Big Joe Turner (Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., Kansas City, Missouri, May 18, 1911 – Inglewood, California, November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter. Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "
Shake, Rattle And Roll", Turner's career as a performer stretched from the 1920s into the 1980s. Known variously as The Boss of the Blues, and Big Joe Turner (due to his 6'2", 300_ lbs stature), Turner was born in Kansas City and first discovered his love of music through involvement in the church.