Turner Cody arrived at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York City in the fall of 1999 and cut his songwriting teeth alongside other members of New York's Anti-Folk scene. His early lo-fi recordings include Turner Cody, This Springtime and Others, Who Went West, The Cody Choir, Buds of May, The Great Migration, and Quarter Century. He was also a member of the garage-folk band The Class Act, which released one record, Act One, in 2003.

 

Cody spent much of the early 2000s touring around Europe, mostly in France, German, Belgium, and the UK. 

 

In 2008, Cody’s early releases were compiled as 60 Seasons and put out by b.y records. 

 

His song "Corner of My Room" appears in the Oscar-nominated film Un Prophet directed by Jacques Audiard. 

 

Over the next decade, Cody recorded First Light, Gangbusters, The Rules Of The Road, Last Of The Big Time Spenders, Plans And Schemes, Hiding In Plain Sight and The Duke Of Decline. The indie-folk inspired approach of his early albums evolved into a studio sound reminiscent of Cody’s Rock and Roll and Country music heroes.

 

These albums were released as the compilation The Great Shadow in 2019.

 

Songs Of Turner Cody: A Tribute Album featuring Adam Green, Jeffrey Lewis, Herman Dune, Diane Cluck, Jon Natchez, Timesbold, and many others was also released in 2019.

 

In 2018, TC joined up with Belgian singer-songwriter Nicolas Michaux and his band The Soldiers of Love. This partnership led to Michaux and Gregoire Maus founding Capitane Records. Michaux produced Cody's next album Friends in High Places which was released on Capitane in 2021 and featured The Soldiers of Love. 

 

Over a two-year period beginning in 2022, Cody worked alongside his old friend Adam Green (as well as Maus and Michaux) to organize Moping in Style: A Tribute to Adam Green. The album features Regina Spektor, Father John Misty, Devendra Banhart, Jenny Lewis, The Lemonheads, The Libertines, and many others (including Cody). 

 

TC's new album Out For Blood is set for release in 2025. Once again produced by Michaux and featuring The Soldiers of Love, Out For Blood may be the most ambitious album of Cody's long recording career. 

 

All along, Cody’s commitment to songwriting has remained consistent. His lyrics draw on a wide range of influences. Any fan of fiction and poetry can detect hints of Poe, Fitzgerald, and Melville; of Ginsberg, Kerouac, Rimbaud, and even the vernacular of American cinema. Cody's love of songwriting harkens back to Steven Foster, Civil War ballads, Jazz standards, show tunes, and to all the luminaries of his craft.

 

Turner Cody left New York City in 2019 and lived for five years in St. Louis with his wife Madeline Valentine and their son Solomon. They now live in Blooming-Normal, Illinois, where his wife is a professor of illustration at Illinois State University.