JOE LYNN TURNER



WHAT KIND OF UPBRINGING DID YOU HAVE:
Lower to middle-class, mixed racial neighbourhoods, but incredibly supportive parents in every way.

WAS YOUR FAMILY MUSICALLY INCLINED:
Yes, my father sang and played guitar and my mom and sis sang.

WHAT WERE YOU GOOD AT IN SCHOOL:
Literature, baseball, track and history. I was lousy in math and I hated it!

WERE YOU A TROUBLEMAKER:
Sort of - I used to be involved with a pretty rowdy bunch of guys and we terrorised several people and places. So I suppose the answer is yes, but I never killed anybody!

PROFESSIONAL JOBS OTHER THAN AS A MUSICIAN:
Everything from sweeping floors to teaching high schools.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE AS A KID:
A cowboy, an indian and Prince Valiant (Knight of the Round Table).

DID YOU HAVE ANY MUSICAL TRAINING:
I played accordion for five years and studied guitar for one.

EARLY INFLUENCES:
Motown, The Beatles, Hendrix and also Gospel.

FIRST CONCERT ATTENDED:
Can't remember the first one, but some of the very memorable ones were Hendrix, Yes, Sly Stone and everyone who was at the Fillmore East, where I used to go regularly.

FIRST RECORD BOUGHT:
Motown and Buddy Holly records, given to me by my older cousins.

INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY:
Electric and acoustic guitar, some drums and some piano.

FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE:
My first performance was pantomiming to records in front of my relatives and their friends when I was five. My first paid performance was age 10 at a private party.

FAVOURITE RAINBOW SONG:
Hard to say... I like quite a few.

WHAT SORT OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO:
African, Carribean, Latin, Jazz, blues, classical and some rock: both new wave and old wave. My real love is r'n'b - Otis Redding etc.

ANY TYPE YOU DISLIKE:
Elevator music and anything that's played badly.

ALL TIME FAVOURITE ALBUM:
There are several - Cream ("Wheels Of Fire"), Hendrix ("Axis Bold As Love"), anything by Otis Redding and of course all Beatles.

HOBBIES OUTSIDE MUSIC:
Running, football, swimming, reading, writting, some TV and cooking.

IDEAL MEAL:
Anything I was in the mood for at a time. My favourites are mostly Italian.

FAVOURITE DRINK:
A bottle of good German Moselle or Riesling... otherwise cognac or vodka.

PARTICULAR LIKES:
Good music, good people and good times.

PARTICULAR DISLIKES:
None of the above, especially #2.

FAVOURITE TV SHOW:
MASH, quiz shows and good comedy.

FAVOURITE MOVIE:
Fantasia, ET, Star Wars, The Incident... there are many.

FAVOURITE ACTOR:
Al Pacino, Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Paul Newman.

FAVOURITE ACTRESS:
Ruth Gordon, Audrey Hepburn, Susan Hayward and Meryl Streep.

HAPPIEST EXPERIENCE:
Being alive and living it well.

MOST TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE:
Joining Rainbow! Actually, some very sad moments too personal to mention.

FAVOURITE SPORTS:
Basketball, soccer, swimming, racket-ball and horseback riding.

MOST FOOLISH THING YOU'VE EVER DONE:
There are so many I couldn't list them all - mostly being a "Fool For The Night", I think.

FAVOURITE EX-MEMBER OF RAINBOW:
Ritchie Blackmore.



Back To Rainbow Tourbook 1983-1984 Index