JOE TURNER Well All Right MARRIED WOMAN 1954 Atlantic 1040 JUMP BLUES 78 RPM

	£		40
	$		53

Released in November 1954, this spectacular 10-inch shellac single features the indomitable "Boss of the Blues," Big Joe Turner, delivering an absolute tour de force backed by His Blues Kings. Coming hot off the heels of his career-defining anthem "Shake, Rattle and Roll," Atlantic 1040 showcases Turner at the zenith of his mid-1950s power.The A-side, "Well All Right," is an infectious, uptempo call-and-response jump blues masterpiece written by Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, and Jesse Stone (credited under his Charles Calhoun pseudonym). The track features a driving, rhythmic engine anchored by Mickey Baker's stinging guitar vamps and Sam "The Man" Taylor’s soaring tenor saxophone work.The flip side, "Married Woman," is an exceptional, slow-burning blues narrative written by Lou Willie Turner (Joe's wife). Of paramount interest to discographers and deep blues historians, the original sleeve notes explicitly detail the involvement of the brilliant New Orleans arranger and keyboard virtuoso Edward Frank on this track, anchoring the rhythm section with his signature, sophisticated southern chord voicings and impeccable jazz-blues timing while Turner unleashes his legendary vocal shout over the deeply soulful studio arrangement.
By late 1954, the American musical landscape was changing at a breakneck pace. Independent rhythm & blues records were aggressively spilling across the traditional color lines of segregation, invading mainstream adolescent jukeboxes and transatlantic shortwave radio dials. Lou Willie Turner’s lyrical contribution on "Married Woman" provides a fascinating, raw window into post-war domestic humor and working-class urban relationships. This release documents the exact cross-cultural flashpoint where veteran Kansas City blues shouting fused seamlessly with New York's polished studio execution—creating a wild, cross-generational soundtrack that paved the ultimate highway for global rock-and-roll culture.
This record is pressed on the iconic, traditional solid red and black Atlantic Records 78rpm center label, featuring the distinctive art-deco corporate branding and high-contrast, all-silver metallic typography layout.During the mid-1950s, independent giants like Atlantic Records aggressively fought for shelf space against major corporate networks. While Atlantic 1040 enjoyed solid sales within urban centers, the 78rpm shellac format was entering its final commercial twilight as the industry rapidly transitioned to vinyl 45s. Jukebox operators routinely played these heavy, fragile shellac copies down to the raw stone, leaving the vast majority of surviving copies grayed, chipped, or scratched. To find an elite copy that has safely journeyed across the Atlantic to surface in the UK with outstanding structural integrity and magnificent factory luster is a fantastic find for serious collectors of mid-century Americana.
Detailed Condition ReportGrade (VJM System): Excellent Plus (E+).Play Surface: Spectacular, archive-quality survival that completely outshines typical regional survivors. The vintage mid-1950s shellac compound retains its complete, brilliant factory mirror-shine and deep black gloss. Under bright inspection lighting, the play surfaces present as remarkably immaculate, displaying nothing more than one or two microscopic paper-sleeve wisps consistent with light archival handling. Completely free of deep scratches, gray acoustic groove-wear, needle digs, structural stress lines, or edge chips.Audio Performance: Both sides play beautifully loud, crisis-free, and robust with immense acoustic presence. Joe Turner's booming vocal shouts, the snapping snare hits, and the roaring saxophone accompaniment track with phenomenal clarity and separation. Surface noise is virtually non-existent, playing with an extraordinarily quiet background that is exceptionally rare for mid-1950s independent label shellac.Center Labels: Highly collectible traditional black and red Atlantic 78rpm layout with all-silver text. Both sides are beautifully clean, crisp, and bright with sharp, high-contrast print. The center spindle hole remains perfectly tight with no trailing wear or elongation. The surfaces are entirely free of modern ink writing, layout tearing, or vintage dealer sticker residue
.Postage & Packaging
Professionally packed by an experienced 78 RPM specialist trader. The disc will be strictly sandwiched between multiple layers of heavy cardboard stiffeners and fully suspended in a rigid box with loose-fill padding to guarantee zero movement during domestic or international transit. Worldwide shipping available. Carefully packed and promptly dispatched.