Black Ace was the most frequently used stage name of the Texas blues musician born Babe Kyro Lemon Turner (December 21, 1907 in Hughes Springs, TX, d. November 7, 1972 in Fort Worth, TX), who was also known as B. K. Turner, Black Ace Turner, Babe Turner and Buck Turner.
He was born in Hughes Springs, Texas, and was raised on his family's farm. He taught himself to play guitar and performed in east Texas from the late 1920s on. In the early 1930s he began playing with Smokey Hogg and Oscar "Buddy" Woods, a Hawaiian-style guitarist who played with the instrument flat on his lap. Turner then bought a National steel guitar and began playing what a later critic called "Hawaii meets the Delta," smooth and simple blues. In 1937, Turner recorded six songs (possibly with Hogg as second guitarist) for Decca Records in Dallas, including the blues song "Black Ace". In the same year, he started a radio show on KFJZ in Fort Worth, using that recording as a theme song, and soon assumed the name. In 1941, he appeared in The Blood of Jesus, an African-American movie produced by Spencer Williams Jr. In 1943 Turner was drafted into the United States Army and gave up playing music for some years. In 1960, Chris Strachwitz, the owner of Arhoolie Records, persuaded him to record an album for Arhoolie. His last public performance was in the 1962 film documentary The Blues.
Turner died of cancer in Fort Worth in 1972.
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By Ron Wynn
A solid guitarist and vocalist, Babe Turner AKA Black Ace built his own guitar as a child, then taught himself to play. He was also in a gospel choir in Hughes Springs, TX. Turner honed his skills playing at community functions during the '20s, then worked with Smokey Hogg at dances in Greenville, TX in the '30s. Hogg and Buddy Woods were frequent partners for Turner, who made several solo tours in the '30s and '40s. He appeared in the 1941 film The Blood of Jesus and 1962 movie The Blues. Turner had a show on Fort Worth radio station KFJZ from 1936 - 1941. He recorded for Decca in 1937. After a stint in the army during the early '40s, Turner's jobs were mostly non-musical, except for his film stints. He did make a 1960 LP for Arhoolie. Turner took his nickname from the 1936 recording "Black Ace."