Feature: EARL TURNER talks about life, cruising, and selling out Myron's at The Smith Center

My background in entertainment is definitely more unique than most. I spent my formative years watching Las Vegas performers entertain the masses, so my level of expectation and appreciation I feel is probably higher than the average audience member. So, when a mentor pushed me towards an entertainer she deemed important to watch, I took notes. Billed as the Ultimate Showman and recently voted the 2022 Best Entertainer from the 29th Silver State Awards, the amazing Earl Turner is the gold standard for Las Vegas entertainment, has an upcoming show at The Smith Center on the 28th that is already sold out, and is planning a Master Class.

Ok, y'all, so my starry-heart eyes for this performer goes back over 20 plus years, and when he agreed to do this interview with me, my fangirling self could hardly be contained! I didn't know what I was going to ask, say, or how to behave honestly, but I pulled myself together (I think), pretended like I was a pro, and went for it, and it was the best hour-long phone conversation I could have ever had.

Mr. Turner's bio is pretty varied when it comes to entertainment. Hailing from Fayette, Missouri, Earl comes from a musical family, but what pushed him out of his small town and onward to Vegas Royalty?

"For the most part, I think that a lot that I have done in my career has been out of necessity," Turner said. "Necessity is the mother of invention, so in order to stay in this career, believe it or not, there have been many times that I have chosen to do something because the situation necessitated it. For example, the first time I ever walked out in front of an audience as a performer was in the country western club that I had worked in back in the late 70s and early 80s."

This club happened to be in Shreveport, Louisiana. Because of family obligations, Earl took on a role that many, during that era and location, would not have attempted.

"I had gotten a job with an all-white country western band, and when I say all white...it literally was in a country western night club," Turner explained. "They had hired me to fill in for the lead guitarist, Charles, who owned the nightclub with his wife."

Because Charles had Leukemia and was driving back and forth to Houston, Texas, for treatments, Earl had to take over as leader of the band.

"When they left, they asked me to be a member of this band, and at this time my son was about to be born, and I needed to make some money, so again..necessity," Turner said. "The band I was in was an all-black rhythm and blues band; we were making no money, and I had decided to leave for a lot of reasons. Then this opportunity came, and I couldn't believe it."

Earl was in disbelief that they were offering him what was, at that time, a lot of money for playing music.

"They offered me $250 a week, and Oh my God this was 1978 girl; I thought that was all the money," Turner expressed. "But do you know what I said to these people when they offered me more money than I have ever made in my life? Do you know what I said? I said I don't think I can do it for that" and begins laughing so hard. "Thus was born the Earl Turner Negotiator. The Earl that was sitting on my shoulder slapped me and said 'what are you doing? People are offering you real money to play, and you're saying you can't do it for that.' So, at any rate, we negotiated a little bit further, and I got $275 a week, and let me tell you-that was all the money."

Earl had to really work for his money, though.

"You have to understand this was the 1970s. I walked into this situation because I needed the money; I wanted to stay in show business," Turner said. "This was an option for me, but remember, I am a black man going to work in a country-western, all white bar. I was not necessarily the most popular person walking in the room, because first of all, I'm taking over the leadership of this band, and it was all white guys, and they weren't necessarily happy with that," he lamented. "Fortunately for me, because I'm from Missouri, I know country music. My dad was a singer, and my dad use to sing all country-western songs, gospel, popular, and all this kind of stuff, so my musical background is everything from the Beatles to Charlie Pride."

AM radio played Kenny Rogers, Mickey Gilly, Johnny Lee and Dolly Parton, along with the Commadores and Kool and the Gang, so the 70s was a good time for Earl to make the transition.

"The first time I walked out in front of an audience of people to talk or to speak was in that bar," he said. "I needed to connect with that audience in some kind of way, and I can remember learning the song Three Times a Lady, which is in 3/4 time, and I introduced it as a waltz; people would get up and dance to it. That is where I started to hone my craft as an entertainer, and again, that was out of necessity."

Turner still considers himself a student. So, who are his favorite people to study?

"Oh, I study everybody," Turner said. "I have a lot of friends in the entertainment business. I have people like Sonny Charles who was in the Checkmates; I had people like Bubba Knight, and countless people I have met over the years that I study. One of my best friends is George Wallace. We're seriously best friends"

Turner doesn't study only entertainment artists.

"I study different people for different reasons, but I try as best as I can to keep company with people who are positive, with people that I'm going to learn something from, and with people who are inspiring, because that's how I grow. That's how I keep focused." He continues saying, "That's how you maintain any semblance of sanity. There are always negative people that you can find a way to be in the company of, but I choose not to be in the company of anything, if at all possible, that brings any drama into my life. I tell my wife all the time that I am a drama free tour. I surround myself with positive forces. You gotta have that. I think the older you get, the more you realize that."

As the years progressed, Earl experienced a few health scares. He is now a firm believer in self-care.

"I love me some me...shoot," Turner smiles saying. "You know, I'm going to take care of me, because it's really, really important. I am really big on people taking care of themselves health wise, by being proactive and listening to their bodies. I am a two-time cancer survivor. I had Prostate Cancer in 2001, and I had Colon Cancer two years ago. The only reason I am able to sit here and have this conversation with you is because it was discovered early. That's the only reason."

Continuing on, Earl thinks back on other people in his life who have since passed on.

"My drummer of 45 years passed away in 2020 of colon cancer, because he never went and had a colonoscopy. He had a colon test that the doctors had given him in his house, and up until the time he died, he said to me 'I don't know why I didn't do it- I don't know why I didn't do it,'" Turner remembers. "When I told the band that I had prostate cancer in 2001, I was 47. I specifically said to the black males in the band to go get your prostate checked. Six years later my keyboard player died of prostate cancer. If you are going to have cancer as a male, prostate cancer is the one to have, because it is so slow in progression. So, obviously, because my keyboard player died only a few years later of prostate cancer, he obviously had it when I told him that I had it and to get checked. So yeah, I'm a big proponent of listening to your body. You know what feels normal to you. Be proactive and go get checked. This is something I preach daily, girl!"

As a musician Earl understands the importance of listening, not only to yourself but to others around you, and even a step farther.

"People do not listen. There is a point in time in your life that, even if you're not religious but you understand spirituality, then you understand that there is something bigger than all of us. I believe that the universe will speak to you," Turner said. "I totally believe in the power of positive thinking; I believe the power of someone or some spirit or something being able to give you, or to tell you, what you need to hear, to tell you what you need to know. Your part as an individual is to decide when you are going to start listening-when are you going to start listening to the world? When are you going to start listening to the universe? When are you going to start listening to the voices inside you or that comes to you?"

Turner is passionate about his beliefs.

"The Lord gave you one mouth and two ears so that you listen more than you speak, and I totally, totally believe that. Listening to the world around you is extremely important in not only your ability to achieve things in your life, but in your survival. The very ability to wake up the next day depends on what you do the day before." Turner continued, saying, "So there are a lot of things that we learn as we get older. That's the reason why they say old man for council and young man for war. If we could just get the youngsters to listen to us, we'd be a lot better off, because we've already been there, we've done that."

I understand what he is saying, but I fire back speaking of the difficulties you can have trying to quiet your inner thoughts. It is possible to be silent, yet still have so much noise in your head.

"You have to be able to sit in solitude," Turner encouraged. "My wife and I often meditate. There is a power in being still that a lot of people don't realize."

Earl then turns his focus on his children.

"I don't expect my kids to understand what I know. You don't know what it feels like to be a parent until you are one," Turner said.

Currently, Earl has the luxury of helping his daughter take care of his 4-month-old granddaughter.

"She is the light of my life," Turner beamed. "I did not think that I would be this elated about it, because me and my wife have lived in this house for ten years by ourselves, but this baby girl.... she's got me."

Earl is also thrilled about how his relationship with his daughter has evolved.

"Our daughter is a changed person, so it's been really delightful to reconnect on a level playing ground. When your kids have their own kids, then they get it. It surprised me that it's been such a pleasant experience."

As we get deeper into who Earl Turner is, it's clear to see that he is more than just an entertainer. Could my performance hero be a real person?

"I've often said to my wife that if at my memorial service there is someone who would like to speak of me and all they can say is that he was a good entertainer- he did this that and the other - don't let them speak, because they didn't know me; they only knew what I did and, like many performers, I am not the work that I do," Turner said. "I am everything else but the work that I do. The work that I do-I love it! I love my job; I love entertaining; it's never felt like a job to me at all, but it's just what I do. It's not who I am...in complete total, it is not the total of who I am."

I interject with the fact that what he does gives him the platform where he can show others who he is, namely people like me who adores his style of entertainment.

"The thing about it is, there are some entertainers that cannot exist comfortably in their lives without doing what they do. I am not one of those people who walk around the house who has to be the center of attention. If I could not do what I do currently as a performer, I would do something else," Turner said. "It would be in this industry, but I would be perfectly fine if I could never get on stage again. I'd be perfectly fine."

Me, in disbelief, comes back with...REALLY?

"Oh yeah...please girl...are you kidding me? You gotta be," Turner said with confidence.

At this point I give in and agree, saying that he has been doing this for quite a few years.

"Girl...listen. I've been doing it for a long, long time, but it was never me," Turner explains. "That is an Earl Turner that I have nurtured, that I have developed, that I have grown over years and years and years."

Earl reaches back to his childhood, saying, "When I was a kid and played guitar, you couldn't get me to sing, and I didn't really want to play guitar in front of anybody. I was very, very shy. My sisters used to make fun of me, because they said I had two left feet. All of what you see now was not what I was as a child. When I was a child, I didn't dream about being a singer."

So, what did a young Earl Turner want in life?

"I dreamed about being in a band. I dreamed about playing music. I did not dream about it as a career, because when you grow up in a small town, it is very, very short on dreams." He continued, "The expectations in the 70s were that you got a job at a factory like GM, you went to the Army, or you went to college. Dreaming about being in show business, being on stage or meeting the people that I've met, like James Brown, I didn't dream about any of that stuff." Turner said, "From where I came, it wasn't practical in dreaming about stuff like that. I dreamed about getting a job, as my daddy would say, with benefits...you know...but this was something that happened."

Due to a work conflict, Turner's life changed drastically.

"I decided to go for it in music, because I got passed over on a job at the company I was working for," Turner remembered. "I got passed over by a white guy who worked under me, and I had the sense even at 18 years old to know I wasn't going to stand for that. So I decided to quit, and the opportunity came along for me to join this band." Turner corrected himself saying, "Actually the opportunity didn't come for me to join the band. I saw a band-they were from Chicago, and they that blew my mind."

Turner was enthralled with the Earl White Revue, who was playing in Marshall, Missouri.

"A guitar player friend of mine took me up to see them. He said 'you gotta see this band,' and when I went to see the band, I was completely blown away. I was 18 years old; we couldn't even drink in the club where we were, but we convinced the manager to let us in so we could just watch the band."

He loved it so much that he offered his services as a musician.

"That night, I begged that man for a job. I said 'I can play a little guitar, I can play a little drums, I can do this, I can do that, and I think he liked me," he said with a smile in his voice. "As a matter of fact, I know he liked me. He told me 'Well, we are going to another town four hours away next weekend. If you'll come down there, I'll let you audition.' Because it was four hours away, I think he didn't think I would show up, but damnit I showed up--I showed up! I did the audition, I played different instruments."

Though his skills may have been lacking a little, his personality and eagerness won them over.

"The musical director-the bass player- really liked me, and Earl White thought 'well, he's not super at any of them, but he does a lot of them, so I could probably use him,' and even though that group had 13 people, he hired me. So, I went back to that office at Missouri Farmers Association oil company. I had already expressed to them how disappointed I was that they passed me over for that job that they knew that I wanted. The General Manager of the office said 'I tell you what, Earl, if you want to go out and give it a shot with this band, I'll hold your job for two weeks. If you don't like it, if it's not for you, you come on back and you can have your job back,' and I left and never went back."

He attributes it all to necessity.

"Necessity..you know, the mother of invention, is the reason why I left, and then what kept me from quitting music was the family and friends saying I told you so--great motivators," he said. "People telling you what you can't do-great motivators--greatest motivation in the world--use that as motivation --it's great. That's what kept me from going back home many, many times when I was hungry or didn't have 39 cents in my pocket to buy a cheeseburger at McDonalds. It was a great motivator; I was determined. I was going to do a lot of things, but I was not going to go back and hear that, not at all. So, as I had said initially, so much of what I have done and what I have become has been out of necessity, and I think people should be motivated by necessity."

Turner posed the questions "What do you need to do? How are you going to get from this place to the next place?" In which he answered, "Baited by the need--I need to do this, because if I don't do something, I'm going to wind up back where I was or whatever."

Earl Turner has now turned into, not only my entertainment champion, but my life guru. He says, "You have to have a reason to get up in the morning; you gotta have a reason to get up. These people who retire, I don't even get that; I don't even understand the word retirement. Who retires? What the hell is that? My thought is you retire from something that you don't like. If you are not enjoying what you are doing, than what's the point in doing it? But I think the people that really enjoy what they do never retire." Turner insisted that, "You may get to the point where you can't do it at the level that you may have done it before, but you can still participate; you can still be active in it and not necessarily be of it, so...I'll never retire. I'll do this until I can't do it anymore."

"Sonny Charles said something to me when he was traveling with the Steve Miller band for about seven years. He said 'I will do this until I get tired of dragging my suitcase,' and I liked that. So, when I get tired of dragging my suitcase, I won't do it anymore. You know, you take the suitcase with you whenever you go to perform, so when I get tired of dragging my suitcase, I won't do it anymore, but as long as I pick up that suitcase and say 'yeah let's go,' I'm good. I'm good."

Speaking of suitcases, Turner has been performing on cruise ships for about a decade now. I am a little jealous, because a) I love to travel, and b) I've never been on a real cruise ship.

Turner confessed that, "traveling is not necessarily something that I enjoy. I don't enjoy the act of traveling, but I enjoy performing. I always say the cruise lines pay me to travel, they don't pay me to perform. I do that for free. They pay me to leave my house, get on the airplane, and go through all that stuff that you have to do to go someplace, but as far as work goes, I do that for free."

He then proceeds to sell me on a cruise, particularly the Royal Caribbean cruise liners.

"These cruise ships today that I perform on are remarkable. Their showrooms have 1500 seats, and all of the technology has the capability of any showroom that you could see here in Las Vegas. They fly people through the air, they have water shows, they have swimming pools that are 19 feet deep with scuba divers doing the same type of things you would see at "O" here in Las Vegas."

Still endorsing, he said, "They, of course, have entertainers like myself, they have LED screens, they have the latest and greatest. The ships that I mostly perform on carry 5000 passengers and 2300 crew; it's a floating city. They are remarkable. They have teams of restaurants. They are unbelievable....they are simply unbelievable. Being on what's called the Promenade deck is like being in a shopping mall. It's two or three stories of the Promenade deck alone. These things are massive. The one that I just got off of is three football fields long. These things are remarkable, and they keep getting better. So, if you have not done a cruise, I urge you..take a cruise, and I urge you to do it on a Royale Caribbean ship, because that's where I am. They are the best. They really are great. Initially I was reluctant to do them, but the technology, like I said, is so extraordinary, that it's really no different working in those theaters than it is working at theaters in Las Vegas."

That is high praise indeed, and when my music/life guru says I need to do it, who am I to argue?

So, how do you put together a show for a cruise before the cruise happens?

"I have what I call my standard cruise show and music numbers can be interchanged in and out of them. The way I arrange my show is that it has a beginning, a middle, and an end," Turner explained. "The cruise ship has everything, and the headliner show is always a family-oriented show, so the age group can be from seven to 70 and older. You have to start your show pretty broad in its spectrum, which is a little bit of something for everybody. So, that's the way the show is laid out. I'll do rock-n-roll; I'll do r&b; I'll do pop; I'll do country. I'll do as much of a variety as possible because of the different age groups. The thing is to keep everybody's attention. That's the hard part, you know, because not everybody is going to like everything. But if you can connect it in a way to where it has a beginning, middle, end and it tells a story and it takes them on a journey, they never really realize, specifically, that they don't care about what kind of song it is. What's the message of the song? What's the purpose of the song? Why is that song there? So, I do that."

He explained that his cruise ship show has a distinct story with a moral at the end, but told me I couldn't share that part. Believe me, though, it's a good one. Of course, it is. He is the master! There is a reason why he keeps winning accolades like Best Entertainer.

"My whole purpose is to show you a good time," he says.

With a seven-day cruise, I assumed he had a show every day. So, I asked, how long are the shows?

"Only about 40 to 45 minutes..it's a beautiful thing. I can knock that out with my eyes closed. I usually do two shows in one day and that's it. The other six days I just cruise. I get to do what all the others pay to do for free, because I'm a guest. I'm an entertainer, but I'm also a guest. I'm not a cruise ship employee. I don't travel like that. I get a nice guest cabin with a king-size bed, a bathroom with a bath tub....all that stuff. They take really good care of their guest entertainers on the Royal Caribbean."

Did Earl Turner abandon Las Vegas? Of course not. He has a sold-out show coming up at Myron's at The Smith Center Wednesday, September 28.

"I do my shows in Las Vegas when I choose to. But this is not something I do all the time. I like to consider myself winding down, if you will, winding down the travel part of it that is, not the entertainment part."

So even though I can't go (insert sad face), tell us what can be expected at the show.

"It's going to be wonderful. It's a celebration of music from three of my favorite artists...Barry White, Babyface, and Bruno Mars. I am doing that, because they are not only great artists, but they were also producers and songwriters. I like that their music is all very unique, and yet very, very similar, so it's going to be a fun show."

With all that Earl has accomplished, I wondered at what moment did he feel like he made it as a performer.

"Making it?" Turner pondered and said, "I don't know that there was a point where I thought to myself 'I made it.' I think that the turning point would have been when I had my own theatre in New Orleans named after me. I loved it. Otherwise, for me, it's just being able to work in the business. At any time that could have changed."

Show business can be fickle.

"Not only do I strive to be in the business, I had to strive to stay in the business. Industries change. I remember after the nightclub industry dried up, and I had to come to Las Vegas to the casino industry. I've seen a lot of people fall by the wayside when the industries changed - where the demands changed - for example, that could have been a turning point when, ten years ago, I decided whether or not to do cruise ships. That could have been a turning point. So, there was never a particular place where I said I made it. It was all about accomplishing goals."

My first introduction to the great Earl Turner was at the Rio Casino and Resort in the La Bamba Lounge.

"I remember at the Rio, I used to be in the lounge, but then I got the opportunity in 2001 to go to the showroom, and I will never forget that feeling of opening up for the first time in that big 700 seat showroom-it was extraordinary! Then, I got the opportunity to go to Laughlin, where I had a showroom down there for two years, and of course New Orleans happened after that. I have also played on the main stage at Ralph's Hall at the Smith Center doing a big benefit in 2001, where we did a big event for the country after 9/11. We did a big event for 17,000 people at Mandalay Bay. There have been many, many, many, extremely grateful times and moments that I've had in this business and accomplishments. That's the way they've all been, but I've never thought that I've made it. I've never thought..oh man..you've made it."

Still, having your name plastered on a building in the Big Easy is pretty cool.

"I thought the Harrah's Showroom in New Orleans was a big deal. Yeah...that was a big deal. They built a five-million-dollar showroom. I had a multimillion-dollar contract. It was a big deal, but I never thought to myself you've made it, and I'll tell you something that I did think. I remember sitting in my new house on the golf course in the country club call English Turn, sitting at my desk and thinking to myself...man you've got the showroom and a great contract, but nothing has changed (and he laughs). What I realized was that all of these wonderful things happening don't change the essence of who you are or where you are. Let me explain this to you," he said.

"I was able to write a check, but if someone was sick, I couldn't heal them. I had teenage kids; they were the same dang people that they were before all of this happened to us...you know. My relationships with people hadn't changed, my feelings toward them hadn't changed because I had this status or whatever...nothing changed. And then I realized, I remember when people like Michael Jackson--famous people -- would give interviews and they would be asked, what has changed? I remember Michael Jackson saying 'it's not me who has changed, it's the people around me' so..you know..take that. I remember actually sitting and thinking that everything is still the same, I was still the same, and life was basically the same. You can only put on one pair of shoes at a time, you can only live in one house at a time, you can only wear one shirt or one pair of pants at a time. That's all you can do. You can have millions of dollars and multiple houses and cars, but you can't drive but one car at a time. All you really need is just one (and laughs again). That's all you need. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I do, Earl, not that I have the luxury of choosing which house or which car I'm going to drive, but whatever.

"When the pandemic hit, my wife and I said we are going to only buy things that we need. You buy a lot of stuff that you want, but what do you need? You know, all you need is a warm place or a cool place, if you live in Vegas, to live and to lay your head down, some clothes to put on, some food to eat and a car to drive to get around. My Uncle Smokey told me something a long time ago when I was a teenager...my Uncle Smokey was a gangster. My Uncle Smokey said 'Earl Jr., there ain't but three things to life. You gotta figure out what you want to do, how you gonna do it, and then find you somebody to do it with. And that is it in a nutshell,' and he was right. He was so right. Life is very simple. People make it complicated, but it's not really that hard."

So, at the root, who is Earl Turner?

"I think I am, by nature, a simple person. I'm not pretentious. I used to think I was, and I used to try to be. I used to want to wear all the jewelry and stuff like that and have all the diamond necklaces and all that kind of stuff, because I thought that was what I was supposed to be, you know, particularly being in show business. However, I discovered that I am not. That is not Earl Turner. I am not at my core that type of person, so I'm good with that. I'm ok with that..ask me if I'm wearing any jewelry right now and I'll tell you none. I put it on when I get ready to get on stage, and that's it. Otherwise, it's in my damn way. I gotta go to Home Depot. Honest to God, that's the kind of person I am. I love Home Depot."

Is Earl Turner a builder?

"Oh yeah...I work with my hands all the time. I love electronics. Yeah..I build stuff all the time. I fix things," Earl bragged. "My wife could not believe it when she met me when I said 'yeah..I can fix things.' My dad made me do it with him, so yeah. I am one of those men who has tools and knows what they are and how to use them. As a matter of fact, I just invented something hoping to market it soon, and we'll see what happens. Again, it was a necessity thing."

He failed to mention what he invented, so I guess we will have to wait on the press release for that. However, the thing I'm excited about the most is this Master Class coming up. What are the bullet points for this class?

"The art of capturing the audience + The art of creating a show/presentation that takes the audience on a journey + How to carry yourself on stage + What to do if something unexpected happens-whether it is something in the audience or something onstage + How to be larger than the room."

What does that mean?

"When you walk in, you own that space...not just the stage, but that entire space and everything in it; you own it. It's yours to command and do what you want with it. I've often times said to the performers that to command the space, you need to walk that space. You need to know where you are at all times, know what it feels like to be in the back of the room, the side of the room, and all of those sections. You need to know and understand, so when you get up there, you can give your best performance, because you are in control."

That's going to be a good class. Sign me up!

"It is, at least I think so. It's going to be very enlightening. I think that for today's artists, there's really no mechanism, no place to really groom the artists of today. That's why you see so many of them getting into trouble, particularly, vocally," Turner said. "You have young artists like Sam Smith already having vocal cord surgery. The Weeknd was performing in LA and had to stop the show and quit, because he couldn't sing. These people aren't ready to go out and do show after show after show after show. Nobody is nurturing them or teaching them how to actually perform live."

Sadly, the conversation had to end, but not without an uplifting thought from Mr. Turner.

"I am extremely blessed and highly favored girl...let me tell you something. I kicked serious cancer twice - shoot I've done it. I've been through some stuff. My daddy would say I've been to the rough side of the mountain, and I am still here hoping to do some good."

I feel confident in speaking for the massive fan base, when I say you have definitely done some good, and we can't wait to see what's next.

For more information on upcoming shows and news on Earl Turner, check out his website at earlturner.com, and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EarlTurnerShow/ and Instagram at @earlturnerlive.

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