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American blues musician (born 1939) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benny Turner (born October 27, 1939)[1] is an American blues musician. He is the younger brother of Freddie King and was the bass guitarist for the Freddie King Band. Later, Turner joined Mighty Joe Young as the bass guitarist of his band before becoming the bandleader for Marva Wright for 20 years.[2] After many years as a sideman, Turner started his solo career.
Benny Turner | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 27, 1939 Gilmer, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Labels | One-derful, Nola Blue, Inc. |
| Website | www |
Turner was born in Gilmer, Texas, on October 27, 1939.[1] He and his older brother Freddie King learned how to play guitar from their mother, Ella Mae (King) Turner, and her brothers Leon and Leonard King. In the 1950s, Turner moved to Chicago with his family.[3]
Turner started his music career playing guitar for The Kindly Shepherds, a gospel group on the Nashboro Records label. He joined the group on several recordings, playing guitar and accompanying background vocals. At the time, Turner also started playing with his brother at Chicago clubs such as the Squeeze Club and Walton's Corner, where he met Dee Clark and was invited to join him and his R&B band on the road.[4]
Later, Turner would play bass for The Soul Stirrers. He eventually rejoined his brother's band and toured regularly, performing with musicians such as Eric Clapton, John Fogerty and Grand Funk Railroad.[5] While at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973, members of Freddie's band were asked to sit in with Memphis Slim, and Turner played bass on the recording of "Memphis Slim – Very Much Alive and in Montreux."[4]
Following the death of Freddie King in 1976, Turner became deeply depressed and was hospitalized. After two years of seclusion, he was convinced to start performing again and joined Mighty Joe Young's band, which he played in for eight years. During that time, Turner and Young appeared in the 1981 film Thief while playing live at the Wise Fools Pub in Chicago.[6] Later, Turner moved to New Orleans and became the bandleader for Marva Wright in 1986, playing with her band for 20 years.[2][7]
After Wright's death in 2010, Turner went on to release four albums including his critically acclaimed 2014 album of original work called Journey.[8] He also rejoined other members of the original Freddie King band for a brief tour celebrating King's 80th birthday.[9][10] His 2016 album When She's Gone was dedicated to his mother Ella Mae and featured a collection of six original reissues from his album, Blue and Not So Blue, and four blues standards. His autobiography, Survivor : The Benny Turner Story,[11] was published on July 8, 2017.[12] Also in 2017, Turner released his latest album, My Brother's Blues.[13] This award-winning album is a tribute to big brother Freddie King and features 11 tunes from Freddie's songbook that are of special significance to Benny. In 2019, Turner joined forces with longtime friend and fellow Chicago musician Cash McCall to record Going Back Home,[14] revisiting their days of playing on Chicago's South and West Sides.
On October 27, 2019, Turner celebrated his 80th birthday at the Inaugural Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival in Grapeland, Texas. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas officially recognized this milestone and Turner's many contributions to music and music history.
| Album | Artist | Release Date | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gives You a Bonanza of Instrumentals | Freddie King | 1965 | Bass |
| Very Much Alive and in Montreux | Memphis Slim | 1973 | Bass |
| Larger Than Life | Freddie King | 1975 | Bass |
| Freddie King (1934-1976) | Freddie King | 1977 | Bass |
| Takin' Care of Business | Freddie King | 1985 | Electric bass, bass |
| Live in Antibes, 1974 | Freddie King | 1988 | Bass |
| Live at the Wise Fools Pub | Mighty Joe Young | 1990 | Guitar (bass) |
| The Blues Is... | Otis Clay | 1991 | Vocals, bass |
| The Gospel Truth | Otis Clay | 1993 | Guitar, background vocals, bass |
| When the Gates Swing Open | Otis Clay | 1994 | Guitar, background vocals, bass |
| Let the Good Times Roll | Freddie King | 1994 | Bass |
| Born with the Blues | Marva Wright | 1996 | Bass |
| Mighty Man | Mighty Joe Young | 1997 | Guitar (bass) |
| Bluesiana Mama | Marva Wright | 1999 | Bass |
| Paris Mississippi Blues | Memphis Slim | 2005 | Bass |
| Do Right Woman: The Soul of New Orleans | Marva Wright | 2006 | Bass |
| After the Levees Broke | Marva Wright | 2007 | Producer, arranger, guitar (bass), background vocals |
| A Tribute to My Brother Freddie King | Benny Turner | 2011 | Primary artist |
| Journey | Benny Turner | 2014 | Primary artist |
| When She's Gone | Benny Turner | 2016 | Primary artist, producer, composer, bass, guitar, vocals[31] |
| My Brother's Blues | Benny Turner | 2017 | Primary artist[32] |
| Going Back Home | Benny Turner/Cash McCall | 2019 | Producer, primary artist, bass, guitar, vocals[33] |
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