Eddie Turner won the 2005 Blues Music Award (BMA) for best new release by a new artist. He's not a new artist. Eddie first came to Colorado in the early seventies, when he played with Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth. When Tommy Bolin left the band Zephyr for the James Gang, Eddie joined the band. He wrote the critically acclaimed Heartbreak album. When Candi Givens died, Eddie left the scene for a decade, emerging as jazz trumpeter Ron Miles' guitarist, before joining Otis Taylor. As the guitarist for Otis Taylor, Eddie recorded five releases and toured the world.
He released "Rise" in 2005, and "The Turner Diaries" in 2006.