Jesse Lee Turner

Jesse Lee Turner comes from Bowling, Texas, a town so small you can't even find it with computer mapping software. The mysterious black-haired singer fit the image of the times, he had the allure and looks that the media wanted in a teen star. Turner changed labels often during his career. He first recorded for Fraternity Records, but "Teenage Misery," failed to get noticed. Then he dealt with Carlton Records where he scored his only hit "The Little Space Girl" b/w "Shake Baby, Shake" which rose to #20 on the Pop Chart early in 1959. Its successor "Thinkin'" stiffed, and he left Carlton for Top Rank Records, where he waxed "Do I Worry" a good record that suffered from abysmal promotion. Sudden Records, his next home, released the self-written "The Elopers" but it bombed. He also recorded two stiffs, silly ones at that, for GNP Records including another Turner composition "Ballad of Billy Sol Estes." A writer of sorts, Turner has 15 songs registered with B.M.I.; his biggest title being "Little Space Girl," a song that compilers would like to include on various compilation CD's but nobody knows who holds the rights. It seems a short time after Carlton Records went out of business their records disappeared. The songs only known appearance is on an old 33-1/3 entitled One Dozen Goodies. An original copy of "Little Space Girl," will fetch $10 to $15. As for the whereabouts of Jesse Lee Turner, nobody knows, like Carlton Records, he seems to have vanished in thin air. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide