (“Big Joe Turner,” 2010) on various record labels ◦ “Chains of Love,” “Sweet Sixteen,” and “Honey Hush”
were a few
} Big Joe Turner sing at his Church for choir at Kansas City, Missouri
} In Kansas City, their Jazz sounded more Blues than Jazz which it had 12-bar Blues elements
} When Joe Turner was a teenage he work as a bartender at a Café called Sunset Café and met Pete Johnson who played the piano at that time which Turner sing while Johnson played the piano
} Everyone loves Turner’s singing at Sunset Café and as times goes by Johnson invited Turner to join him and play uptempo while Turner sang uptempo Blues
} In 1936, John Hammond stopped by Sunset Café and was impressed by Turner’s singing
} Hammond was interesting in Turner’s singing and has asked him to go to New York with a group band called Basie Band but Turner rejected it and asked if Johnson could come along with him to New York and play together. During the time at New York Turner and Johnson get to perform at The Famous Door.
} In 1940, Turner and Johnson were sign to Decca which Turner’s voice had spread to most audience and become popular
} In 1941, Turner was in Hollywood and was a part of Duke Ellington’s “Jump for the Joy” Revue and played at the West Coast.
} In 1942, Turner was part of Willie Bryant Show and mostly play at the theaters and appear on NBC radio and was broadcast across the country.
} In 1949, Turner played with Lowell Fulson and Pee Wee Crayton. Both up and down Blues guitarist
} In 1951, Atlantic Records took Turner to the younger side which is the new audience of Rhythm and Blues (R&B).
} Turner’s first recording called “Chain Of Love” was the first single that Atlantic released out
} April 1951, Turner stay on the R&B charts for 25 weeks after two months Turner was a part of Atlantic’s “Cavalcade of Blues”
} December 1953 Turner’s “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” song had became one of the most popular songs and hits number one on R&B charts
} Again Turner and Johnson get to perform together again and played “The Boss Of The Blues,” “Low Down Dog,” and “I Want A Little Girl.” Both of them also played Jazz songs together at the Newport Jazz Festival
} In 1970, Turner show up with Johnny Otis on PBS broadcast In 1983, he had an album with Roomful of Blues which it was produces by an old friend of his, Doc Pomus and dazzling guitar from Ronnie Earl
} Joe Turner, Big mama Thornton, Wynonie Harris, and Elmore James half sang, half yelled their song. Which they have the shouting styles of rock and roll in the early day by Little Richard & Janis Joplin, & James Brown a host of hard work and heavy mental bands of the 1970s and 1980s.
} The screaming style of singing that Turner helped to develop would later influence well known singers like Janice Joplin and eventually would move into the subgenre of rock and roll, heavy metal (Stuessy, & Lipscomb, 2009 19)
} Elvis Presley } Bill Haley } Ray Charles } Otis Redding } Chuck Berry } Eric Burdon & The
Animals } Jerry Lee Lewis } Little Richard
} Fats Domino } Bo Diddley } Isaac Hayes } Percy Sledge } Carl Perking } Ritchie Valens } James Brown } Janis Joplin } Solomon Burke
} Shouting ◦ Unique vocal style
} Early Rock Piano ◦ Later Jerry Lee Lewis would use this piano style
} One of the early black R&B artist to start getting radio play on white stations ◦ Broke through the race barrier of the time
} Numbers of his songs were covered by artists throughout the years
} “Shake Rattle & Roll” – Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley, Carl Perkins, Huey Lewis and The News
} “Boogie Woogie Country Girl” – Bob Dylan } “Flip Flop Fly” – Bill Haley, Blues Brothers } “Honey Hush” – Paul McCartney, Fats Waller } “I Want A Little Girl” – Nat King Cole } “Still In Love” – Solomon Burke
} He had a unique and versatile style } Very influential in the development of rock
and roll music ◦ Combined R&B with boogie-woogie to create “jump
rock” ◦ According to Doc Pomus, “Rock and Roll would
never have happened without him.”
} Currier, Terry. (2002). Big joe turner. Cascade Blues Association. Retrieved from http://www.cascadeblues.org/History/BigJoeTurner
} Big joe turner biography. (2010). Retrieved from http://rockhall.com/inductees/big-joe-turner/bio/ (A.K.)
} Big joe turner biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.metrolyrics.com/big-joe-turner-biography.html (A.S)
} Big joe turner cover songs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.coversproject.com/artist/big%20joe%20turner/ (A.S
} Big joe turner. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.soulbot.com/Big-Joe-Turner.htm (A.S.)
} Currier, T. (2002). Big joe turner. Retrieved from http://www.cascadeblues.org/History/BigJoeTurner.htm (A.K.)
} Stuessy, S, & Lipscomb, S. (2009). Rock and roll: its history and stylistic development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. (A.K.)
} 1950, the beginning of rock and roll. (n.d.). Saatchi Gallery Contemporary Art in London, Retrieved from http://www.esto.es/rock/english/history.htm (A.S.)
