The Traveling Record Man; Historic Down South Recording Trips

A RERUN REQUEST FOR POPPACUBBY!

A taste of the material gathered during these legendary road trips thru the South that lead to the discovery of many artists and the preservation of many others who would be otherwise lost. There are actually 5 volumes which follow this one if there appears to be any interest.

"The bulky title of this disc was sparked by its documentation of recordings assembled by Joe Bihari of Modern Records on scouting trips through the South for talent between 1948 and 1953. (Starting in 1952, the young Ike Turner also worked for Modern in this capacity.) Just two of the names on this 24-track anthology are famous: Howlin' Wolf, represented by an audition acetate of "Riding in the Moonlight" (first issued in 1991), and Elmore James, whose two cuts appeared on an Ace box set in 1993. Some other names -- like Smokey Hogg, Lil' Son Jackson, and Joe Hill Louis -- will catch the eyes of in-the-know blues experts, but for the most part even those with extensive blues collections will be mostly or totally unfamiliar with most of the artists. This is raw, Southern, just-post-World War II blues, caught in its transition from its rural roots to something more electric and citified. Certainly it's rawer than much commercially released blues of the time, and in fact about half of it was either previously unissued, or not first issued until many years later on other specialist collections. It's not that unhoned, though, and there's decent variety within the genre, from rollicking piano blues and juke-joint harmonica-driven numbers to mournful slow tunes that sound barely off the farm. Actually Arkansas Johnny Todd's "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You" sounds like it's still on the farm. But at the other extreme, Sunny Blair's "Please Send My Baby Back Home" (aka "Step Back Baby") is as well-produced and full-sounding as many a 1953 full-band electric Chicago blues single. This is not for everyone, certainly, but as a reflection of the sounds being unearthed as labels brought musicians from out-of-the-way Southern locales into the commercial world, it has considerable value. And the music is solid, if not as gripping as the best records in these styles. The fidelity is imperfect, as many of the tracks were taken from acetates or 78s, but has been cleaned up considerably by modern technology." AMG

Ike Turner Studio Productions: New Orleans And Los Angeles 1963 - 1965

Although this CD is credited to Ike Turner, it might be more appropriately classified as a various-artists compilation, since Turner is the credited artist on just one of the 27 tracks. As the title indicates, it's devoted to recordings he produced between 1963 and 1965, an era in which his industriousness was something to behold given he was also recording many discs with his then-wife Tina, as well as extensively touring. Tina herself is the singer on a couple of these tracks, and the Ikettes are heard as a backup band on a few others. But for the most part, this material is performed by artists who never made a name for themselves, like Jimmy Thomas, Stacy Johnson, Bobby John, and Vernon Guy, though ex-R&B star Jackie Brenston (of "Rocket 88" fame) does a couple numbers. Only five of the cuts were released at the time, some others only showing up on archival compilations decades later, and over half the stuff making its first appearance ever on this disc. Though Ike Turner was undoubtedly a major figure in rock and soul music, this is ephemera when stacked against his primary accomplishments, and of most interest to rabid Ike collectors/enthusiasts. The sound is consistently gutsy and sometimes rawer than almost anything else in the bluesy R&B/rock groove at the time, and the singers usually perform with the kind of passion heard in artists hungry for a break. True to the location of some of the recordings, some of the selections have a more pronounced New Orleans feel than others. But the songs are for the most part just OK, and sometimes not too worked out, as you might expect from takes that often didn't even make it into the marketplace. There's some good playing from the Kings of Rhythm, but unless this is one of your favorite all-time kinds of music, the songs do start to roll by without making much in the way of separate impact. And the two Tina Turner tracks might have been throwaway outtakes, but she sings everyone else under the table on covers of Maxine Brown's hit "All in My Mind" and Eddie Boyd's blues classic "Five Long Years." It's more a listenable document to fill in the some of the background of Turner's resumé than a testament to his finer achievements, with some of the moodier Turner compositions that came out on 1963 singles (Vernon Guy's "You've Got Me [Just Where You Want Me]" and Stacy Johnson's "Remove My Doubts") also standing out in this crowd. - Richie Unterberger / AMG

1 Jimmy Thomas – The Darkest Hour 2:29
2 Stacy Johnson – Remove My Doubts 2:15
3 Vernon Guy With Jessie Smith – They Ain't Lovin' Ya 1:46
4 Bobby John – Too Late 2:29
5 Bobby John & Ikettes, The – Like I Do 2:37
6 Jackie Brenston & Ikettes, The – In Love 2:32
7 Jackie Brenston – I'm Tore Up 2:31
8 Venetta Fields – Through With You 3:18
9 Vernon Guy – That's All Right 1:53
10 Vernon Guy – You're So Fine 2:25
11 Jimmy Thomas – I Smell Trouble 3:40
12 Jimmy Thomas – Feel So Good 2:21
13 Tina Turner – All In My Mind 3:13
14 Ernest Lane & Ikettes, The With Tina Turner – What Kind Of Love 2:18
15 Bobby John With Jimmy Thomas, Stacy Johnson & Vernon Guy – I'm Comin' Home 2:29
16 Bobby John – Dust My Broom 2:33
17 Vernon Guy & Ikettes, The – For Your Precious Love 2:18
18 Vernon Guy – Just To Hold My Hand 2:16
19 Jimmy Thomas – Tin Pan Alley 2:51
20 Jimmy Thomas – Mother-In-Law Blues 2:09
21 Ike Turner & Ikettes, The – Walking Down The Aisle 2:13
22 Bobby John & Ikettes, The – Think 2:12
23 Tina Turner – Five Long Years 2:07
24 Stacy Johnson – Consider Yourself 3:44
25 Stacy Johnson – Don't Believe Him 2:04
26 Vernon Guy With Ike* & Dee Dee* – You Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It Too 2:23
27 Vernon Guy – You've Got Me (Just Where You Want Me) 2:36

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 5; Back in the Alley

Cleaning out the cue this morning, here is the final volume before the links get too old.

 The Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 5: Back in the Alley 1949-1954 focuses on sides cut between 1949 and 1954 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the sides found their way to releases on the Modern family of labels, though some of them appear here for the first time. The common denominator is record label owner/manager/songwriter Bob Geddins, who was involved in the careers of all of the artists who recorded these 26 tracks. The featured artists include Jimmy McCracklin, James Reed, Johnny Fuller, Roy Hawkins, Lowell Fulson and Walter Robertson.

" While the first four volumes of this series focused on just-post-World War II blues recorded at various locations in the south, this fifth installment turns its focus to somewhat more citified blues cut between 1949 and 1954 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the sides found their way to releases on the Modern family of labels, though some of them appear here for the first time. But the main common denominator is record label owner/manager/songwriter Bob Geddins, who was involved in the careers of all of the artists who recorded these 26 tracks. Two of the performers, Lowell Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin, had pretty successful careers; one, Roy Hawkins, had some success and notoriety (primarily for doing the original version of "The Thrill Is Gone"); and the others (Johnny Fuller, Walter Robertson, and James Reed) aren't even known to most blues collectors. A collection of such rare cuts -- even the ones by Fulson, McCracklin, and Hawkins will be unfamiliar to most of their fans -- has pretty specialized appeal, as the songs are average to the verge of being clichéd. But it's an acceptable reflection of earthier California blues styles of the era, if hardly the best introduction to the subgenre. A few of the McCracklin tracks (most of which are previously unissued) count among the liveliest items, especially "Josephine" and "I'll Get a Break Someday," which are rawer than the subsequent recordings with which he'd attract most notice. The 1949 Fulson single on the CD is barely urbanized rural blues, and while much of the rest of the disc is more in line with the more refined, more jazzy ballad-tinged form of West Coast blues, it often has a gloomier aura than most such music." AMG

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 4; Southern Country Blues Guitarists

 I think that this is the volume where the names and song titles are, in some cases,  made up, either earlier by Bihari or later when Kent compiled the first issuance of this material on LP. I did copy all the booklet notes for each of these volumes so you can read the whole story when you have downloaded.

Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 4: The Southern Country blues Guitarists 1948-1952 features recordings mostly recorded in Atlanta and Dallas between 1948 and 1952. This is essentially an expanded version of the original Kent LP Blues From The Deep South. In around 1950 a group of artists sent in a batch of unlabeled acetates that were discovered at Modern in 1970. These recordings have remained a focal point for intense discussion ever since. When these sides were first issued on the Blues From The Deep South LP, so Arkansas Johnny Todd and Leroy Simpson were invented for two sides released. It turns out that Todd is actually Lane Hardin who cut the classic "Hard Time Blues b/w California Desert Blues" in 1935. He also backs Leroy Simpson who still remains a mystery. Other featured artists include Alex Moore, Charlie Bradix, Pine Top Slim, Jesse Thomas, Big Bill Dotson, Little Son Jackson and Smokey Hogg.

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 3; Memphis On Down

 

 The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 3: Memphis On Down focuses on recordings done in the early 1950's in Memphis that Sam Phillips shopped to Modern/RPM in 1950/51, Helena, Arkansas and five cuts by the Dixie Blues Boys which were done in Los Angeles in 1955. The featured artists include Willie Nix, Howlin' Wolf, Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis, Bobby Bland, Alfred "Blues King" Harris, James "Peck" Curtis, Robert "Dudlow" Taylor and Jim Lockhart.

 "This third volume of raw, Southern (or Southern-style) blues, largely of the early electric sort, concentrates on recordings done in the early '50s in Memphis and Arkansas, though the five Dixie Blues Boys tracks were done in Los Angeles in 1955. Make no mistake about it: despite the presence of a few big names, this is one for the collector. If you want a better listening experience of material from Modern's recordings in the area, you'd be better off with single-artist anthologies of sides cut at the time for the label by Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis, and others. If you've gone through that layer and want a whole lot more, however, this is what you want, digging into some rare and previously unissued tracks, often by artists unknown even to many blues experts. Generally, it documents a time when Southern blues was just making its transition from the rural acoustic form to the citi-fied electric one, albeit in a raw, at times even tentatively clumsy manner. The most satisfying numbers are, unsurprisingly, by the most famous performers, capturing some major performers in their early formative days, including Howlin' Wolf (represented by two 1951 sides); Bobby "Blue" Bland (whose "Drifting From Town to Town," recorded with Little Junior Parker, didn't first see light until 1969); and Walter Horton (heard on his 1951 single "You Tell Me Baby"). Even the tracks by obscure names often include major players as sidemen, such as Howlin' Wolf guitarist Blind Willie Johnson, Matt Murphy (who plays on the Bland cut), and Sonny Boy Williamson. The remaining material isn't up to lost classic status, and in fact it's sometimes forgettable. But there are still some good outings to be heard by Willie Nix (whose "Try Me One More Time," from 1951, comes close to a rockabilly beat) and the more rudimentary Joe Hill Louis (particularly a previously unissued fast version of "Joe Hill Boogie"). Seven of the 26 tracks were previously unreleased..." AMG

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 2: Mississippi and Arkansas

The story of the Bhari family and RPM - Modern Records is an American tale. The Bihari's were Hungarian Jewish refugees. The six or seven children (it has been a while since I read this) where sent here without their parents with the idea that the eldest would take care of the rest, but the family was split up and scattered across multiple orphanages.

Undeterred the two eldest boys, Jules and Lester, made it out to Los Angeles with the eldest girl as well, if memory serves, and set themselves up in the jukebox industry. Everything was in the family and as each sibling grew old enough to leave their respective orphanages, they were brought to L.A. and into the business. Eventually the entire clan was reunited as their parents had intended.

Over time, Jules and Saul grew frustrated with the inability of their distributors to keep them supplied with the quality 'country blues' that they found was selling on their boxes and realized that they could make money on both ends of the game if they started making their own records. They managed to build their own studio, pressing and distribution facility all in one. Now they needed artists and while they mined some of the local talent in L.A., they had a fair amount of competition there. They found some people to record through Bob Geddins up in Oakland, but they needed more to grow the label.

This is where youngest brother Joe Bihari comes in. Joe and the youngest sister had been sent to orphanages in New Orleans and so grew up amongst the sounds of the Crescent City. Where as his older siblings viewed this solely as a business to be milked for as much cash with as little outlay as possible (Jules would brag about making thousands off of sessions that cost him nothing but a bottle of whiskey and a cheap whore), Joe actually knew the music and what he was hearing and could tell if it was good or not. That is how Joe became the choice to go on these talent seeking road trips through the South.

I don't recall the details of how Joe found the teenage Ike Turner, but the ambitious and talented youngster was a godsend for sure. There is no way that Bihari could have found the people he did without Ike and the music world of today would be a very different landscape without the contributions of Ike Turner. It is also true that no other member of the Bihari family would have been able to tolerate driving around and staying with a black man other than the New Orleans raised Joe.

Other than perhaps Cleanhead Love, most of the fellows on this particular volume are documented real people, but on some of the later sets the names and song titles are completely made up due to the haphazard record keeping, both on the road and back at the Modern headquarters.

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 1; Arkansas & Mississippi

 You got your first taste of these sessions with Traveling Record Man but that was just the tip of the iceberg, there are 5 subsequent volumes! Many of these artists are only known through these field recordings made by Joe Bihari and Ike Turner as they drove through the deep South scouting for talent. Not every guy is some unknown genius or anything like that, but in most cases you can certainly hear why they recorded them.

" The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol.1: Arkansas and Mississippi 1951-1952 features recordings that Joe Bihari and his young talent scout Ike Turner made between November 1951 and January 1952 in North Little Rock, Arkansas and in Greenville and Canton, Mississippi. The featured artists include Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore, Drifting Slim, Junior Brooks, Sunny Blair, Houston Boines, Charley Booker and Ernest Lane."

Early Black Rock 'N Roll Vol. 1 & 2

Shakey Jake

This post is born out of a couple things. 

Firstly, I took an interest in the Trikont label after KC's most unusual post of Black Country.  As a result I picked up more than a handful of incredible comps.  This is a label which select tracks meticulously and remaster them to perfection.  All have been a real joy to listen to and worth every cent.

More recently, KC and I were discussing how to incorporate some of the more rock type figures into Chitlins.  Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley were discussed and I was basically tasked with bringin these heavys to all of you followers.




Well, I thought to break the ice I would share these two amazing comps - guaranteed to have your media player on repeat.  We are revisited by more than a couple of artists which KC has profiled extensively;  Little Willie John, Howlin Wolf and Ike Turner to name a few.  But we are introduced to many seminal figures in the birth of rock like Shakey Jake, the Bill Davis Trio, Lazy Lester and Slim Harpo.



Vol. 1 1948 - 1958

 These two stellar mixes are mostly important for us at this juncture for the women they feature.  I'm certain KC has some greats comin down the line, so for now we get a taste of Big Maybelle, Etta James, Ruth Brown and several others.

The music here is so infectious, it's a guarantee that you'll be boppin around once you are into it.  It's easy to see why rock took off like it did, there's nothing but fun to be had listening to this stuff.  Even lyrical themes of love lost, aging and other downbeat subjects are given the uptempo, dancable treatment.

Translated from the Trikont site:

Long before Elvis had rolled his pelvis, or the Rolling Stones tapped into the Mississippi-Blues, and the legions of white bands made their electrified guitars roar, black Blues-Gospel & Jazz artists had laid the cornerstone for the musical revolution known as Rock n Roll! Besides well-known names like Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, or Bo Diddley. This comp also features many unjustly overseen musical pioneers.



Vol. 2 1949 - 1959

 From gospel singer Rosetta Tharpe, to Jimi-Hendrix-idol Johnny Guitar Watson, from Ike Turners early Rockabilly-blueprints, to the Doo-Wop-Rock of Ruth Brown. Other artists, including Magic Slim, Andre Williams, Big Maybelle, Rufus Thomas, Lazy Lester, Etta James, and Jesse Stone are featured on this release.

Big Maybelle

“Whatever you call it, it’s wonderful, spirited stuff, ranging from the primal blues spirit of Howlin’ Wolf to the rocking gospel of cover star Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the most influential female guitarist since the legendary Memphis Minnie. Fischer’s selection focuses on the seamier R&B which swept away the eunuch sentimentality of 1950s white pop “like a window being opened to let out the stale air”, as Nik Cohn characterised it: the lascivious snarls of Big Mama Thornton and Little Esther Phillips, the latter’s complaint of “Hound Dog”; the lothario charm of Johnny Guitar Watson; the automotive sex metaphors of Chuck Berry and Billy The Kid Emerson; the hypnotic-exotic rhythms of Rosco Gordon, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley; the black rockabilly of Tarheel Slim; and the downright weird, borderline tasteless fantasies of Andre Williams and Sly Fox.”    

(4/5 Stars, The Independent, UK)



Trikont Records
US-0392 / 0412
released 2010

Ike And Tina Turner - Am I A Fool In Love

This album was released by Kent in 1984, reissued to CD, so it's easy to understand why Tina's name and image are getting so much real estate.  As many of you recall, the 80's held much fortune for those long and strong legs of Tina's, so Kent quite wisely cashed in.

Am I A Fool In Love, as an album, is without a doubt my favorite from the duo of Ike and Tina.  All the songs are original, written by Ike, and A Fool In Love was their first big hit which helped to expose Tina to the world.  As most people know, it was a fluke which put Tina on the mic, and she never looked back.

Unlike some of thier more obnoxious hits, this album is wall to wall, 100%, unadalterated real deal music.  There's no end to the enjoyment of these tunes and in my opinion, this is a game changer for those with pre-formed ideas about Tina Turner and most certainly Ike.  So fan or not, check this one out and prepare to groove and boogie with one of the best the genre had to offer.

This was ripped from my Kent CD using EAC, and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC using Trader's Little Helper.  Wonderful fidelity...enjoy!!!

Ike Turner - Before Tina, Parts 2 & 3

There are two links here, the first covers the session material from 1954-56, the second focuses on the reformed Kings of Rhythm with front men Billy Gales and later Tommy Hodge. I've run out of pictures so I've included the covers of some of the sources for this material.

 After recording Rocket 88, Turner became a session musician and production assistant for Sam Philips and the Bihari Brothers, commuting to Memphis from Clarksdale. He began by contributing piano to a B. B. King track "You Know I Love You", which brought him to the attention of Modern Records' Joe Bihari, who requested Turner's services on another King track 3 O'Clock Blues. It became King's first hit.

Wishing to utilize Turner's Delta music connections, Bihari contracted him as a talent scout, paying him to search out southern musicians who might be worth recording. Turner also wrote new material for the artists to perform, which, unknown to him the Bihari Brothers registered the copyright on. Turner estimated he "wrote 78 hit records for the Biharis." Artists Turner sourced for Modern included Bobby Bland, Howlin' Wolf and Rosco Gordon. He played piano on sessions with them and other lesser known artists such as The Prisonaires, Ben Burton Orchestra, Little Milton, Matt Cockrell and Dennis Binder. Turner was contracted to the Bihari Brothers, but he continued to work for Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, where he was effectively the in-house producer. This sometimes created conflicts of interest. Turner cut two Howlin' Wolf tracks, "How Many More Years" and "Moanin' at Midnight," which Phillips sent to Chess Records. Turner then took Wolf across the state border, re-recorded the tracks without Phillips' or Chess's knowledge, and sent the results to Modern/RPM. Turner also attempted to poach Elmore James from Trumpet Records and record him for Modern. Trumpet found out and Modern had to cancel the record. However James did eventually sign for Modern, with Turner playing piano on a recording of James at Club Desire in Canton.

In 1956, Turner took a reformed version of the Kings of Rhythm north to St. Louis, including Kizart, Sims, O'Neal, Jessie Knight Jr and Turner's third wife Annie Mae Wilson Turner on piano and vocals. It was at this time that Turner moved over to playing guitar to accommodate Annie Mae, taking lessons from Willie Kizart to improve.

Turner maintained strict discipline over the band, insisting they lived in a large house with him so he could conduct early morning rehearsals at a moment's notice. Up until the age of 30, Turner was teetotal and had never taken drugs. He insisted all members of his band also adopt this policy, and would fire anyone he even suspected of breaking the rules. He would also fine or physically assault band-members if they played a wrong note and controlled everything from the arrangements down to the suits the band wore onstage. Starting off playing at a club called Kingsbury's in Madison, Illinois, within a year Turner had built up a full gig schedule, establishing his group as one of the most highly rated on the St. Louis club circuit, vying for popularity with their main competition, Sir John's Trio featuring Chuck Berry. The bands would play all-nighters in St. Louis, then cross the river to the clubs of East St. Louis, Illinois, and continue playing until dawn. In St. Louis for the first time Turner, was exposed to a developing white teenage audience who were excited by R&B. Clubs Turner played in St. Louis included Club Imperial, which was popular with white teenagers, The Dynaflow, The Moonlight Lounge, Club Riviera and the West End Walters. In East St. Louis, his group played Kingsbury's, Club Manhattan and The Sportsman.

In between live dates, Turner took the band to Cincinnati to record for Federal in 1956 and Chicago for Cobra/Artistic in 1958, as well as fulfilling his contract as a session musician back at Sun. He befriended St. Louis R&B fan Bill Stevens, who in 1958 set up the short-lived record label, Stevens, financed by his father Fred. Turner recorded numerous sessions for Stevens with various vocalists and musician lineups, of which seven singles were released (these are collected on the Red Lightnin' compilation "Hey Hey- The Legendary Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm"/RL0047). Turner was not credited on any of the Stevens releases as he still had months to run on his Sun contract and did not want to cause friction with Sam Philips. He recorded a solo rockabilly country single under the anagrammatical name Icky Renrut. None of the Stevens records had wide distribution and the operation ceased after a year.

In 1959 Turner was charged with what he described as "interstate transportation of forged cheques and conspiracy", and was forced to stand trial in St. Louis. At the first trial the jury failed to reach verdict, and at the retrial a year later Turner was found not guilty.


It is kind of amazing how much there is to Ike long before that girl whom he christens "Tina Turner" (he made up the name and owned the rights to it) ever enters the picture, eh? People in the modern world tend to believe the ridiculous Disney fiction of her book and movie which even Tina has acknowledged is utter trash. Ike did indeed run his band with an iron fist, it is in large part why they were so much better than the competition and more successful. I have no doubt that when he began using Cocaine and alcohol that he became an abusive personality, as nearly EVERYONE does behind that powerful pair of personality twisting drugs. The picture of him as some sort of parasite ridding her coat-tail, however, is FAR from the truth. He made her as an artist after she badgered him for months on end to let her sing and even then he did not want her in the band. Only her dogged insistence eventually broke him down.

Ike Turner - Early Ike 1951 - 1953

It is hard to think of ANYONE more seminal and influential in the beginnings of R&B than Ike Turner. He is just EVERYWHERE and playing with everyone while writing and producing for them
 and he is discovering and developing new talent for multiple labels. His own bands are the tightest, most hardworking groups around and he does not tolerate drugs or excessive drinking in his own working bands. (Later he developed a 15 year cocaine habit with the drinking that accompanies it but initially he is a straight arrow.) He was a perfectionist who drove his touring bands hard and wasn't always well liked for that long before Disney concocted their tales that branded him a national villain. (even Tina has admitted publicly that almost nothing  shown about Ike in the movie was factual, she was just mad because he owned the copyright on her stage name!) If Dave Bartholomew was the Architect of New Orleans R&B then Ike Turner fills that roll everywhere else but the West Coast where it was Johnny Otis and Maxwell Davis. 

Turner was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on November 5, 1931, to Beatrice Cushenberry (1909–195?), a seamstress, and Isaiah (or Izear) Luster Turner, a Baptist minister. The younger of two siblings, Turner had an elder sister, named Ethel May. Turner believed for many years that he was named Izear Luster Turner, Jr. after his father, until he discovered his name was registered as Ike Wister Turner while applying for his first passport. He never got to discover the origin of his name, as by the time he discovered it, his parents were both dead.

Turner said when he was very young, he witnessed his father beaten and left for dead by a white mob. His father lived for 3 years as an invalid in a tent in the family's yard before succumbing to his injuries. Writer and blues historian Ted Drozdowski has told a different version of the story, stating that Turner's father died in an industrial accident. His mother remarried to a man called Philip Reeves. Turner said his stepfather was a violent alcoholic and they often argued and fought, after one fight Turner knocked out his stepfather with a piece of wood. He then ran away to Memphis where he lived rough for a few days before returning to his mother. He reconciled with his stepfather years later, buying a house for him in the 1950s around the time Turner's mother died.

Turner recounted how he was introduced to sex at the age of six by a middle-aged lady called Miss Boozie. Walking past her house to school, she would invite him to help feed her chickens, and then take him to bed. This continued for some years. Turner claimed to not be traumatized by this, commenting that "in those days they didn't call it abuse, they called it fun". He was also sexually molested by two other women before he was twelve.

Around his eighth year Turner also began frequenting the local Clarksdale radio station, WROX, located in the Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale. WROX was notable as one of the first radio stations to employ a black DJ, Early Wright, to play blues records. DJ John Frisella put Turner to work as he watched the record turntables. Soon he was left to play records while the DJ went across the street for coffee. Turner described this as "the beginning of my thing with music." This led to Turner being offered a job by the station manager as the DJ on the late-afternoon shift. The job meant he had access to all the new releases. On his show he played a diverse range of music, playing Louis Jordan alongside early rockabilly records.


Turner was inspired to learn the piano on a visit to his friend Ernest Lane's house, where he heard Pinetop Perkins playing Lane's fathers' piano. Turner convinced his mother to pay for him to have piano lessons with a teacher; however he did not take to the formal style of playing, instead spending the money in a pool hall, then learning boogie-woogie from Perkins. . He taught himself to play guitar by playing along to old blues records. At some point in the 1940s, Turner moved into Clarksdale’s Riverside Hotel, run by Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff. The Riverside played host to a great number of touring musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II and Duke Ellington. Turner associated and played music with many of these guests.

In high school, a teenage Turner joined a huge local rhythm ensemble called The Tophatters, who played dances around Clarksdale, Mississippi. Members of the band were taken from Clarksdale musicians, and included Turner's school friends Raymond Hill, Eugene Fox and Clayton Love. The Tophatters played big-band arrangements from sheet music. Turner, who was trained by ear and could not sight read music, would learn the pieces by listening to a version on record at home, pretending to be reading the music during rehearsals. At one point, the Tophatters had over 30 members, and eventually split into two, with one act who wanted to carry on playing dance-band jazz calling themselves The Dukes of Swing and the other, led by Turner becoming the Kings of Rhythm. Said Turner: "We wanted to play blues, boogie-woogie and Roy Brown, Jimmy Liggins, Roy Milton." Turner would keep the name of the band throughout his career, although it went through considerable lineup changes over time. Their early stage performances consisted largely of covers of popular jukebox hits. They were helped by B. B. King, who helped them to get a steady weekend gig and recommended them to Sam Phillips at Sun Studio. In the 50s, Turner's group got regular airplay from live sessions on WROX-Am, and KFFA radio in Helena, Arkansas.
Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, where in 1951 Turner and the Kings of Rhythm recorded Rocket 88, one of the first Rock and roll records. Turner would later work at the studio as in-house producer for Sam Phillips.

Around the time he was starting out with The Kings of Rhythm, Turner and Ernest Lane became unofficial roadies for blues singer Robert Nighthawk, who often played live on WROX. The pair sat in playing drums and piano on radio sessions and supported Nighthawk at blues dates around Clarksdale. Playing with Nighthawk allowed Turner to gig regularly and build up playing experience. He would also provide backup for Sonny Boy Williamson II (Alex "Rice" Miller), playing gigs alongside other local blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf, Charley Booker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Performances typically lasted for about twelve hours, from early evening to dawn the next day. Turner described the scenario to an interviewer:
“ We played juke joints; we'd start playing at 8.00pm and wouldn't get off till 8.00am. No intermissions, no breaks. If you had to go to the restroom, well that's how I learned to play drums and guitar! When one had to go, someone had to take his place.

It was around this time that Turner and his band came up with the song, "Rocket 88". The song was written as the group drove down to Memphis to record at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios. Turner came up with the introduction and first verse, the band collaborated on the rest with Brenston, the band's saxophonist, on vocals. Phillips sold the recording to Chess in Chicago, who released it under the name "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats". The record sold approximately half a million copies. In Turner's account book he recorded that he was paid $20. The success of Rocket 88 caused tensions and ego clashes in the band, causing Jackie Brenston to leave to pursue a solo career, taking some of the original members with him. Turner, without a band and disappointed his hit record had not created more opportunities for him, disbanded the Kings of Rhythm for a few years.

After recording Rocket 88, Turner became a session musician and production assistant for Sam Philips and the Bihari Brothers, commuting to Memphis from Clarksdale. He began by contributing piano to a B. B. King track "You Know I Love You", which brought him to the attention of Modern Records's, Joe Bihari, who requested Turner's services on another King track 3 O'Clock Blues. It became King's first hit.

I've broken some 5 cd's worth of compilations down into three digestible bites that do not overlap and are sorted by the vocalist. I think it makes for a much better listen that way and it let's you see Ike's Kings of Rhythm in a variety of settings, this first set covers 1951 to 1953 and has two killer vocalists in Jackie Brenston and Johnny O'Neal. I have left the covers from the original compilations on the files but there is no real point in being album-centric when all of this material was released as singles.  KC