Titus Turner
Biography
Titus Turner (May 1, 1933 – September 13, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues and East Coast blues singer and songwriter. His best remembered recordings were "We Told You Not To Marry" and "Sound-Off," plus he wrote "Leave My Kitten Alone," and "Tell Me Why."
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Turners debut single release in 1950 was "Where Are You" on Aladdin Records, billed as Mr. T and his Band. In 1951 his follow-up "Stop Trying to Make a Fool Of Me" appeared on Regal Records. He followed this a year later on Okeh, issuing eight tracks including "Got So Much Trouble." He had a spell with Mercury Recordss imprint, Wing, but was not commercially successful until 1955, when Little Willie John recorded Turners "All Around the World". The track, re-titled "Grits Aint Groceries," was covered by Little Milton.
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Turner and John then co-wrote "Leave My Kitten Alone", later covered by Johnny Preston, The Beatles and Elvis Costello. In 1959 the King label issued Turners first hit single, "The Return of Stagolee," an answer song to Lloyd Prices "Stagger Lee". He repeated the trick with his next release, "We Told You Not To Marry," an antidote to Prices "Im Gonna Get Married." In 1960, Ray Charles recorded the Turner song, "Sticks and Stones", which has also seen many cover versions over the years. By 1961 Turner had his biggest solo success with "Sound-Off," which came from the only album he ever released. The track was described by Joel Whitburn in Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 as a "popular US Army marching drill chant," which was originally a #3 hit for Vaughn Monroe in 1951.
Later singles failed to find a market, and Turner recorded for a plethora of labels throughout the 1960s without further tangible success. These included "Eye to Eye" (Okeh, 1966). In 1969 his self-penned track "His Funeral, My Trial" was his final release.
Turner died in Atlanta in 1984.
Notable songwriting credits
"All Around the World" - also known as "Grits Aint Groceries" (Turner)
"Big John" (Turner)
"Get on the Right Track Baby" (Turner)
"Hey Doll Baby" (Traditional/Turner)
"Hold Your Loving" (Bernice Snelson, Turner)
"If Its Good" (Julia Lee/Turner)
"Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John/James McDougal/Turner)
"Little Girl Lost" (Luther Dixon/Lou Harrison/Turner)
"Living in Misery" (Turner)
"Lotus Blossom" (Julia Lee/Turner)
"People Sure Act Funny" (Bobby Robinson/Turner)
"Soulville" (Henry Glover/Morris Levy/Dinah Washington/Turner)
"Sticks and Stones" (Turner)
"Stop The Pain" (Turner)
"Tell It Like It Is" (Turner)
"Tell Me Why" (Turner) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.