Tina Turner whose songs dominated the rock’n’roll music space in the 1980s has died after a long illness.
She was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and had a kidney transplant in 2017.
“Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland,” her publicist Bernard Doherty said in a statement. “With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”
In her 2018 memoir titled,Tina Turner: My Love Story, Turner revealed the many health issues she had dealt with since 2013, including a stroke, intestinal cancer, and kidney failure. Her second husband, Erwin Bach, gave her a kidney in 2017, saving her life.
Tina Turner was successful both as a solo artist and in a duo with her first husband, Ike Turner. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and became a staple of the U.S. pop and R&B charts in the 1960s and ’70s while singing with her then-husband.
Turner’s unique song was attributed to her disparate vocal influences. Growing up, she was inspired by country music and many idols such as; ’50s R&B singers LaVern Baker and Faye Adams; gospel great Mahalia Jackson and rock pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe; blues legend B.B. King; and soul greats Ray Charles and Sam Cooke.
Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on 26 November 1939 and was raised in Nutbush, Tennessee, and started singing in the town’s church choir sang in the town’s church choir.
Her first husband, Ike Turner, trademarked her name Tina Turner while they worked together, in case she tried to leave him. She described him as abusive and recalled when he hit her with a wooden shoe stretcher.
“My relationship with Ike was doomed the day he figured out I was going to be his moneymaker,” Turner wrote in her 2018 autobiography My Love Story. “He needed to control me, economically and psychologically, so I could never leave him.”
Tina Turner made her record debut under the name with the Ike and Tina Turner single A Fool in Love in July 1960, which entered the US Top 30 and saw other chart success. But it was their live performances that made them a sensation.
In 1964, they signed to Warner Bros imprint Loma Records, which released their first album to chart: Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show.
Their success saw the two meeting with many of rock’s biggest names. Phil Spector produced the 1966 single River Deep – Mountain High; they supported the Rolling Stones in the UK and later the US, and stars including David Bowie, Sly Stone, Cher, Elvis Presley, and Elton John came to their Las Vegas residency.
Tina Turner’s Top 20 Songs
1. Tina Turner – What’s Love Got to Do With It (1984)
2. Ike and Tina Turner – Nutbush City Limits (1973)
3. Ike and Tina Turner – Proud Mary (1971)
4. Ike and Tina Turner – River Deep – Mountain High (1966)
5. Tina Turner – Whole Lotta Love (1975)
6. Tina Turner – Private Dancer (1984)
7. Tina Turner – Acid Queen (1976)
8. BEF – Ball of Confusion ft Tina Turner (1982)
9. Tina Turner – GoldenEye (1995)
10. Tina Turner – Let’s Stay Together (1983)
11. Ike and Tina Turner – Sexy Ida Parts One and Two (1974)
12. Tina Turner – Whatever You Want (1996)
13. Tina Turner – We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (1985)
14. Ike and Tina Turner – Sweet Rhode Island Red (1974)
15. Tina Turner – Typical Male (1986)
16. Tina Turner – The Best (1989)
17. Ike and Tina Turner – Up in Heah (1972)
18. Ike and Tina Turner – A Fool in Love (1960)
19. Ike and Tina Turner – Workin’ Together (1970)
20. Ike and Tina Turner – Stop the Wedding/Please, Please, Please (1970)
