Big Joe Turner

Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., known as Big Joe Turner, was the 'Boss of the Blues,' a Kansas City shouter whose massive voice and career spanned the entire evolution from boogie-woogie and swing through jump blues and into rock and roll. He first gained fame performing with pianist Pete Johnson in Kansas City's nightclubs in the 1930s, and their appearance at the 1938 'From Spirituals to Swing' concert at Carnegie Hall helped launch the boogie-woogie craze. His 1954 recording of 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' for Atlantic Records was one of the foundational rock and roll records, later covered (in a sanitized version) by Bill Haley. He continued performing and recording blues, jazz, and R&B into the 1980s.