-Ike Turner proved to be a challenging and polarizing character, considered moody, irascible and aggressive, even towards his partner.
-Despite all his contradictions, Ike Turner the musician is considered an influential figure in R'n'R, a talent scout, producer, pianist and pioneering guitar stylist.
-Bear Family Records® gathers the very best early rockers and instrumentals by this brilliant musician on a CD in our Rocks series.
-Chicago music historian Bill Dahl has studied Turner's life and work in great depth and describes the significance of the R'n'R eccentric in the illustrated and detailed liner notes.

Sometimes you have to separate the man from the music-seldom a wiser course of action than in the case of Ike Turner. No matter your feelings regarding the man himself, the recordings he made during the 1950s rocked with an unbridled vengeance, whether Ike was laying down supple boogie piano underpinnings or whammy bar-laden guitar magic. This collection largely concentrates on Turner's pre-Tina years, when his band, The Kings of Rhythm, operated like a well-oiled machine and Ike was the picture of polished professionalism. He and The Kings bounced from one label to the next (Chess, Modern, Federal, Cobra and Sue are all amply represented), spotlighting an array of extraordinary vocalists. Many of them are showcased on this set, beginning with Jackie Brenston's immortal Rocket '88,' a 1951 R&B chart-topper and a genuine rock and roll landmark. Dennis Binder, Billy Gayles, Clayton Love, Tommy Hodge, and Jimmy Thomas all had big, booming voices when they fronted Ike's combo - a must, since Turner was going insane behind them on his lethal axe. That was especially true on the band' 1956-57 Federal sides; I'm Tore Up, Sad As A Man Can Be and Gonna Wait For My Chance are downright intimidating in their rollicking intensity. This is truly some hellraising stuff!

Track Listing

• Just One More Time
• Much Later
• Matchbox (Tommy Hodges: vocals)
• Hey – Hey
• Sad As A Man Can Be
• The Groove
• (I Know) You Don't Love Me
• The Rooster
• Rocket „88“
• Box Top
• Jack Rabbit
• Early Times
• The Big Question
• Hoo-Doo Say
• Trouble Up The Road
• Peg Leg Woman
• It's Gonna Work Out Fine
• Katanga
• Do You Mean It
• I'm Tore Up
• Steel Guitar Rag (Square Dance)
• She Made My Blood Run Cold
• Ho-Ho
• That's All I Need
• Gonna Wait For My Chance
• No Coming Back
• Walking Down The Aisle
• Go To It
• Do Right Baby
• Lookin' For My Baby
• Potatoe Mash
• In Your Eyes Baby
• Loosely

Additional Details

Label: Bear Family Records

Genre: Pop/Rock

Run Time: 79:00 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 10/04/24

UPC: 4000127176790