BENNY TURNER & CASH MCCALL - GOING BACK HOMELABEL: NOLA BLUE RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 18, 2019
Blues legends Benny Turner and Cash McCall's friendship began in Chicago over sixty years ago. The pair
reunited to revisit their roots and the songs they once played nightly in South and West Side nightspots
for their album “Going Back Home.” The joyous blues summit took place at studios in Memphis, New
Orleans and Chicago with an array of the finest players and special guests including, pianist Joe Krown,
drummer Rodd Bland and three-time Grammy nominee Billy Branch. The duo trade off on lead vocals
with Cash handling guitar and Turner laying down the bass as he did for years in his big brother Freddie
King’s band. The ten songs each hold a special place for Cash and Turner and are a collection of Chicago
era favorites and rare gems from the treasured songbook of the Blues Standards.
The horn infused soul stomper ‘Got To Find A Way,’ opens the set with Turner’s daughters adding
backing vocals, creating a Staples Singers vibe and making the track a true family affair. The straight
forward reading of ‘Spoonful,’ pays tribute to both Howlin’ Wolf and Freddie King who played on the
original recording for Chess in 1960. Turner shows off his charms on the playful shuffle ‘Poison Ivy,’
stepping into the role of Don Juan with flare on another deep cut from the Chess records catalog. McCall
spells out the root of all evil on the blues sermon ‘Money;’ the album’s only original tune is a statement of
real truth.
No Chicago blues party would be complete without the Elmore James bar room anthem ‘Shake Your
Money Maker,’ delivered here with a jumping groove, hot horns and greasy slide guitar. Billy Branch adds
his renowned blues harp to the emotional cover of the Tampa Red staple ‘It Hurts Me Too,’ with the old
friends celebrating their brotherly love and vowing to stick together through life’s trials and tribulations.
The oft record song is given even greater weight after it was revealed that McCall had been battling lung
cancer during these sessions.
The history of jazz and blues is filled with reinventions and spinoffs of familiar tunes, e.g. G.L. Crockett's
1965 release of ‘It’s A Man Down There,’ was an adapted cover of Elmore James' 1964 release, ‘One Way
Out.’ Turner and McCall jam out on a rollicking uptempo two beat blast through the song, featuring
fantastic barrelhouse piano and blues harp from Johnny Sansone. McCall adds his own twists and turns to
the bawdy old-time blues ‘The Dirty Dozens,’ giving it a Fats Waller spin. Next to Muddy Waters, Willie
Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–WWII sound of the Chicago blues.
Turner and McCall take on one of his most famous songs, ‘Built For Comfort,’ as a duet commanding the
bump and grind blues show stopper with bravado. Billy Branch is on hand again for the album’s finale,
the revival of Sonny Boy Williams ‘Bring It On Home,’ as a joyous celebration of Chicago and the reunion
of two of her finest sons.
- Tracklist:
1. Got To Find A Way (3:33)
2. Spoonful (2:54)
3. Poison Ivy (2:55)
4. Money (3:23)
5. Shake Your Money Maker (2:32) Elmore James
6. It Hurts Me Too (4:03)
7. It’s A Man Down There (3:15)
8. The Dirty Dozens (3:10)
9. Built For Comfort (4:26)
10.Bring It On Home (4:56
BIOGRAPHY: Benny Turner
Born in Gilmer, Texas in 1939, Benny Turner and his older brother, Freddie King, learned to play guitar
from their mother, Ella Mae (King) Turner. Although best known for his role as bassist for the Freddie
King band, he later played for Mighty Joe Young and then for Blues Queen of New Orleans Marva Wright.
Turner's earliest musical endeavors include work as a recording artist for the M-Pac! and One-Derful!
labels. He also appears on gospel recordings with The Kindly Shepherds and Otis Clay. He toured with
Dee Clark and the Original Soul Stirrers. Turner's award-winning autobiography, “Survivor-The Benny
BIOGRAPHY: Cash McCall
A native of New Madrid, Missouri, Morris Dollison, Jr. was born in 1941 and is better known as Cash
McCall, a name that has been renowned ever since his 1966 recording "When You Wake Up" became a
national R&B hit. McCall was a Nashboro Records recording artist while a member of the Gospel
Songbirds. He went on to record as a solo R&B artist for the Thomas, Checker, and Paula labels, and
worked at One-derful! and Chess Records as a session musician and songwriter. Performing with Minnie
Riperton, Etta James, Bo Diddley, and many more while living in Los Angeles, Cash was also a member of
blues legend Willie Dixon's band, the All-Stars, and co-produced his Grammy Award-winning.
WEBLINKS
NB: www.nola-blue.com
BT: www.bennyturner.com
CM: www.cashmccallmusic.com
FB: www.facebook.com/GoingBackHomeBTCM
TW: www.twitter.com/nolablueinc
IG: www.instagram.com/nolablueinc
Publicist: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com,Label: Sallie Bengtson, Nola Blue Records, sallie@nola-blue.com
