Singer Tina Turner, who escaped an abusive marriage in the 1970s and became one of the biggest artists of the ’80s later dubbed the “Queen of Rock n’ Roll,” has died. She was 83. Turner’s death was confirmed in a post on her official Facebook page.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner,” the statement reads. “With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”
Turner’s career spanned well over half a century, beginning in the late 1950s when she joined her soon-to-be husband Ike Turner‘s band the Kings of Rhythm as a backup singer. It didn’t take long for Tina—then still known by her birth name, Anna Mae Bullock—to become the star of the show due to her powerful vocal delivery. In a decision that would prove emblematic of their relationship, Ike changed Anna’s name to Tina without her knowledge as they embarked on a career as a duo.
Ike and Tina began releasing music together in the 1960s and enjoyed a string of hits including “Proud Mary” and “River Deep, Mountain High”. By the 1970s, however, Ike’s abuse had escalated dramatically due in part to his cocaine addiction. She divorced him in 1978 and found the greatest success of her career as a solo artist in the 1980s. Her 1984 album Private Dancer went 5x platinum in the United States and featured her biggest single “What’s Love Go to Do With It”.
No longer held down by a controlling relationship, Tina Turner became an icon of resiliency in the 1980s. More hits followed with “Let’s Stay Together”, “Steamy Windows”, “Private Dancer”, and “It Takes Two”, a duet with Rod Stewart. Over the course of nine albums released between 1974 and 1999, Turner took home 12 Grammys and became the first woman to win Grammys in the pop, rock, and R&B fields.
Along with her prolific music career, Tina Turner dabbled in film with appearances as the Acid Queen in the 1975 adaptation of The Who‘s rock opera Tommy and a starring role in Mel Gibson‘s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome a decade later. In 1993, a semi-biographical film, What’s Love Got To Do With It, earned Angela Bassett a pair of Oscar nominations for her portrayal of Tina opposite Laurence Fishburne as Ike. Tina re-recorded a number of her hits for the soundtrack, with the updated versions eventually re-entering the charts.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Ike and Tina together in 1991, though Ike was incarcerated and Tina chose not to attend as she was on the heels of an international tour. Phil Spector accepted the award on their behalf. She was inducted again as a solo artist in 2021.
Though she stopped releasing studio albums at the turn of the century, Turner remained active throughout the new millennium. In the past five years, she released two memoirs, My Love Story and Happiness Becomes You, and also worked on Tina, a stage musical based on her life story.
Despite the troubles of her first marriage, she found love again with German music executive Erwin Bac. The two began dating in the mid-’80s and married in 2013. The pair lived in Switzerland, where Turner became a citizen after renouncing her U.S. citizenship in 2013.
Turner endured numerous health problems in the past decade and received a kidney transplant from Bac when it was discovered in 2017 that hers was failing. Her first son, Craig Raymond Turner, died of suicide in 2018. Ronnie Turner, who was the child of Tina and Ike, died last year. She is survived by her husband and her adopted sons Ike Jr. and Michael, who were Ike’s from a previous relationship.
The post Tina Turner, “Queen Of Rock N’ Roll,” Dead At 83 appeared first on L4LM.
