Yesterday, May 24th, 2023, the news informed the passing away of Tina Turner. A true rock and music icon.
Anna Mae Bullock (her real name) became Tina Turner when she started singing with her husband, Ike Turner, in the late 50s. The duo Ike & Tina were very popular. One of their biggest hits was “Proud Mary” (a cover song of John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival).
The Turner marriage was very turbulent. Ike was a drug addict, and he mistreated Tina for many years until the couple divorced at the end of the 70s. After that, Tina began her solo career.
One of her most successful solo albums was Private Dancer (1984), which featured her mega-hit “What’s Love Got To Do With It”.
During her career, she toured and collaborated with a lot of big names in the rock & roll world like David Bowie, Eric Clapton & The Rolling Stones, which lead to long-lived friendships.
She also acted in various famous movies such as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and, my favorite, Tommy. This last one was the musical movie The Who, based on their rock opera album of the same name. Several rock icons participated in this film like Eric Clapton, and Elton John, besides The Who, and Tina who was “The Acid Queen” that did a hell of a performance with this song.
Although, she started her career as a gospel and soul singer. The development of her style of vocals and performance gave her the title of “Queen of Rock & Roll”.
At the age of 83, after numerous health problems, Tina passed away, leaving behind multiple hits to be remembered by.