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