Titus Lee Turner (May 1, 1933 – September 13, 1984) was an American R&B and

East Coast blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. His best-remembered

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

are "We Told You Not to Marry" and "Sound-Off". He also wrote "

Leave My Kitten Alone "Leave My Kitten Alone" is a 1959 R&B hit, written by Little Willie John, Titus Turner and James McDougal, first recorded by Little Willie John. The song follows a 24-bar blues format. Little Willie John The original version of the song, by L ...

", " Sticks and Stones" and " Tell Me Why".

Biography

Turner was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. His debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Where Are You", was released in 1950 by

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

, credited to Mr. T and his Band. Another single, "Stop Trying to Make a Fool of Me", was released by Regal Records in 1951. A year later he recorded eight tracks for

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, including "Got So Much Trouble." He then recorded for Wing, an imprint of

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, but he was not commercially successful until 1955, when

Little Willie John William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1 ...

recorded Turner's "All Around the World". Another version, retitled "Grits Ain't Groceries," was by

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include "Baby, I Love ...

. Turner and John then co-wrote "

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of which were recorded by

Johnny Preston John Preston Courville, known professionally as Johnny Preston (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011), was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear". Life and career Born in Port Arth ...

, the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

, and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

. In 1959, King Records issued Turner's first

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "The Return of Stagolee," an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for Spe ...

's "

Stagger Lee "Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, at Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded ...

". He repeated the trick with his next release, "We Told You Not to Marry," an answer to Price's "

I'm Gonna Get Married "I'm Gonna Get Married" is a 1959 R&B/pop hit written by Harold Logan and Lloyd Price and recorded by Lloyd Price. Lloyd's last known performance of "I'm Gonna Get Married" was on July 8, 1994. Background The lyrics are addressed to Lloyd as "Joh ...

." In 1960,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

recorded Turner's song " Sticks and Stones", many cover versions of which have been issued over the years. By 1961 Turner had his biggest solo success with "Sound-Off", which came from the only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

he ever released. The track was described by

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

in ''Top Pop Singles 1955–2002'' as a "popular

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

marching drill chant," which had been a number 3 hit for

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

in 1951. Later singles failed to find a market, and Turner recorded for many labels throughout the 1960s without further tangible success. These included "Eye to Eye" (Okeh, 1966). His final release was a song he wrote, "His Funeral, My Trial", in 1969. Turner died in Atlanta in 1984.

Notable songwriting credits

*" All Around the World", also known as "Grits Ain't Groceries" (Turner) *"Big John" (Turner) *"Get on the Right Track Baby" (Turner) *"Hey Doll Baby" (

Traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, Turner) *"Hold Your Loving" (Bernice Snelson, Turner) *"If It's Good" ( Julia Lee, Turner) *"

" (

, James McDougal, Turner) *"Little Girl Lost" (

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B.B ...

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his form ...

, Turner) *"Living in Misery" (Turner) *"Lotus Blossom" ( Julia Lee, Turner) *"People Sure Act Funny" ( Bobby Robinson, Turner) *"Soulville" (

Henry Glover Henry Bernard Glover (May 21, 1921 – April 7, 1991) was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gai ...

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

, Turner) *" Sticks and Stones" (Turner) *"Stop the Pain" (Turner) *"Tell It Like It Is" (Turner) *" Tell Me Why" (Turner)

Discography

Albums

*''Sound Off'' (1961),

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and te ...

Compilation albums

*''Soulville: Golden Classics'' (1990), Collectables Records *''Sound Off: The Jamie Masters'' (1994), Bear Family *''Titans of R&B'' (1998), Red Lightnin' ( UK) *''1949–1954'' (2005), Classics R&B

Chart singles

*"Return of Stagolee" ( King 5186) (April 1959), US R&B number 29 *"We Told You Not to Marry" (Glover 201) (December 1959), US Pop number 83 *"Sound-Off" ( Jamie 1174) (March 1961), US Pop number 77

References

External links

Comprehensive singles discography at Soulfulkindamusic.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Titus 1933 births 1984 deaths American blues singers American rhythm and blues musicians American rhythm and blues singers Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) East Coast blues musicians Jump blues musicians Musicians from Atlanta Writers from Atlanta 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters