Black Ace
Wiki Bio
Black Ace was the most frequently used stage name of American blues musician Babe Kyro Lemon Turner (b 21 December 1907, Hughes Springs, Texas – d 7 November 1972, Fort Worth, Texas), who was also known as B.K. Turner, Black Ace Turner or Babe Turner.
He was raised on the family farm, and taught himself to play guitar, performing in east Texas from the late 1920s on. During the early 1930s he began playing with Smokey Hogg and Buddy Woods, a Hawaiian-style guitarist who played with the instrument flat on his lap. Turner then bought a National steel guitar, and began playing what one later critic called "Hawaii meets the Delta," smooth and simple blues.
In 1937 Turner recorded six songs with Hogg and pianist Whistling Alex Moore for Chicago'sDecca Records in Dallas, including the blues "Black Ace". In the same year, he started a radio show in Fort Worth, using the cut as a theme song, and soon assumed the name.
In 1941 he appeared in The Blood of Jesus, an African-American movie produced by Spencer Williams Jr.. In 1943 he was drafted into the army, and gave up playing music for some years. However, in 1960, Arhoolie Records owner Chris Strachwitz persuaded him to record an album for his label. His last public performance was in a 1962 documentary, The Blues, and he died of cancer in 1972.
AllMusic
A solid guitarist and vocalist, Babe Turner AKA Black Ace built his own guitar as a child, then taught himself to play. He was also in a gospel choir in Hughes Springs, TX. Turner honed his skills playing at community functions during the '20s, then worked with Smokey Hogg at dances in Greenville, TX in the '30s. Hogg and Buddy Woods were frequent partners for Turner, who made several solo tours in the '30s and '40s. He appeared in the 1941 film The Blood of Jesus and 1962 movie The Blues. Turner had a show on Fort Worth radio station KFJZ from 1936 - 1941. He recorded for Decca in 1937. After a stint in the army during the early '40s, Turner's jobs were mostly non-musical, except for his film stints. He did make a 1960 LP for Arhoolie. Turner took his nickname from the 1936 recording "Black Ace."
Black Ace - Sweet Mama, From: Mandy39
Arhoolie Review
“In the late '30s, a Texan by the name of Babe Karo Lemon Turner released a single called `Black Ace Blues.' A Fort Worth radio station started to use the cut as a theme song and soon Turner assumed the moniker. Long before Jeff Healy piqued the music world's curiosity by playing guitar on his lap, Black Ace was playing a National steel guitar on his lap with a slide. He was one of only a few bluesmen who used this technique, the others being Kokomo Arnold and Black Ace's mentor, Oscar `Buddy' Woods. After only a few recordings in the '30s he remained dormant until Arhoolie Records' Chris Strachwitz ventured to his Fort Worth home in 1960 and brought the obscure bluesman back to the public's ear. Those recordings were originally issued the following year on Black Ace's only LP. With the fortunate advent of compact discs, we now have the pleasure of hearing the slide guitarist again some 30 years later. This disc features both the original sides from the '30s and those waxed in '60 including three never issued before. Except for one song left out from the '60s sessions, this is thus the complete Black Ace. Borrowing as much from Lonnie Johnson as Robert Johnson, Black Ace's style is much more city-like than the latter and less rough around the edges. While it is not as intense as Robert Johnson, it tends to be a little bit more listenable. Of the 70 minutes of music on this disc, almost all of it revolves around women, most of them bad ones. Even the Christmas songs `Christmas Time Blues' and `Santa Claus Blues,' beg not for better times or more money but, you guessed it, for the return of Black Ace's baby.
While his singing is impassioned and brooding, the real treat of Black Ace is his slide guitar playing. His Hawaii-meets-the-Delta playing style is both melodic and passionate, simple yet meaningful. A few instrumental numbers, `Bad Times Stomp,' `Ace's Guitar Blues' and `Ace's Guitar Breakdown,' focus on this aspect and leave questions as to just why this man is not openly enamored by today's guitarists like Ry Cooder and Eric Clapton. With the clear recording of this compact disc, that may change.”
(Scott Cooper —Santa Cruz Sentinel)
References
Discography
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