Joe Lynn Turner is an American vocalist born February 2, 1951 in Hackensack, New Jersey, best known for his powerful, melodic hard rock voice and his tenures as lead singer of two of rock's most celebrated acts — Rainbow and Deep Purple. Turner first gained national attention as the frontman of Fandango, a New Jersey-based rock band that released several albums on RCA Records in the late 1970s, before being recruited by Ritchie Blackmore to join Rainbow in 1980 as the replacement for Graham Bonnet.
Turner's three albums with Rainbow — Difficult to Cure (1981), Straight Between the Eyes (1982), and Bent Out of Shape (1983) — pushed the band toward a more melodic, commercial sound that divided longtime fans but produced some of the group's most accessible and radio-friendly material, including Stone Cold, which reached number forty on the Billboard Hot 100. His smooth, powerful tenor was ideally suited to the melodic hard rock direction Blackmore was pursuing, and the albums sold well in both Europe and America. After Rainbow disbanded in 1984, Turner launched a solo career and released several albums through the late 1980s.
His most prominent role came when he joined Deep Purple in 1989 following the departure of Ian Gillan, recording the album Slaves and Masters (1990) with the band. The album was a commercial success but was received with mixed feelings by fans loyal to Gillan, and Turner departed when Gillan rejoined in 1992. Turner has continued an active solo and collaborative career since, releasing numerous albums and touring internationally, and his reputation as one of hard rock's finest melodic vocalists has only grown with time. He has remained a beloved figure among fans of classic hard rock and has collaborated with an extraordinary range of musicians across his five-decade career.
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