Big Joe Turner's Greatest Hits

Personnel includes: Big Joe Turner (vocals); Rector Bailey, Edgar Blanchard, Billy Mure, George Barnes (guitar); William Burchett, Dimes DuPont (alto saxophone); Arlem Kareem (alto & baritone saxophones); Freddie Mitchell, Warren Hebrew (tenor saxophone); Heywood Henry (baritone saxophone); Taft Jordan, Joe Morris, Thomas Sheldon, Frank Mitchell (trumpet); Pluma Davis, Wilber DeParis (trombone); Vann "Piano Man" Walls, Kathy Thomas, Jesse Stone (piano); Leonard Gaskin, John Fernandez, Lloyd Trotman (bass); Connie Kay, Alonzo Stewart, Red Saunders (drums).
Producers: Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson, Joe Turner, Jerry Wexler.
Reissue producer: Bob Porter.
Recorded in New York; New Orleans, Louisiana; Chicago, Illinois between 1951 and 1958.
Personnel: Big Joe Turner (vocals); Edgar Blanchard, Elmore James, George Barnes, Rector Bailey, Mickey Baker, Billy Mure (guitar); Michael Chimes (harmonica); Arlem Kareem (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Earle Warren, William Burchett, Dimes DuPont, Hilton Jefferson, Budd Johnson (alto saxophone); Freddie Mitchell, Grady "Fats" Jackson, Warren Hebrew, King Curtis, Al Sears, Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor saxophone); Haywood Henry, Mack Easton, Frank Henry (baritone saxophone); Frank Mitchell, Thomas Sheldon, Joe Morris , Taft Jordan, Sonny Cohn, Jimmy Nottingham, Dick Vance (trumpet); Pluma Davis, Wilbur De Paris (trombone); Kathy Thomas , Jesse Stone , Johnny Jones , Van "Piano Man" Walls, Ernie Hayes (piano); Connie Kay, Alonzo Stewart, Panama Francis, Red Saunders (drums); The Cookies (background vocals).
Recording information: Chicago, IL (04/19/1951-01/22/1958); New Orleans, LA (04/19/1951-01/22/1958); New York, NY (04/19/1951-01/22/1958).
Photographer: Chuck Stewart.
Arranger: Jesse Stone .
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