Birth:  May 3, 1911 

Death:  Nov. 24, 1985 

 

Musician. Born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr. in Kansas City, Missouri, he was dubbed "Boss of the Blues", whose booming voice shook up the blues scene and inspired the birth of rock 'n' roll. He was among the first to mix R&B with boogie-woogie and his original Atlantic recording of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (1954), remains one of the cornerstones numbers of the rock and roll revolution. Among his many hits are "Chains of Love", "Sweet Sixteen", "Honey Hush", "Flip Flop and Fly", "Still in the Dark" and "Corrine Corinna". He also sang with the big bands of Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Moten, and his big voice who could out-shout a big band without amplification while projecting clarity and control. His trendy style became timeless, Big Joe Turner continued to record and perform until his death of a heart attack in Inglewood, California. In 1987, death ofhe was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame