Rock and Roll; Interview with Ike Turner [Part 2 of 3]

Just know that I came from there. No no you do you know some people who was did man around me and one of my lady took a paddle to get you for what you didn't do at the Mississippi. But you're from Clarksdale down a lot of those back in the day but I don't know who they were. Hadn't even a little water. I don't remember you know otherwise that would just ban somebody I didn't like the way they sound and I would get their name and phone number and then when a bare brother was coming I would take them to take the camera like. They were from Texas can I take.

Will money a lot of love that they would have got but I mean I said again I'm all you guys name but the back you know the man goes God man let him James get it as a good example. Tell me. He was he basically because he that's it I mean he is here to be the guy like 60 something man and he don't have know it was the way he played it they got to lay out like they got a layer a layer and then like three miles away his guitar not even elected. He gets he's a man known as get and he said and he said now he's playing to get I would that piece of metal on it and you got to hear it three miles away and him stopping to feed me another guy would a piece a rope and he put it on his done rope and you can eat at three in four miles away man and it is unbalanced like.

Where you were you know the next moment I really want to what is that you know. No one takes it. I want to take a. Turn. We're doing a part of our salmon rocket. What did you heard about that recording and you never knew that much about what happened. Left Clarksdale and disappeared and I don't see him anymore.

And we were playing in green. I put my load band together sometime later hyperdrive any time we were league reviewed on our way back last year between 5:00 in the morning we passed about Chambers Mississippi. I would see all these cars down about a row what I have seen the would be beginning but I never connected it would rally would rally. I never knew it was the same that its a phantom when I you know the kids Id say hey man lets you play in this club so we all decided it was 11 of us man and a 44. We went in there and it will be but it would be playing in a club so let us play a song we call our second we just just doing me and you know. He let us play so we did whatever was hot on jukebox in those days. So he let me set up appointment with you for you at the record company that I'm with.

And we say Yeah really. So we demand more strongly and if anyone wrote on our way to Memphis we would have nothing original at all he said. Just like on a Sunday. So he said he was going to set it up with which he was referring to was the first to come up. Because what I saw Monday Sam Phillips Co. And he wanted to come up to Memphis because we would have to do a lot of stuff to get arrested baseball not the topic. But anyway we went there. This is when I met samples they're not in it. I don't know that much. It's just that he after me. He would record and you had a date in those days gone between Chess Records and modern record. Get there with the money first even if you come in and you're like we recorded a morning for chess. It was just give us the money and

give worked out I'm what I'm going to put some of them in a given to give us a moment and he got the same song for him you know and so anyway something went wrong. Yes. Oh I want to one take night. Yeah I never knew that much about him except that it was I met Mahmoud Once I mean to be Arab brothers Joe Barry Barry. It is an exciting life for me and you know so anyway I don't

think I ever did it will never sound like he wanted something done piano that you can find somebody you know a fan of we call him finest finest jazz player. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well this guy is so bad on piano is unbelievable when you get down to actually playing with feeling. He didn't have to agree or feel to play stuff. Like I woke up this morning three o'clock in the morning. All this of we could just have at the YMCA. Oh I forget. Well just record it. We just get somebody about

somebody. And they had a piano studio we have portable equipment. So I've heard the story that when you drive when you drive an amplifier fell off the car. Oh you know what yeah. Don't I wait a minute is there when it would stand upright upright bass it blew off the top of the bass drum come out the trunk and got nowhere up in the tubes got it what it was a further we'd have to act.

What do you do when we got you down but I think based on that. That's a good ta do it because we were going to do it. They said we couldn't do it because the bass was but recording Sam. Well I don't want to sound like I think thinking about this. I never really thought about him having talent as a musician. I think like he had talent like annoying song lyrics. You know I think I think he laid it worked in the front I forget the name. You know if you've got a song they would go down the song in and

put it. But what they what they would like you know like today me in my head is totally around other way. It's not just typical of me to think like like like like where my head was at that time with somebody come in and you know some people get their name on your record and they put it. And I just to get the title of it you know did it well where to me if you write a song you write it if you can write it you know to have you write and you know well back then Master would being taken people give him credit for stuff that they wouldn't say that they say I'm not talking to. Iraqis even I just know that a couple songs that were written he annihilated in the front day but said there were papers and stuff. But. Oh I know I can answer that. He has talent. Sam Phillips talent is as an electrical in the record and stuff like that. He's good at it. New and music playing music

even to comment on this. You know a lot of people call rock the first rock n roll record. Yeah I think that's true. I don't know. I have no idea if you know I don't really know it. You know. Like like people can or categorize music. I don't because of the word man. It kind of you can see it and I consider ID to be and I can play you Jay as I can play country and play anything you know. And then to me it's all the same it's just you know other woods of the country gas thing in it. He's going to slang like oh you know you like that you know you're a bit of a black guy standing. You know like like the demon in a language I would say hey I need to take the place of the what that means I need another one to take the place of I'm WHERE WHERE

WHERE WHERE WHERE WHERE does is really what it is but it's all it's all to me the same. Well but but but we get to write it because number one it is if you look at it. Thank you that's OK. OK. Ever present bow to be the king of. Rock n roll right. OK how key 18 is mo to be the queen right. Or rather what if you were to say well how can he be the king of a rock n roll record and how do you know that you can say what I play is R&B. I can play blues I can play rock and roll whatever you name. Well you can classify man. If you can that's about it. Music is concerned it's OK to classify that. But if you look less of that because of my color within I don't know about that difference. Yes yes it's different. It's different in blues. Like like like.

B.B. King is the B.B. King Albert Collins. What I want to know ma'am I'm afraid that if I just go to I'm just a baby blues a blue day Bobby Blue Bland as a blue they're two different blues there are the other words. Go pop market to black market wait Michael get into this stuff a little bit. Ok baby draw a white 90 percent white because that's a pure hearted blue the two are dead as hard core blue so to muddy water and stuff like that where we're so okay now. Bobby Blue Bland you can't give him to a white market. You get some whites they like him and you know I wonder what I love the gas so I'm not coming from I have no no no no nothing in me I guess either either I'm just putting facts on the table where where you can give just there to play.

With your lives about. Now with black skin except Jim Reed you Gavin. We can accept it. But me I'm just the way that only an A lot of damn Lousiana we don't know not know me I'm just trying to say is I like blacks whites whites to me white is white. But you go black. Blacks were bad to me but black single you got a few blacks made by. Now let's think OK example one time when the record company asked me what modern record companies give me a kind of a pop record. I say OK now I went and I looked I went to live in Maestro

whatever the name you know. OK. I went all around trying to find something. There was pop. And so anyway man funny man I came up with this song peaches in green when I get mama to me she said Watch out boys you me but if you and the right and the right to marry. But many blacks we want to talk about what you know what I want to OK now. In a way directly naming names. One near which is the guy the record company. It might or might. Not. ROCK ME way.

Yeah I think and though they may already be a white bubble gum kids in those days study list into the Rocket 88 you know where where do we do it Phillips here. You know did Mimi played Howlin Wolf. Someone did but it would like they would they wouldn't want to Woodward's indifference to admit a bad you know where where this particular record they did. Have any idea why what did people do. Yeah yeah I did yeah I think it's mostly you know what it's like what it's like. Actually a lot of boogie woogie a lot of boogie woogie do twinging singing on top of it. It's actually nothing but that's what it really is and. You know what that's about. I don't know what I don't know what made him say it but I don't really know.

It was too much of in a day out except those kind of songs back in those days you know. And you know we would play we had to play in the same places. And I was 17. Oh I'm sorry. Took the plane at the car parked on 17th in Bonn and I was playing the blue flame on 17th and Broadway which was maybe 10 blocks apart and we were playing kind of the same thing keep it. But your theory played a

lot of original stuff. I was always a joke. I always kept it with you but I was not injured but this is what I give up. And then I started going to Memphis in a chest. And I was going to Chicago with you know some time on the way there to cover records anyway. It was grand when I did they would tell me we was something different to say what do you want me to stand oh my you know. It is that was you know you know it's like when you get on an act and you want something different. Well it would be a plane is given a sit down and they write a song although it may sound like some other song. But if it's different you got different words to him is different. But you know you know like today like music. If it came out the core structure something something different as you get a different sound

that manship would really down. Perfect. I mean physically crying he was crying we had all what he wanted me to stand on my you know on the record. But there's a more country music. Well I don't really know because I never I never want to hear just every little girl although we played that close together. I think it took there was more of a regal than I was at that time. I give away juke boxes at the time because I would write something. But other than that he would get on stage like he would get on stage and he would play his original stuff on stage. And I think that he has a country feel to it and I guess I would use the word vocabulary more white a black person because like I'm he said he thought something would be

more whiter than what I would think. And then a lot of different ways because one time a stupid you know like they would hang you in Mississippi for when you were a white woman so you went to I had one and I know about a white woman in a Jets and a white 16 yo girl in Jackson Mississippi man we play now and they're going to like his man is not like that when he was in my fidget and they were like with my fiance on there because they said we known you. Now we wait. You know but you have the chance education his upbringing his school in man made him. He was more into country field and then then then then then into a blues. He's not blues that are more into rock rock rhythm rock record you

know. No no no no no no. And I say I say first of all I don't even know. But I will say I think man think like thing like what happened here which is something just just in his music where this is a white white beat. That's like a white shovelware example Man white white white boy play a drum shuffle OK. But like white. White everyone one in three. And you know you know listen you can play on the record you know you can look at a white guy.

Now I just don't. Understand but he has not that he has this culture but what do we learn in school and his education whatever he has his rhythm he likes country music. I mean yes I would. So the combination of put it together like right now. If you see if you get the rhythm. Like right like today man believe me like I know what I mean I'll be around 15 years from now but I'll say this you're going to see a band where you can take one beak and you can get one beat and you put Country right where you put reggae with it and you never dated never came to be.

You want to change is that colors man yet is all blended together. But because your view is like this there is no such thing as a famous song in a slow song. It's only in your mind if you get you you accept it as fast or slow it just go as long as you stay as if they had other words they want to be you have you know you do it all you do divide the beat. If you divide it up and then start taking beats out and you put it one here and one here and you know if you put it as a beat then there is the same tempo. So is there now man that we it will be complacent slow but they all have the same and so you've got a family and music is going to get really integrated pretty soon and I mean I mean more to integrate other words like bluegrass country reggae I love it but it's all the same and I know man I said it my house. I'm going to have time before she leaves to give you some of this but as you know Miles it is amazing how music can be integrated with it and do it like it is different. It's something for everybody in one song

where Dave you can play some country I don't like on TV play blues I like. Well one way you can please everybody man and I think that's what we're going to. You know I just think mapping I did something

that showed I did think. I just think that like I said but where I think the limit just had the knowledge just to recognize as the talent that you're in a rhythm and that this could be other Chuck is like saying in blue the blues the feeling and I think that he reckoned as that would go a black beat and I think because of the word like like I think a lot of stuff that you get out it's a vibe you know a pianist and I did. Not draw understand so I think same thing would have us that they ever just showed up. He's a black guy added as in a black or white guy that is in a black music and it will not stay saying you know because it took Man Blues has been in America among the blacks it was just their words America black over here. But you know it would reckon as in America until English brought over here in the 60s and today man today blacks no shame of blue you you go you you you you go tell a black guy hey man I want you to call me a piece of

blue. They want you to hear you don't want to play nobody don't like no blues that is something that that's like the lowest part of the party. I'm sorry but that's like a buddy and he understand WHERE WHERE WHERE WHERE THAT. Is like. But that is real good man what do you really need to learn that before we go off in this stuff there's time is there with rock and roll you know man you're there same name it. You know nothing of a blue be you have to know if he can play until you can play one note you can play D n.