
Rate it!
Avg: 3.5 (4 ratings)
- Date Released: March 27, 1976
- Genre: Blues
- Style: Soul/R&B, Jazz Vocal
- Label: Fantasy / Pablo
-
They Say...
Big Joe Turner was among the greatest jump blues shouters of all time, and he certainly helped pave the way for the rock & roll explosion of the mid-'50s. But Turner was also a fine jazz singer. When the Kansas City native recorded for Norman Granz's Pablo label in the '70s, he was often heard in jazz settings -- and The Midnight Special is among the swing-oriented dates that Turner provided for Pablo when he was in his sixties. This album, which Fantasy reissued on CD in 2002 for the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series, was recorded in a Los Angeles studio in 1976. But The Midnight Special sounds like it could have been recorded in a small club. That's because it has the feeling of a loose jam session; Turner and his hard-swinging sidemen (who include saxophonist Curtis Peagler, trumpeter Jake Porter, and guitarist Cal Green, among others) sound delightfully spontaneous on standards that range from "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "You're Driving Me Crazy" to Leadbelly's "The Midnight Special." The singer also turns his attention to Woody Guthrie's "So Long" (a folk song) and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"; although Tony Bennett recorded the definitive version of the latter, Turner's jazz interpretation isn't without its charms. To his credit, Turner doesn't even try to emulate Bennett's version -- he's wise enough to do his own thing. The Midnight Special isn't among Turner's essential releases, but it's an enjoyable outing that hardcore fans will appreciate -- and collectors will be happy to know that Fantasy has added five bonus tracks (most of them alternate takes).
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 13 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 13 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
13 Total Tracks, 56:19 Total Length
Loading...

![]()
Playlists If you like Big Joe Turner, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Big Joe Turner fans
Credits
- Big Joe Turner - Vocals // Big Joe Turner - Vocals // Curtis Peagler - Sax (Alto) // Curtis Peagler - Sax (Tenor) // Roy Brewster - Horn (Baritone) // Kirk Felton - Remastering // Bob Haynes - Bass // Grover Helsley - Engineer // David Luke - Remixing // Washington Rucker - Drums // Sylvester Scott - Piano // Jake "Vernon" Porter - Trumpet // Eric Miller - Producer
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.


Post Album to Facebook
