Editing Big Joe Turner (section)

===1939 to 1950===
In 1939, along with the boogie-woogie pianists [[Albert Ammons]] and [[Meade Lux Lewis]], Turner and Johnson began a residency at [[Café Society]], a nightclub in New York City, where they appeared on the same playbill as [[Billie Holiday]] and [[Frankie Newton]]'s band.<ref name="Rockhall"/> Besides "Roll 'Em, Pete", Turner's best-known recordings from this period are probably "Cherry Red", "I Want a Little Girl" and "Wee Baby Blues". "Cherry Red" was recorded in 1939 for the [[Vocalion Records|Vocalion]] [[record label|label]], with [[Hot Lips Page]] on trumpet and a full band in attendance.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web| last1=Dahl| first1 = Bill | title=Big Joe Turner|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-joe-turner-mn0000060726/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=17 November 2009}}</ref> During the next year Turner contracted with [[Decca Records|Decca]] and recorded "Piney Brown Blues" with Johnson on piano.<ref name="AMG"/>

In 1941, he went to Los Angeles and performed in [[Duke Ellington]]'s revue ''Jump for Joy'' in Hollywood.<ref name="auto"/> He appeared as a singing policeman in a comedy sketch, "He's on the Beat". Los Angeles was his home for a time, and during 1944 he worked in [[Meade Lux Lewis]]'s [[Soundies]] musical movies. He sang on the soundtrack recordings but was not present for filming, and his vocals were mouthed by the comedian [[Dudley Dickerson]] for the camera. In 1945 Turner and Pete Johnson established the Blue Moon Club, a bar in Los Angeles.

In 1945, he also signed a recording contract with [[National Records]], for which he recorded under the supervision of [[Herb Abramson]].<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Shout, Rattle and Roll|year=2005|first=Adam |last=Komorowski|page=19 |type=CD |publisher=Proper Records |id=Properbox 89 |location=London}}</ref> His first hit single was a cover of [[Saunders King]]'s "S.K. Blues" (1945).<ref name="whitburnr&b"/> He recorded the songs "My Gal's a Jockey" and the risqué "Around the Clock" the same year, and [[Aladdin Records]] released "Battle of the Blues", a duet with [[Wynonie Harris]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Turner stayed with National until 1947, but none of his recordings were big sellers.<ref name="AMG"/> In 1950, he recorded the song "Still in the Dark", released by [[Freedom Records (jazz label)|Freedom Records]].<ref name="whitburnr&b"/> Joe Turner also played at the Cavalcades of Jazz concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles which was produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.|Leon Hefflin Sr.]] on September 23, 1945, to a crowd of 15,000.  [[Count Basie]], the Honeydrippers, [[Edith Peters|The Peters Sisters]], [[Slim Gaillard|Slim and Bam]] and [[Valaida Snow]] were also featured artists.<ref>{{cite news|title=15,000 Persons at Wrigley Field for 'Jazz Cavalcade'|newspaper=[[California Eagle]]|date=September 27, 1945}}</ref> Turner also performed alongside [[Dizzy Gillespie]] at the fourth annual Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles, on September 12, 1948.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Los Angeles's Central Avenue Jazz|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|last=O'Connell, Sean J.|isbn=978-1467131308|location=Charleston, South Carolina|oclc=866922945|year = 2014}}</ref>  Also on the program that day were [[Frankie Laine]], [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm|The Sweethearts of Rhythm]], [[Joe Liggins and the Honeydrippers|The Honeydrippers]], [[Little Miss Cornshucks]], [[Jimmy Witherspoon]], The Blenders, and The Sensations.<ref>“Jazz Cavalcade Boasts Top Name Talent for Show” article, ''Los Angeles Sentinel'', August 5, 1948</ref>

Turner was a significant figure in the development of [[rhythm and blues]]. According to the [[Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]], Turner and [[Louis Jordan]] laid the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, "cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rockhall.com/funk-and-rb#:~:text=Other%20cornerstones%20of%20R%26B%20and,the%20Ravens%20and%20the%20Dominoes |title=Funk and R&B |date=June 15, 2020 |work=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=December 25, 2020 |quote=}}</ref>

Turner made many albums with Johnson, [[Art Tatum]], [[Willie "The Lion" Smith]], [[Sammy Price]], and other jazz groups.<ref name="russell"/> He recorded for several record companies. He also performed with the [[Count Basie Orchestra]].<ref name="Rockhall"/> During his career, Turner was part of the transition from [[big band]]s to [[jump blues]] to [[rhythm and blues]] to [[rock and roll]].<ref name="Larkin"/> He was a master of [[traditional blues verses]], and at Kansas City [[jam session]]s he could swap choruses with instrumental soloists for hours.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Shout, Rattle and Roll|year=2005|first=Adam |last=Komorowski|page=11 |type=CD |publisher=Proper Records |id=Properbox 89 |location=London}}</ref>