Phillips shipped the master off to Chicago’s Chess Records, and it ended up an R&B chart-topper for Jackie that summer. One of the songs the Kings of Rhythm waxed that fateful day was the blazing “Rocket ’88,’” sung by Brenston. “We were just excited that we were gonna record,” said Ike. Willie Kizart’s amplifier took a beating in the mishap, factoring into the distortion in his guitar work. The amps and things got wet,” said Turner. It was tied with the trunk open, and the bass on top of the car. “The drums, the stuff fell out of the car. The Kings of Rhythm journeyed up to Memphis in March of 1951 to make their debut sides at Sam Phillips’ fledgling studio. Raymond would do more of the Jimmy Liggins, Joe Liggins, and ‘Chicken Shack Boogie,’ that kind of stuff.” And Jackie would play more Louis Jordan’s kind of stuff. So would Jackie Brenston, but Jackie was more alto and baritone. But see, all of us was kids together, and whatever was hot on the jukebox, we would take it off note for note. Whatever was hot on the jukebox, that’s what we played. And then the ones that couldn’t read, we changed ourselves into the Kings of Rhythm because we kept up with the jukebox. They all could read music, and they played more jazz. “The ones that could read music, they played more jazz when we broke up into two groups. And then we had the Kings of Rhythm,” he explained. We had one big band, which was the Tophatters. But Pinetop was the main one.”ĭuring the late ‘40s, Ike constructed a jump blues combo known as the Kings of Rhythm, their ranks including saxists Jackie Brenston and Raymond Hill. All those guys had a big influence on me. “Then along came Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. And from there, that started my musical life. “We went over there, and boy, these guys-this guy was playing piano so fast, man, I couldn’t hardly see his fingers! And I said, ‘Damn, man! I wanna do that!’ Lane said, ‘Me too!’ Anyway, we started talkin’ to Pinetop, and he started teaching us different little boogie-woogie things. “Ernest Lane and I was the same age, and we was comin’ home from school and we heard this noise,” said the late Turner. in Clarksdale, Mississippi on November 5, 1931, Ike gravitated to the piano long before he picked up a guitar, inspired by boogie specialist Pinetop Perkins rehearsing with the King Biscuit Boys in Ike’s childhood buddy Ernest Lane’s basement. Louis R&B scene long before Tina ever entered the equation, but there’s no doubt that she put them over the top. Ike and his hard-driving Kings of Rhythm were highly successful on the St. His wildhair philosophy toward the recording industry adds up to a discographical nightmare today, but leads to mighty fun listening all the same. Ike produced masters at a prodigious pace, peddling the finished product to any and all interested labels, believing anything resembling an exclusive contract was a trifle to be ignored. But Sunset Boulevard’s trawl through the duo’s ‘70s deep catalog underscores just how stunningly potent they were in the studio. Had it not been for Ike’s offstage excesses, the duo might have permanently conquered the universe together instead of Tina needing desperately to escape in 1976 to do her own thing. Her gritty, soul-steeped pipes brought the best out of Ike’s own compositions before they proceeded to focus on an extraordinarily wide variety of covers that encompassed everything from Creedence Clearwater Revival to the Beatles and Stones. As the Ikettes prowled the stage catlike around her and a dour Ike peeled off shards of blues-kissed licks on his Fender Stratocaster in the background, Tina epitomized raw, molten sex appeal. It’s also undeniable that Ike & Tina Turner, as a unit, may well have been the most electrifying live act of the 1960s. Tina Turner’s retirement from public view was perhaps more melancholy than most her heroic ‘80s solo comeback after breaking up with much-maligned hubby Ike had represented an empowering victory that inspired several generations of faithful fans. It’s always bittersweet when a legendary performer decides it’s time to call it a career. Show Mr.Ike & Tina Turner - The Bolic Sound Sessions Extended Liner Notes What is your favorite song from The Big T.N.T. Show, released in 1966, features 29 songs from artists like The Byrds, Petula Clark, The Ronettes and Roger Miller. Includes Ray Charles, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Ike and Tina Turner, Donovan, The Lovin' Spoonful, and several more. Live performances by some of the top rock-and-roll acts of the mid 60s.
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