Big Joe Turner - Big Joe Turner's Greatest Hits

Big Joe Turner's music is the aural equivalent of a rare Porterhouse steak -- oversized, juicy, and a glorious overload for the senses, and if isn't always good for you, that's just part of the fun. Whether what he was singing was billed as jazz, swing, rhythm & blues, or rock & roll, Turner pretty much always did things the same way, rolling with the big beat and shouting with carnal joy on the subjects of wine, women, and song (even his hurtin' songs were pretty lively), and to this day his rollicking Atlantic sides are an ideal way to get the party started. Big Joe Turner's Greatest Hits pulls together most of Turner's best-known tunes for Atlantic (fleshed out to a full 21 songs on its CD re-release), and while Turner recorded an awful lot of music over the course of a career that spanned five decades, this CD does a surprisingly good job of serving up the best stuff from his most fruitful and satisfying period, and if you can listen to "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "Flip, Flop and Fly," "Honey Hush," "Boogie Woogie Country Girl," or "Well All Right" without getting up to dance (or at least tapping your foot), maybe you shouldn't be bothering with this music stuff in the first place. Historically invaluable, and more importantly a whole lot of fun, Big Joe Turner's Greatest Hits pretty well lives up to its billing and is a superb place to introduce yourself to the music of one of the great wildmen of the blues. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Ahmet Ertegun Executive Producer, Producer Al Sears Sax (Tenor) Alonzo Stewart Drums Arlem Kareem Sax (Baritone), Sax (Alto) Big Joe Turner Vocals, Producer Billy Mure Guitar Bob Defrin Art Direction Bob Porter Producer, Reissue Producer Budd Johnson Sax (Alto) Chuck Stewart Photography Connie Kay Drums Dick Vance Trumpet Dimes DuPont Sax (Alto) Earle Warren Sax (Alto) Edgar Blanchard Guitar Elmore James Guitar Ernie Hayes Piano Frank Henry Sax (Baritone) Frank Mitchell Trumpet Freddie Mitchell Sax (Tenor) George Barnes Guitar Grady "Fats" Jackson Sax (Tenor) Haywood Henry Sax (Baritone) Herb Abramson Producer Hilton Jefferson Sax (Alto) Jerry Wexler Producer Jesse Stone Arranger, Piano Jim Pogo Richardson Bass Jimmy Nottingham Trumpet Jimmy Richardson Bass Joe Morris Trumpet John Fernandez Bass Johnny Jones Piano Kathy Thomas Piano King Curtis Sax (Tenor) Leonard Gaskin Bass Lloyd Trotman Bass Mack Easton Sax (Baritone) Michael Chimes Harmonica Mickey Baker Guitar Panama Francis Drums Pluma Davis Trombone Rector Bailey Guitar Red Saunders Drums Sam "The Man" Taylor Sax (Tenor) Sonny Cohn Trumpet Stephen Innocenzi Mastering Taft Jordan Trumpet The Cookies Vocals (Background) Thomas Sheldon Trumpet Van "Piano Man" Walls Piano Warren Hebrew Sax (Tenor) Wilbur DeParis Trombone William Burchett Sax (Alto)