Joe Lynn Turner

For other uses, see Joe Lynn.

Joe Lynn Turner
Turner performing with Over the Rainbow in Sweden - 2010
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito
Also known as	JLT
Born	(1951-08-02) 2 August 1951 Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Hard rock, pop rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, accordion
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Elektra, Frontiers
Associated acts	Cem Köksal, Fandango, Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Deep Purple, Mother's Army, Brazen Abbot, Hughes Turner Project, Sunstorm, The Jan Holberg Project, Avantasia
Website	Official website

Joe Lynn Turner (August 2, 1951), is an American singer, known for his works with hard rock band Rainbow. During his career, Turner fronted pop rock band Fandango, had the short-lived collaboration as the vocalist for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Deep Purple. From the late 1990s, he continued to perform in a large number of solo albums and other studio projects, where he has sung for Mother's Army, Brazen Abbot, Hughes Turner Project, Sunstorm, and The Jan Holberg Project. He played the accordion as a child, grew up with an appreciation for classic R&B and became an accomplished guitarist in his early teens.

Career

Born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito to an Italian family, in high school, Turner formed the band Ezra, performing original material and cover songs by such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Free, Queen, and Deep Purple. In 1976, Turner enjoyed his first taste of national success with Fandango, a band described as an eclectic mix of R&B, pop, country, jazz and melodic rock. He sang and played guitar on all of the band's four albums. Fandango toured with numerous artists including The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Beach Boys and Billy Joel.

After Fandango split, He received a phone call from guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. This resulted in an audition and Blackmore was so impressed that he immediately enlisted Turner in Rainbow. Rainbow, while popular in Europe and Japan, had not reached the same level of success in the US before Turner joined. With his contributions (largely considered more pop oriented), the group was catapulted to a new level of American success. Several tracks from albums with Turner reached the Top 20 on rock radio charts in the early- to mid-80's. "Stone Cold" became Rainbow's first Top 40 hit and the band's videos were played on heavy rotation on MTV. Turner recorded three studio albums with Rainbow: Difficult to Cure, Straight Between the Eyes, and Bent Out of Shape, which featured the single "Street of Dreams". Rainbow disbanded in 1984.

In 1985, after the break-up of Rainbow, Turner released a solo album, Rescue You, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen and The Cars. He co-wrote most of the songs with keyboardist Al Greenwood (Foreigner). The first single, "Endlessly," received extensive airplay on radio and MTV. Tours with Night Ranger and Pat Benatar and an acting role in the movie Blue Deville followed.

In 1987 Turner also supplied backing vocals to the Michael Bolton album The Hunger. He appeared on the tracks "Hot Love" and "Gina".

In 1988, he joined Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and recorded the album Odyssey. The brief tour that followed the release of the album included a concert in Leningrad which was recorded and then released as Trial by Fire (1989). In 1989 he left the band to join Deep Purple by replacing Ian Gillan, making him the British band's fourth singer. Turner recorded just one album, Slaves & Masters (1990). The album peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard Charts, and a relatively successful tour followed in 1991. But Turner was removed from the band in late 1992, with the return of Gillan.

Turner has been working mainly on his prolific solo career since mid-1990 and has worked with the Finnish rock band Brazen Abbot, led by Bulgarian guitarist Nikolo Kotzev, and with Glenn Hughes under the Hughes Turner Project name. Turner also participated in Nikolo Kotzev's rock opera Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus. He has also put out three albums under the band name Mother's Army, featuring Jeff Watson, Bob Daisley and Carmine Appice. In 2005 Turner has performed on the Russian studio project Michael Men Project's album Made in Moscow, along with his colleague Glenn Hughes. In 2006, he took on the very successful studio project Sunstorm, with bassist Dennis Ward of German rock band Pink Cream 69. Turner was a guest in the Voices of Classic Rock shows. Turner also appeared as a headliner with AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson on the Classic Rock Cares charity tour which was organized by long time friend Steve Luongo, who was the drummer/producer of The John Entwistle Band.

On August 4, 2006 Turner gave a special performance of Rainbow songs with the New Japan Philharmonic at the Metropolitan Art Space in Tokyo, Japan. In 2008 he has formed Over the Rainbow, a tribute band composed of former Rainbow musicians, Paul Morris-Keyboardist/94-97, and Ritchie Blackmore's son Jürgen R. Blackmore on guitar.

He is currently a member of the touring band Big Noize, featuring alongside guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Phil Soussan, and drummer Vinny Appice. Turner recently joined Norwegian group The Jan Holberg Project, which will release their new album Sense of Time in 2011.

In the summer 2012, he and the Legends Voice of Rock did a gig at the Golden Times Festival in Degerfors, Sweden.

In 2013 he sang a role on the Avantasia-album "The Mystery of Time", released in March.

March and April of 2013 saw Turner Perform as a Special Guest Artist for the Las Vegas show "Raiding the Rock Vault" at the LVH Hotel and Casino.

Discography

Main articles: Rainbow discography and Deep Purple discography

Solo

• Rescue You (1985)
• Nothing's Changed (1995)
• Under Cover (1997, cover album)
• Hurry Up and Wait (1998)
• Under Cover 2 (1999, cover album)
• Waiting for a Girl Like You (1999, EP)
• Holy Man (2000)
• Challenge Them All (2001, EP)
• Slam (2001)
• JLT (2003)
• The Usual Suspects (2005)
• Fire Without Flame (2005, with Akira Kajiyama)
• Second Hand Life (2007)
• Live in Germany (2008)

With Fandango

• Fandango - Fandango (1977)
• Fandango - Last Kiss (1978)
• Fandango - One Night Stand (1979)
• Fandango - Cadillac (1980)
• Fandango - The Best of Fandango (1999, Japan only)

With Rainbow

• Rainbow - Difficult to Cure (1981)
• Rainbow - Straight Between the Eyes (1982)
• Rainbow - Bent Out of Shape (1983)
• Rainbow - Finyl Vinyl (1986)

With Yngwie J. Malmsteen

• Yngwie Malmsteen - Odyssey (1988)
• Yngwie Malmsteen - Trial by Fire (1989)
• Yngwie Malmsteen - Inspiration (1996)

With Deep Purple

• Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters (1990)

With Mother's Army

• Mother's Army - Mother's Army (1993)
• Mother's Army - Planet Earth (1997)
• Mother's Army - Fire on the Moon (1998)

With Brazen Abbot

• Brazen Abbot - Eye of the Storm (1996)
• Brazen Abbot - Bad Religion (1997)
• Brazen Abbot - Guilty as Sin (2003)
• Brazen Abbot - A Decade of Brazen Abbot (2004, live album)
• Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection (2005)
• Brazen Abbot - Live At Berkrock (DVD) (2008)

With Hughes Turner Project

• Hughes Turner Project - HTP (2002)
• Hughes Turner Project - Live in Tokyo (2002)
• Hughes Turner Project - HTP 2 (2003)

With Sunstorm

• Sunstorm - Sunstorm (2006)
• Sunstorm - House of Dreams (2009)
• Sunstorm - Emotional Fire (2012)

Side projects

• Michael Men Project - Made in Moscow (2005, with Glenn Hughes)
• Cem Köksal featuring Joe Lynn Turner - Live! (2007, DVD, with Cem Köksal)
• The Jan Holberg Project - Sense of Time (2011)
• The Jan Holberg Project - At Your Service (2013)

Guest appearances

• The Heavenly Kid Soundtrack (1985) - "Heartless"
• Don Johnson - Heartbeat (1986) - backing vocals
• Michael Bolton - The Hunger (1987) - backing vocals
• Cher - Cher (1987) - backing vocals
• John Waite - Rovers Return (1987) - backing vocals
• Lee Aaron - Lee Aaron (1987) - co-writer on "Powerline"
• Jimmy Barnes - Freight Train Heart (1987) - co-writer of "Walk On"
• Bonfire - Fireworks (1987) - co-writer of "Sleeping All Alone"
• TNT - Intuition (1988) - backing vocals
• Bonnie Tyler - Notes from America aka Hide Your Heart (1988) - backing vocals
• Don Johnson - Let It Roll (1989) - backing vocals
• Mick Jones - Mick Jones (1989)
• Alexa - Alexa (1989)
• Paul Carrack - Groove Approved (1989)
• Billy Joel - Storm Front (1989) - backing vocals
• Slyce - Slyce (1990)
• Riot - The Privilege of Power (1990) - vocals on "Killer"
• Michael Bolton - Time, Love and Tenderness (1991) - backing vocals
• Kathy Troccoli - Pure Attraction (1991) - backing vocals
• Lita Ford - Dangerous Curves (1991) - co-writer of "Little Too Early", backing vocals
• Hellcats - Hellcats 2 (1992)
• TNT - Realized Fantasies (1992) - backing vocals
• Taylor Dayne - Soul Dancing (1993) - backing vocals
• Bloodline - Bloodline (1994)
• L.A. Blues Authority vol. 5 - Cream of the Crop (1994 compilation of covers by Blues Bureau International) - "Sittin' on Top of the World"
• Deep Purple Tribute - Smoke on the Water (1994) - "Lazy"
• Nerds - Poultry in Motion (1995)
• Black Night: Tribute to Deep Purple (1995) - "Black Night", "Woman from Tokyo", "Stormbringer", "Speed King"
• Yngwie Malmsteen - Inspiration (1996) - "Pictures of Home", "Demon's Eye"
• Toshi Kankawa - Toshi Kankawa (1996)
• Mojo Brothers - Mojo Brothers (1997)
• Thunderbolt: A Tribute to AC/DC (1997) - "Back in Black"
• Vick LeCar - Never Stranded (1998)
• Stuart Smith - Heaven & Earth (1998)
• Niji Densetsu - Rainbow Tribute (1998)
• Randy Rhoads Tribute (1999) - "Mr Crowley", "Over the Mountain", "Diary of a Madman"
• Leslie West - As Phat as It Gets (1999)
• Fire Woman: A Tribute to The Cult (2000) - "The Rain"
• Bat Head Soup: A Tribute to Ozzy (2000) - "Hellraiser"
• Tribute to Van Halen (2000) - "Dance the Night Away"
• Nikolo Kotzev - Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus (2001)
• Voices for America - Special WTC EP (2001)
• Aerosmith Tribute - Let the Tribute Do the Talking (2001) - "Let the Music Do the Talking"
• Rock Ballads - WTC Benefit (2001)
• Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute (2001) - "Fat Bottomed Girls"
• Terry Brock - Freedom (2001)
• Stuart Smith - Heaven & Earth - 2 (2001)
• The Tour Bus Radio Show - The Road Trip (2002)
• Mountain - Mystic Fire (2002)
• Mr. Big Tribute - Influences and Connections (2003) - "Colorado Bulldog", "Daddy Brother Lover Little Boy"
• Murray Weinstock - Tails of the City (2003)
• Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute (2004) - "Nothing Else Matters"
• Karl Cochran's Voodooland - Give Me Air (2004)
• Eddie Ojeda - Axes 2 Axes (2005)
• Numbers from the Beast (2005) - "2 Minutes to Midnight"
• Michael Schenker Group - Heavy Hitters (2005) - "All Shook Up"
• Blackmore's Night - The Village Lanterne (2006) - bonus track version of "Street of Dreams"
• Joe Lynn Turner & New Japan Philarmonic - "A Tribute to Rainbow" (2006)
• Vitalij Kuprij - Revenge (2006) - "Follow Your Heart"
• Icarus Witch - Songs for the Lost (2007)
• Jimi Jamison - Crossroads Moment (2008)
• We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year (2008) - "Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree"
• Howard Leese - Secret Weapon (2009) - "Alive Again", "Hot to Cold"
• MelodicRock.com, Vol. 7 - Forces of Dark & Light (2010) - "This Is Who I Am" - premiere song
• Pushking - The World as We Love It (2011) - "Kukarracha", "Head Shooter"
• Robin Beck - The Great Escape (2011) - "That All Depends"
• Who Are You: An All Star Tribute To The Who (2012) - "The Seeker"
• Avantasia - The Mystery of Time (2013)

External links

• Official Joe Lynn Turner website