| Rocks The Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll, R&B, Blues | |||
| Label | Crown Records | |||
| Producer | Ike Turner | |||
| Ike Turner chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Rocks The Blues is the first album credited to musician Ike Turner. Released in 1963 from Crown Records, it contains mostly previously released singles from the 1950s.
After the release of "Rocket 88" in 1951, Ike Turner became a session musician and production assistant for the Bihari brothers at Modern Records. They also contracted him as a talent scout to exploit his connections in the Delta Blues scene. Unaware of songwriter's royalties, Turner was also paid to write new material which they copyrighted under their own names. [2] A majority of the tracks on Rocks The Blues were written by Turner, but credited to him and the Bihari brothers. The Biharis were not songwriters, they used pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Julius Bihari was credited as Jules Taub, Joseph Bihari as Joe Josea, and Saul Bihari as Sam Ling. [3]
The album starts off with the blues rock instrumental "Hey Miss Tina" and culminates with a nearly 9-minute blues medley titled "All The Blues, All The Time" for the closing song. Dennis Binder is the lead vocalist on "I Miss You So" and "Nobody Wants Me." [4] "Cubano Jump," "Loosely," "Cuban Getaway," and "Go To It" which were originally released on Flair Records in 1954, have a different title on this album. [2] [5]
Rocks The Blues was released on Crown Records, a subsidiary of Modern Records. By the time the album was released in 1963, Turner had already had a string of hit records as half of the R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner.
Rocks The Blues was reissued by P-Vine Records as a 2-CD compilation in 2003. It features many more recordings from Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm. [4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hey Miss Tina" (previously titled "Cubano Jump") | Joe Josea, Ike Turner | 2:13 |
| 2. | "Stringin' Along" (previously titled "Go To It") | Jules Taub, Sam Ling | 2:24 |
| 3. | "I Miss You So (vocal: Dennis Binder)" | Joe Josea, Ike Turner | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Nobody Wants Me (vocal: Dennis Binder)" | Joe Josea, Ike Turner | 2:37 |
| 5. | "The Way You Used To Treat Me (vocal: Ike Turner)" | Joe Josea, Ike Turner | 2:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bayou Rock" (previously titled "Cuban Getaway") | Joe Josea, Ike Turner | 3:13 |
| 2. | "The Wild One" (previously titled "Loosely") | Jules Taub, Sam Ling | 2:31 |
| 3. | "All The Blues, All The Time" (Instrumental Medley) | 8:44 |
Songs included in "All The Blues, All The Time" medley:
"Feelin' Good" by Little Junior Parker's Blue Flames
"Love My Baby" by Little Junior Parker's Blue Flames
"Please Love Me" by B.B. King and His Orchestra
"Boogie Chillen" by John Lee Hooker
"Dust My Broom" by Robert Johnson; also recorded by Elmore James
"Rockin' and Rollin'" aka "Rock Me Baby" by Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson; also recorded by B.B. King
"Hoochie Coochie Man" by Willie Dixon; also recorded by Muddy Waters
"Woke Up This Morning" by B.B. King and His Orchestra
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. An early pioneer of fifties rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
Arthur Alexander was an American Country Soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries." Alexander's songs were covered by such stars as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Otis Redding, Tina Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Kings of Rhythm are an American rhythm and blues and soul group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has undergone considerable line-up changes over time.
Modern Records was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern was one of the big R&B labels with artists including Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee Hooker. The label released some of the most influential blues and R&B records of the 1940s and 1950s.
The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers were significant figures in the process that transformed rhythm and blues into rock and roll, which appealed to white audiences in the 1950s.
"All I Could Do Was Cry" is a doo-wop/rhythm and blues single recorded in 1960 and released that same year by singer Etta James. It written for James by Chess songwriter Billy Davis, Berry Gordy and his sister Gwen Gordy. The song was said to be inspired by James' former boyfriend Harvey Fuqua dating Davis' former girlfriend, who was Gwen. Gordy and Fuqua later married the same year the song was recorded, which likely added to the tension in James' bluesy vocals. The song eventually peaked at number 2 on the R&B charts and number 33 on the pop charts. James would later re-record the song in the early nineties.
The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner is the debut album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on the Sue Records in February 1961. The album is noted for containing the duo's debut single "A Fool in Love" and their follow-up singles "I Idolize You" and "I'm Jealous."
"You Know I Love You" is a song written and recorded by B.B. King. Released on RPM Records in 1952, it was King's second No. 1 single on the Billboard R&B chart. King's friend and collaborator Ike Turner played piano on the original recording. A version of "You Know I Love You" was included on King's debut album Singin' The Blues in 1956.
"The Hunter" is a blues song first recorded by Albert King in 1967 for his landmark album Born Under a Bad Sign. It was written by Stax Records' house band, Booker T. and the MGs, and Carl Wells. Along with "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Crosscut Saw", "The Hunter" is one of King's best-known and most recorded songs. In 1969, Ike & Tina Turner had top 40 hit with the tune on the R&B singles chart.
Outta Season is a 1969 album by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner, released on Blue Thumb Records in the US and Liberty Records in the UK. The album contains their signature live song "I've Been Loving You Too Long."
Bolic Sound Studios was a recording studio complex in Inglewood, California. It was built by musician Ike Turner in 1970, and remained in operation until it burned down in 1981.
Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show is a live album by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner released on Warner Bros. Records in 1965. In 1967, The Ike & Tina Turner Show – Vol. 2, consisting of recordings from the same shows was released on Loma Records.
Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live is the first live album by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner released on Kent Records in 1964.
Let Me Touch Your Mind is a studio album by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner released on United Artists Records in 1973.
Get It – Get It is an album by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner released on Cenco Records circa 1966. The album contains two previously released singles. "Strange," written by Billy Preston was released from Ike Turner's own label Sonja Records in 1964, and a live version of "I Can't Believe What You Say " was released from Kent Records in 1964. The latter single reached No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track "Get It – Get It" was released as a single from Cenco in 1967.
"Good Bye, So Long" is a song written by Ike Turner. It was originally released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1965.
This article contains information about albums and singles released by of American musician and bandleader Ike Turner.
Maxayn Lewis is an American soul singer, musician, songwriter, and producer. Under her birth name Paulette Parker, her career began in the 1960s as member of the Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In the 1970s, Lewis sang lead in the band Maxayn with her then-husband Andre Lewis. She was described as "a cross between Aretha Fraklin and Roberta Flack." Later, the group morphed to Mandré. Lewis is also a prolific backing vocalist. She has sung with various acts, including The Gap Band, Donna Summer, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Bonnie Raitt, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Smokey Robinson, Ricky Martin, and Britney Spears.
Earl Forest was an American musician and a member of the Memphis-based R&B coalition called the Beale Streeters, which included Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Roscoe Gordon. Forest had a hit record in 1953 with "Whoopin' And Hollerin'" on Duke Records. He also recorded for Meteor Records and Flair Records.