Turner started his music career playing guitar for The Kindly Shepherds, a gospel group on the
Nashboro Records label. He joined the group on several recordings, playing guitar and accompanying background vocals. At the time, Turner also started playing with his brother at Chicago clubs such as the Squeeze Club and Walton's Corner, where he met
Dee Clark and was invited to join him and his
R&B band on the road. Later, Turner would play bass for
The Soul Stirrers. He eventually rejoined his brother's band and toured regularly, performing with musicians such as
Eric Clapton,
John Fogerty and
Grand Funk Railroad. While at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973, members of Freddie's band were asked to sit in with
Memphis Slim, and Turner played bass on the recording of
Memphis Slim – Very Much Alive and in Montreux. Later, Turner moved to
New Orleans and became the bandleader for
Marva Wright in 1986, playing with her band for 20 years. After Wright's death in 2010, Turner went on to release four albums including his critically acclaimed 2014 album of original work called
Journey. He also rejoined other members of the original
Freddie King band for a brief tour celebrating King's 80th birthday. His 2016 album ''When She's Gone
was dedicated to his mother Ella Mae and featured a collection of six original reissues from his album, Blue and Not So Blue
, and four blues standards. His autobiography, Survivor: The Benny Turner Story
, was published on July 8, 2017. Also in 2017, Turner released his latest album, My Brother's Blues''. This award-winning album is a tribute to big brother
Freddie King and features 11 tunes from Freddie's songbook that are of special significance to Benny. In 2019, Turner joined forces with longtime friend and fellow Chicago musician
Cash McCall to record
Going Back Home, revisiting their days of playing on Chicago's South and West Sides. On October 27, 2019, Turner celebrated his 80th birthday at the Inaugural Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival in
Grapeland, Texas. Governor
Greg Abbott of Texas officially recognized this milestone and Turner's many contributions to music and music history. == Awards and accolades ==