“To listen to - and talk with - Benny Turner is
to be in the presence of living blues history.”
– Melanie Young, Living Blues Magazine
Benny Turner uses Custom Guitar Picks from Steve Clayton, Inc.
SURVIVOR: THE BENNY TURNER STORY
"Music books are best when they're not about music but about the musicians who make the music. The relationships, the road trips, bandstand incidents, and other obstacles to humanity are explored in this marvelous biography of bassist Benny Turner."
- BOB PORTER, Author, Soul Jazz
"Survivor is a lively, well-crafted epic taking us through Benny Turner's childhood in Texas and Chicago, through his long stretches singing and playing guitar and bass with his renowned brother Freddie King, Dee Clark, The Soul Stirrers, and Mighty Joe Young, his move to New Orleans and his time with Marva Wright, his own early recordings, and, happily, his re-emergence as an acclaimed bandleader and recording artist ... leaving the reader with a full appreciation both of Benny as a musician and a person."
- RICHARD SHURMAN, Award-Winning Blues Producer/Historian
In Survivor, legendary musician Benny Turner spins a mesmerizing memoir about the life and times of a journeyman blues bassist. Readers travel back in time to the waning days of the Great Depression, Jim Crow laws and the advent of WWII, when people of all races and color had good reason to sing the blues. Turner was born in 1939, and times were hard in East Texas, where he grew up with big brother, blues guitarist Freddie King. Read more ....
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Survivor: The Benny Turner Story
Music fans will be fascinated by this very personal deep dive into the real life of the blues.
For years, Benny Turner was the slim, understated bass player who stood in the background, calmly thumping out the steady, melodically propulsive bass lines that ran beneath the searing solos of more flamboyant figures like his brother, legendary blues guitarist Freddie King. Read more ....
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Who Sang It First
Who Sang It First is Benny Turner’s adaptation of Jim George’s original song, Black Is Beautiful, which George describes as his “tribute to all the black pioneers and artists who have paved the way, invented the music and enriched all our lives.”
In Turner’s version, he pays homage to the legendary blues musicians who have strongly influenced today’s music.
Appropriately, the song was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, with veteran session musicians Clayton Ivey on keys and Will McFarlane on guitar.
Going Back Home
Benny Turner and Cash McCall
Two Chicago blues legends reunite in the studio to revisit their roots and the songs they once played nightly in South and West Side nightspots!
"Nobody does it better than the ones who grew up doing it, of course. This is what one wants in a blues record, starting with terrific songs and soulful performance." - Jerome Clark, Rambles.net
Read the Reviews!
My Brother's Blues
40 years after losing him, Benny's newest CD pays tribute to his big brother and best friend, Freddie King.
"Album-length tributes to blues greats of decades past are nothing new, but this collection is truly special. It's one legendary brother paying tribute to another, who just happens to be one of the greatest bluesmen of all time." - Bill Dahl
My Brother's Blues won a silver medal for outstanding achievement in the Global Music Awards and was a 16th Independent Music Awards nominee in the "Tribute Album" category.
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When She's Gone
Benny's 4th release, when she's gone, entered the Living Blues Radio Chart in January 2016 at #5; spent 3 weeks at #1 on the Roots Music Report Soul Blues Album chart and 3 weeks in the top ten on the Roots Music Report Blues Album chart.
when she's gone is in loving memory of Ella Mae, the mother who raised two blues legends - Benny and big brother Freddie King.
when she's gone was nominated for Best Traditional Blues CD in the 2016 Independent Blues Awards. It was also nominated for Best Soul Blues album in the 2016 Blues Blast Music Awards. The song "I Can't Leave" won best blues song in the 15th Independent Music Awards.
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Journey
Benny is proud to present his 3rd CD, Journey.
Journey contains all original music, including family treasures passed down to him as a boy (“My Mother’s Blues” honoring Ella Mae (King) Turner, and “My Uncle’s Blues (Fannie Mae)” honoring his uncle Leon King). Pulling from a lifetime of doo-wop, R&B, gospel, soul, and blues influences, and seasoned with dashes of humor and strife, Turner has created a musical gumbo with something sure to satisfy everyone who listens. "Breakin' News" was a blues song finalist in the 2015 International Songwriting Competition. Journey was a nominee for best blues album in the 2014 Offbeat Best of the Beat Awards.
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Benny performs at the Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival | |
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Benny plays on stage for the first time with younger brother, Donald. | Benny performs on the Porch Stage at the Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival |
Ann Arbor Blues Fest - 2019 | Benny plays Ann Arbor Blues Fest - 2019 |
Ann Arbor Blues Fest - 2019 | Chicago Blues Fest - 2019 |
Gee whiz ... what a special reuinion! Benny and Carla Thomas reunited at the 40th Blues Music Awards. | |
media
Benny closes the 2017 Ann Arbor Blues Fest with a presentation to producer, James Partridge, & performance of "Goin' Down," also on the '72 festival album
An amazing bass solo at Benny's CD release party for "When She's Gone"
contact
Management
Sallie Bengtson - Nola Blue
European Booking
Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria
Bernhard Schulte