SPOTLIGHT ON JOSH TURNER AT THE ARIZONA STATE FAIR IN PHOENIX,
ARIZONA
Photos by Glenda S. Paradee
Josh Turner performed at the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix, Arizona on October 26,
2014.He put on a fantastic show singing all his hits including, "Long Black
Train", "Would You Go With Me", and "Haywire".
More on Josh:
Turner was raised in Hannah, South Carolina. Growing up in the church, he founded
a gospel quartet called Thankful Hearts, where he sang bass, in addition to singing the
bass and baritone parts in choirs. In 1996, Turner developed a lesion on his right
vocal cord. Turner was examined by the Vanderbilt voice clinic, where doctors advised him
to let it heal on its own. Surgery was not needed, but he did have to rest his voice for a
year. While Turner rested his voice back at home, he learned classical vocal technique and
how to take care of his voice and avoid developing further problems. Turner states that he
"learned how to whistle really well during that year."
After high school, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music and enrolled in
Belmont University. After college, his fledgling career got a boost on Dec. 21, 2001
during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, when he debuted a song he wrote titled "Long
Black Train." He received a standing ovation in the middle of the song, then sang it
again for an encore.
2001-2004: Long Black Train
In 2003, Turner released his debut album, also entitled Long Black Train. Prior to its
release, Turner had released 7" vinyl singles of "She'll Go on You" and
"Long Black Train." Both singles featured Long Black Train album track
"Backwoods Boy" as a B-side. While neither "Backwoods Boy" nor
"She'll Go on You" were successful (the latter peaking at No. 46 on the country
charts), "Long Black Train" spent more than forty weeks on the Billboard country
charts, reaching a peak of No. 13 and receiving a gold certification. The third single,
"What It Ain't", was less successful, reaching No. 31.
2005-2006: Your Man
In early 2006, Turner released his second album, Your Man. The album's first single and
title track, "Your Man", was co-written by Jace Everett and released in late
2005. "Your Man" also climbed the charts slowly, eventually reaching No. 1 in
early 2006. Your Man was certified Gold by the RIAA four weeks after its release, and went
Platinum six months later.
"Would You Go with Me" was the second single released from Your Man. Like the
album's title track, "Would You Go with Me" also reached the top of the country
singles charts, holding that position for two weeks; it also reached No. 48 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Turner also performed it on the CMA Awards in November 2006.
Shortly after the album's release, a song called "Me and God" was released as
a single to Christian radio. A duet with bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley, the song also
featured members of the band Diamond Rio on background vocals. "Me and God"
reached a peak of No. 16 on the country charts.
In December 2006, the 49th Annual Grammy Awards nominations were announced. Turner
received nods for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and for Best Country Album. That
same month, during a featurette on CMT Insider showed Turner in the studio working on the
album. He mentioned that he wanted it to sound like music in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Turner performed at the Ryman Auditorium where a live album was recorded, singing a song
called, "Church in the Holler." Turner's album Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman
was recorded in April and is available exclusively through Cracker Barrel restaurants.
Turner, along with veteran songwriters Brett James and Don Schlitz, wrote a song
entitled "Say Yes"; recorded and released by singer Dusty Drake in 2007, the
song was a minor Top 40 country hit for Drake, peaking at No. 36.
2007-2008: Everything Is Fine
On September 29, 2007, while giving an award to Roy Clark on Clark's 20th anniversary
on the Grand Ole Opry, Josh was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was
inducted by Vince Gill on October 27, 2007. He is the second youngest member after Carrie
Underwood.
Turner's third studio album for MCA Nashville, titled Everything Is Fine, was released
on October 30, 2007. Its lead-off single, "Firecracker", became Turner's third
Top Ten hit on the country music charts, peaking at No. 2. The second single from
Everything Is Fine, a duet with Trisha Yearwood entitled "Another Try", was
released in late January 2008, peaking at No. 15. The title track was released as the
third single and peaked at No. 20. Everything Is Fine has been certified gold.
2009-2011: Haywire
At the end of June, Turner wrapped up recording his fourth album,Haywire. The lead-off
single, "Why Don't We Just Dance", which was released on August 12, 2009,
debuted at No. 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of September
5, 2009. The song went on to become Turner's third Number One hit, spending four
consecutive weeks at the top in February 2010. The album was released on February 9, 2010,
along with a deluxe version. "All Over Me" was released in April 2010 as the
album's second single; it became Turner's fourth Number One. On September 27, 2010, Turner
shot the video for "I Wouldn't Be a Man" in Nashville, which was the third
single from Haywire.
2012present: Punching Bag and untitled sixth studio album
Turner's fifth studio album, Punching Bag, was released via MCA Nashville on June 12,
2012 and preceded by the single "Time is Love". The song, written by Tom
Shapiro, Tony Martin, and Mark Nesler, was released digitally on December 20, 2011 and
went for radio adds on January 9. The song reached No. 2 but finished the year as the No.
1 country song of 2012 according to Billboard. The album's second single "Find Me a
Baby", was released to country radio on October 15, 2012, but it failed to make top
40 on the country charts.
Also in 2012, Turner released Live Across America with twelve of his songs recorded in
concert in different cities. This album was distributed through Cracker Barrel Turner
said, "Those are the most magical performances of each song." The first
single from Turner's sixth studio album, "Lay Low", was released to country
radio on September 1, 2014.
For more information on Josh Turner, go to his website: www.joshturner.com
Thanks For The Music Josh! |