Jesse Lee Turner

Born in Addicks, Texas, Jesse Lee Turner spent his early years in the small community of Boling. Throughout his recording career he moved frequently between labels. His debut effort, “Teenage Misery,” appeared on Fraternity Records yet attracted no attention. At Carlton Records he achieved his sole chart success when “The Little Space Girl” b/w “Shake Baby, Shake” climbed to number 20 on the pop chart in early 1959. The follow-up single “Thinkin’” went nowhere, prompting a shift to Top Rank Records, where “Do I Worry” received little promotional support despite its quality. Sudden Records next issued his own composition “The Elopers,” which likewise drew no notice.

Two additional unsuccessful sides for GNP included another Turner original, “Ballad of Billy Sol Estes.” Turner registered fifteen songs with BMI; the most prominent remains “Little Space Girl,” which has appeared on numerous compilation CDs.