Joe Lynn Turner

Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop rock band Fandango in the late 1970s; and in the early 1980s, he became a member of Rainbow, fronting the band and writing songs with guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore and bassist, and producer, Roger Glover. After Rainbow had disbanded in March 1984, he pursued a solo career, released one album, Rescue You, and sang backing vocals for Billy Joel, Cher, and Michael Bolton along with radio and television jingles. He also collaborated with songwriters Desmond Child and Jack Ponti. Turner had a short-lived association with neoclassical metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and then Deep Purple. From the mid-1990s, he resumed his solo career, releasing an additional nine studio and two live recordings. He continued to perform session work, and collaborated with the groups Mother's Army and Hughes Turner Project and Sunstorm, the latter of which released five albums with Turner. In 2016, Turner released The Sessions via Cleopatra Records. Turner was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on August 2, 1951, and became interested in music in the 1960s. Growing up in an Italian-American home, he was influenced by singers such as Frank Sinatra and Enrico Caruso. In high school, he formed the band Ezra, performing original material and cover songs. He played the accordion as a child and learned the guitar in his early teens. He was once influenced primarily by such artists as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Free.