 He was a master of traditional blues verses, and at Kansas City jam sessions he could swap choruses with instrumental soloists for hours.In 1951, while performing with the Count Basie Orchestra at Harlem's Apollo Theater as a replacement for Jimmy Rushing, he was spotted by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, who contracted him to their new recording company, Atlantic Records.Turner recorded a number of successes for them, including the blues standards, "Chains of Love" and "Sweet Sixteen".