The "Boss of the Blues", Big Joe Turner's booming, gravelly voice and larger
than life personality made him one of the most important US rhythm and blues
stars of the 1940s and 1950s and a pioneer of early rock'n'roll. Born in Kansas
City in 1911, Joseph Vernon Turner Jr lost his father in a train accident when
he was just four and grew up singing on street corners and in church. His
partnership with boogie piano player Pete Johnson took him from working as a
cook and bartender to Carnegie Hall, where they performed as part of John
Hammond's legendary From Spirituals To Swing con...