Tina Turner

Born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee on November 26, 1939, the soul / rock / pop vocalist was better known by her stage name, Tina Turner. In her long, spectacular rollercoaster career, she initially found fame with her domineering husband Ike Turner and his band the Kings of Rhythm. She first appeared on the single “Boxtop” in 1958 before their musical collaboration was reborn and renamed Ike & Tina Turner in 1960. They became one of the most incendiary live acts in soul and rock and scored several chart hits including “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (1961), “River Deep – Mountain High” (1966), “Proud Mary” (1971), and “Nutbush City Limits” (1973). While dealing with personal issues with Ike behind the scenes, Tina began to test the waters of a solo career with the release of her Tina Turns the Country On! album in 1974 and an appearance as the Acid Queen in the film version of The Who’s Tommy. Tina escaped her marriage to the abusive Ike Turner in 1976 and began a solo career in earnest. After several albums and a series of TV appearances and solo live tours in smaller venues, Tina Turner found herself performing in Las Vegas and was no longer achieving the kind of success she had experienced just a few years before with Ike. However, Rod Stewart invited her to perform with him on popular U.S. television show Saturday Night Live in 1981. She then toured with the Rolling Stones that same year and began to turn her fortunes around. In 1982, the members of Sheffield, England’s Heaven 17 asked her to provide vocals for a cover of The Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” for their B.E.F. side project. The song was the catalyst that led to her signing with Capitol Records and recording the album Private Dancer (1984), which went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. The album featured seven singles including the massive hits “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Better Be Good To Me,” and “Private Dancer.” In February 1985, Tina Turner won three Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” She dabbled with acting again in the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and scored a hit with “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” which was taken from the soundtrack and earned her another Grammy Award. Her next album, Break Every Rule, was released in 1986 and sold five million copies. The album featured the Grammy-winning song “Back Where You Started.” Her concert album Tina Live in Europe (1988) earned her yet another Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance. Her 1989 album Foreign Affair climbed to the top of the charts in eight countries and sold over six million copies. In 1991, she released the compilation album Simply the Best, which reached the Top 10 in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK. What’s Love Got To Do With It, a film based on Tina Turner’s life, was released in 1993 and became a hit and featured a soundtrack that included re-recorded versions of some of her classic hits. Her final two albums - Wildest Dreams (1996) and Twenty Four Seven (1999) – were not as successful in the US but were hits in several other countries around the world. Tina Turner announced her retirement from the music business in July 2000. She did return to live performances in 2008 but retired permanently the following year. She became involved in many passion projects over the next 14 years and received many honors including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. She also wrote several books, and her musical legacy was celebrated by numerous compilations released around the world. Tina Turner died on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83.