Some performers work the stage. Earl Turner owns it.
Born with music in his blood, Earl made his performing debut at age 13 — three hours, four songs, and fifty cents at the local American Legion Club. He was hooked. By 19, he was on the road with the Chicago-based Earl White Review, spending seven years learning the business of music from the inside out.
By the early ’80s, Earl was fronting his own band, gigging across nightclubs and hotel-casino stages from coast to coast. One of his original dance tracks — “Love Caught You By Surprise” — cracked the top 40 charts in Europe.
Then came Las Vegas.
Earl arrived on the Strip in the early ’90s and never left. He performed at the legendary Dunes, The Sands, The Aladdin, and The Desert Inn. He became a fixture at the Excalibur, the Luxor, Caesars Palace, and The Rio, where in 2001, the hotel converted his lounge show into a ticketed nightly event: Earl Turner Live! He sold it out.
In 2004, Harrah’s New Orleans completed a $5 million renovation of its Mansion Ballroom — and renamed it the Earl Turner Theatre. The room bears his name to this day.
For over three decades, Earl has headlined Las Vegas while also performing as a Royal Caribbean International headliner, bringing his show to audiences around the world.
The accolades speak for themselves: Las Vegas Review Journal Male Vocalist of the Year. Silver State Awards Entertainer of the Year. The 2023 VIVA Award. And the City of Las Vegas declared Earl Turner Day in his honor.
“This man is the real deal, every time out.”
— John Katsilometes, Las Vegas Sun
At the age of 13, Earl made his performing debut at the local American Legion Club. He played bass; his eight-year-old brother Darrell played drums. For three hours they played the same four songs and were rewarded with a hefty fifty cents. Earl was hooked. At age 19 Earl went on the road with a Chicago-based band, The Earl White Review, staying with them for nearly seven years. This would prove to be the training ground where Earl would learn the business of music and show business.
Fronting his own band from the early ’80s on, music took Earl to nightclubs and hotel-casino stages across the country, and one of his original dance tracks- “Love Caught You By Surprise”-hit the top 40 charts in Europe.
By the early 90’s Earl was performing on Las Vegas stages in legendary hotels such as The Dunes, The Sands, The Aladdin, and The Desert Inn. Earl had found his stage in a city that values entertainers more than any other. He would become a fixture at the Excalibur, the Luxor, Caesars Palace and the Rio where in 2001, the hotel took the almost-unprecedented step of successfully converting Earl’s lounge show into a ticketed nightly event, Earl Turner Live! He was a smash!
His talent and hard work won Earl ever-increasing audiences and – in a city where there’s so much outstanding entertainment – the Las Vegas Review Journal’s “Male Vocalist of the Year” award. After September 11, he moved into the Rio’s main showroom and, following that, in 2002, on to Harrah’s Laughlin. Again he was a smash. In 2004 Harrah’s New Orleans completed the $5 million renovation that turned its Mansion Ballroom into the Earl Turner Theatre.
Currently, Earl is performing and traveling the world as a headliner for Royal Caribbean International while still maintaining his residency in Las Vegas, the city he calls home. “This man is the real deal, every time out,” raves award-winning Las Vegas Sun Editor at Large John Katsilometes, calling Earl “one of the truly amazing live performers in Las Vegas.”
His upcoming projects include The Earl Turner Masterclass, “Showmanship,” a book titled, “The Journey” both to be completed late 2020.
