Cat. No. VV 1316: IKE TURNER AND HIS KINGS OF RHYTHM ~ TALENT SCOUT BLUES. ACE RECORDS CHD 244.

USED VINYL RECORD. PART OF A COLLECTION NOW UP FOR SALE.

LONG BEFORE THE DAYS OF IKE AND TINA TURNER, IKE HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A BAND LEADER AND ENTREPRENEUR. A NATIVE OF CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI. IKE BEGAN PLAYING PIANO AND GUITAR AS A CHILD. AS A TEENAGER, IKE JOINED A LOCAL RHYTHM ENSEMBLE CALLED THE TOPHATTERS, WHO PLAYED AROUND CLARKSDALE. MEMBERS OF THE BAND WERE CLARKSDALE MUSICIANS AND INCLUDED IKE'S SCHOOL FRIENDS RAYMOND HILL, EUGENE FOX AND CLAYTON LOVE. THE TOPHATTERS HAD OVER 30 MEMBERS, BUT THEY BROKE UP INTO TWO GROUPS AFTER SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR. ONE FACTION WANTED TO PLAY JAZZ MUSIC AND BECAME THE DUKES OF SWING. THE OTHER BAND LED BY IKE BECAME THE KINGS OF RHYTHM AS THEY WANTED TO PLAY BLUES, BOOGIE WOOGIE AND ROY BROWN, JIMMY LIGGINS AND ROY MILTON.

THE KINGS OF RHYTHM COMPRISED OF IKE (PIANO), RAYMOND HILL, EUGENE FOX, JACKIE BRENSTON (SAXES), WILLIE KIZART (GUITAR), JESSE KNIGHT JR. (BASS) AND WILLIE SIMS (DRUMS). IKE KEPT THE NAME THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, ALTHOUGH IT WENT THROUGH LINEUP CHANGES OVER TIME. B.B. KING HELPED THEM TO GET A STEADY WEEKEND GIG AND RECOMMENDED THEM TO SAM PHILLIPS AT SUN RECORDS. AT THIS POINT THEY RECORDED A 'JUMP' NUMBER OF IKE'S "ROCKET 88". IT WAS ISSUED AS BY JACKIE AND HIS DELTA CATS, FEATURING JACKIE AS THE VOCALIST. THE DISC TOOK OFF, REACHING NUMBER 1 IN THE R&B CHARTS. AT THIS POINT JACKIE LEFT THE KINGS OF RHYTHM AND STRUCK OUT ON HIS OWN. IKE BECAME HEAVILY INVOLVED AS A&R MAN FOR MODERN RECORDS.

BY JUNE, 1952 IKE'S DUTIES WITH MODERN WERE NEGLIGIBLE AND HE RETURNED TO CLARKSDALE AND REFORMED THE KINGS OF RHYTHM. IN MID-1954 IKE MOVED THE BAND TO ST. LOUIS WHERE THEY BECAME "THE BAND". MEMBERS AT THAT TIME INCLUDED JOHNNY O'NEAL, RAYMOND HILL, BONNIE TURNER, JESSE KNIGHT, EDDIE JONES (TENOR), GENE WASHINGTON (DRUMS) AND BILLY GAYLES ON VOCALS. WHILST IKE CARRYING OUT HIS DUTIES WITH MODERN HE WAS ALSO WAS PRODUCING SESSIONS FOR MANY ARTISTS AS THIS RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS. 

THE IKE TURNER LEGACY ROLLS ON WITH A NEW CACHE OF MASTERS FROM THE SEEMINGLY IN EXHAUSTIBLE MODERN ARCHIVES. MOST OF THE TRACKS FEATURED ON THIS RELEASE WERE UNCOVERED WHEN ACE RECORDS WERE SEARCHING THROUGH THE VAULTS OF MODERN RECORDS. THIS COLLECTION SPANS TWO DECADES OF WITH SIDE 1 CONCENTRATING ON IKE'S 50s PRODUCTIONS IN MEMPHIS AND CLARKSDALE WHILST SIDE 2 REVEALS A MARVELLOUS 1964 BLUES SESSION RECORDED IN LOS ANGELES AND NEW ORLEANS.

THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED BY ACE RECORDS OUT OF ENGLAND IN 1988. THE SLEEVE IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH ONLY MINOR SIGNS OF WEAR. A COUPLE OF SMALL CREASES AND VERY, VERY MINOR WEAR ON THE CORNERS. THE RECORD IS GRADED AS VIRTUALLY MINT CONDITION.

TRACK LISTING: Side 1 - A Woman Just Won't Do (Billy Gayles) / I'm Tired Of Being Dogged Around (Billy Gayles) / Why Did You Leave Me (Lover Boy) / Nobody Seems To Want Me (Lover Boy) / I Miss You So (Dennis Binder) / Nobody Wants Me (DennIs Binder) / Everybody's Talking (Mary Sue) / Love Is A Gamble (Mary Sue). Side 2 - Feelin' Good (Jimmy Thomas) / I Smell Trouble (Jimmy Thomas) / Five Long Years (Tina Turner) / Mother-In-Law Blues (Jimmy Thomas) / Dust My Blues (Bobby John) / That's Alright (Vernon Guy) / Twistin' The Strings (Ike Turner).

12" VINYL RECORD