Happy Birthday to blues shouter "*Big Joe Turner*":http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kiftxq95ldae, born on this day in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. Blessed with a big voice that matched his king-size physique, Turner had an appropriately big impact on blues, swing, R&B and even rock & roll music.Big Joe was fortunate to have been born and raised in the musically rich Kansas City. While growing up, he learned to sing in church choirs and on street corners. Thanks to his imposing frame, he was entering bars and clubs in his teen years - first to enjoy the music, and eventually to tend bar and perform himself. In the early '30s he teamed up with piano man Pete Johnson, and they performed as a duo for 13 years.During World War II, Turner moved to the West Coast and built a solid following on the L.A. music scene. He recorded prolifically throughout the '40s, hopping from label to label. Eventually Abramson and Ahmet Ertegun came to hear Count Basie's band one day when Turner was filling in for the usual vocalist, and the Erteguns quickly signed him to Atlantic Records. His Atlantic catalog is full of great tunes, but it was in 1954 that he recorded his biggest smash, the number 1 single "Shake, Rattle & Roll" (see video below). Even a casual listen makes it clear that it wasn't too great a leap from songs like this to early rock & roll. In fact, in the ultimate seal of mainstream approval, a sanitized version of the song was subsequently recorded by Bill Haley & The Comets. (Happily, Elvis Presley later recorded a version that was closer to Turner's original.)Because of songs like "Shake," "Well All Right," "Flip Flop And Fly" and many more, Turner was a consistently popular artist through the '50s, including with young white audiences. The '60s were a slower period for him, though, as much of the hysteria around early rock & roll had subsided and the music was branching off in different directions. Turner began to revisit his blues and R&B roots, but recorded little. The '70s brought a renewed recognition of his role in blues history, however, and he began to play festivals and issue new recordings, often collaborations with major jazz figures of the time. Still drawing fans for the unflagging power of his distinctive voice, Big Joe Turner continued to perform and tour until shortly before his death from a heart attack in 1985.The clip below shows a live performance of "Shake, Rattle & Roll" from the 1955 film "Rhythm and Blues Revue." It's Big Joe Turner in his prime - watch him just own the stage.
dermahrk says
Wow. My foot is tired from tapping and I've got a big shit-eating grin on my face. Thanks so much for this. Now I'm very curious about the film that this came from. Is it commercially available? Who else is on the review? Sounds fascinating.
Ivylander, assume you are joking about what those lyrics mean.
dermahrk says
OK, here we go. The penis is sometimes referred to as the "one-eyed monster". A woman's private parts are sometimes associated with fish . So a "one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store" would be?
ivylander says
I'm shocked!
Actually, there's a line I love in the recorded version of "Shake, Rattle & Roll" that I didn't hear on this clip, which goes like this: "When you wear that dress and the sun comes shining through, I can't believe all that mess belongs to you."
mousetrap says
All right, all right, ALL RIGHT!!! Let's just try to maintain a little decorum in this forum! Man...I leave you guys alone for a little while and the conversation just descends into the gutter!
Ahem...actually, dermahrk, I'm grateful to you for explicating the "one-eyed cat" reference for ivylander. My repressive Catholic upbringing was making it very difficult for me to respond.
But by the way, I did see an interesting fact noted elsewhere: apparently the "seafood store" lyric was sufficiently cryptic that when Bill Haley recorded his "cleaned-up" version of the song, that was one that was left in! I haven't heard Bill Haley's version, so I can't say whether the "all that mess" lyric survived. (but I doubt it....)
To answer your other question, dermarhrk, apparently the "Rhythm And Blues Revue" IS available on DVD - remastered, yet - at Amazon and probably other vendors, for about $20. Follow "*this link*":http://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-Blues-Revue-DVD-Remastered/dp/B000AB0Z5O/ref=sr_1_4/103-3772883-8767822?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1179598620&sr=8-4 to Amazon's listing. You can also find some info on it "*here*":http://imdb.com/title/tt0135628/, at imdb.com. And here's a review of the film, posted by an imdb.com member:
"This 1955 R&B Revue consists of performances by some of the greats of the golden era of Rhythm and Blues including Cab Calloway, Martha Davis, Ruth Brown, Lionel Hampton, Faye Adams, Herb Jeffries, and Joe Turner. The Hampton numbers reveal how close he came to abandoning jazz entirely in favor of music in the proto rock vein. Calloway is doing another version of his hit "Minnie the Moocher", this one actually superior to his later rendering in the Blues Brothers. Joe Turner adds a performance which once again demonstrates that he is one of the all time great blues shouters. The Delta Rhythm Boys sing "Dry Bones", an early showing of the gospel roots to R&B. Amos Milburn's "Bad Bad Whiskey" is a tad painful to watch, given Milburn's subsequent descent into alcoholism. All in all, the film offers a rare insight into the dawn of the burgeoning rock era."
Wow....some pretty enticing names on that list, eh?
Happy Birthday to blues shouter "*Big Joe Turner*":http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kiftxq95ldae, born on this day in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. Blessed with a big voice that matched his king-size physique, Turner had an appropriately big impact on blues, swing, R&B and even rock & roll music.Big Joe was fortunate to have been born and raised in the musically rich Kansas City. While growing up, he learned to sing in church choirs and on street corners. Thanks to his imposing frame, he was entering bars and clubs in his teen years - first to enjoy the music, and eventually to tend bar and perform himself. In the early '30s he teamed up with piano man Pete Johnson, and they performed as a duo for 13 years.During World War II, Turner moved to the West Coast and built a solid following on the L.A. music scene. He recorded prolifically throughout the '40s, hopping from label to label. Eventually Abramson and Ahmet Ertegun came to hear Count Basie's band one day when Turner was filling in for the usual vocalist, and the Erteguns quickly signed him to Atlantic Records. His Atlantic catalog is full of great tunes, but it was in 1954 that he recorded his biggest smash, the number 1 single "Shake, Rattle & Roll" (see video below). Even a casual listen makes it clear that it wasn't too great a leap from songs like this to early rock & roll. In fact, in the ultimate seal of mainstream approval, a sanitized version of the song was subsequently recorded by Bill Haley & The Comets. (Happily, Elvis Presley later recorded a version that was closer to Turner's original.)Because of songs like "Shake," "Well All Right," "Flip Flop And Fly" and many more, Turner was a consistently popular artist through the '50s, including with young white audiences. The '60s were a slower period for him, though, as much of the hysteria around early rock & roll had subsided and the music was branching off in different directions. Turner began to revisit his blues and R&B roots, but recorded little. The '70s brought a renewed recognition of his role in blues history, however, and he began to play festivals and issue new recordings, often collaborations with major jazz figures of the time. Still drawing fans for the unflagging power of his distinctive voice, Big Joe Turner continued to perform and tour until shortly before his death from a heart attack in 1985.The clip below shows a live performance of "Shake, Rattle & Roll" from the 1955 film "Rhythm and Blues Revue." It's Big Joe Turner in his prime - watch him just own the stage.
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