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Tina Turner
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Miami Vice Performer
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Born
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November 26, 1939, Nutbush, Tennessee
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Died
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May 24, 2023, Küsnacht, Switzerland (age 83, undisclosed causes)
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Active
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1958-2023
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Spouse/Children
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Ike Turner (1958-1978), one child Erwin Bach (2013-2023, her death) One child from previous relationship |
Anna Mae Bullock (November 26, 1939 - May 24, 2023) was an American singer better known as Tina Turner, whose songs "What's Love Got to Do With It" and "Better Be Good to Me" appeared in the TV show Miami Vice.
Early life[ ]
Bullock was born in Nutbush, Tennessee. When she was ten, her and her older sister Alline moved in with their grandmother after their parents split. Bullock remained there until she was 16, when she moved with her mother and sister after her grandmother's death.
Ike Turner[ ]
Bullock's sister began taking Anna Mae to nightclubs in the St. Louis area where she met R&B singer Ike Turner, and she began singing for his band, even replacing an absent singer on the recording of "A Fool In Love", which reached the Top 30 and at that time Ike changed Bullock's name to Tina Turner, and (along with the backing singers the Ikettes) formed the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, which gained in popularity during the 1960s and early 1970s. Tina and the Ikettes choreographed intricate dance moves and lots of energy in their performances, exciting crowds everywhere. Their success included opening for the Rolling Stones on their 1966 UK tour, and peaked with their cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Proud Mary", which remains their most recognized hit, and won a Grammy. The group had one more Top 40 appearance, with Tina's "Nutbush City Limits", but the group's popularity waned in the changing music climate of the mid 1970s, and that, combined with Ike's increasing drug abuse, controlling nature towards the group and Tina led to the breakup of both the band and his marriage. Ike's violent behavior toward Tina is well-documented, finally leaving Ike "with 36 cents and a gas credit card" after a particularly violent argument in 1976.
Recovery and Career Rebirth[ ]
In 1975 Turner appeared in the movie version of the rock opera Tommy, and recorded two solo albums, neither of which sold particularly well, and despite appearing on the shows The Sonny & Cher Show, Donny and Marie, and The Hollywood Squares, Tina Turner's popularity was in decline. In 1978 her divorce to Ike was finalized, and she maintained her stage name, and assumed debts from the band. Her autobiography I, Tina detailed the years of spousal abuse she suffered from Ike and was made into a bio-pic, What's Love Got to Do With It (starring Laurence Fishburne as Ike). In the late 1970s Turner was working as a cabaret singer in Las Vegas, recorded four solo albums (some were similar to her Ike/Tina Turner sounds, others were disco-inspired) but none sold well, she also performed with Rod Stewart in 1981-82 on television, and with the Rolling Stones in concert, but her career continued to be dormant.
In 1982, one of the producers viewing her performance of the Temptations classic "Ball of Confusion" with another group asked Turner to remake Al Green's classic "Let's Stay Together". While her American popularity was nearly zero, she sold out shows all through Europe, and when the single was imported to the US, American audiences rediscovered her, her comeback single reached the Top 30, and her record label decided to greenlight her first solo album in nearly four years, Private Dancer. The album's first single, "What's Love Got to Do With It", reached #1 (her only #1 song). She had two follow-up Top 10 singles, "Better Be Good to Me" and "Private Dancer" (written by Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler), won four Grammys, and Turner once again became a major star in music. Her Private Dancer tour sold out all over the US. In 1985, Turner appeared in and performed the theme to the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, "We Don't Need Another Hero", joined Bryan Adams on his single "It's Only Love", as well as performed with USA for Africa's "We Are The World" and at Live Aid. Turner also reportedly turned down a role in Vice that would go to Eartha Kitt. She released three more albums in the 1980s and her success continued, achieving multi-million unit sales on her albums and performing to sellout crowds worldwide. In 1991 Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recorded the title song to the James Bond movie Goldeneye, and in 2000 she was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. In 2005 she received Kennedy Center Honors and was recognized by President George W. Bush as having "the most famous legs in show business". In 2007 Ike Turner died after overdosing on cocaine, but Tina had no comment on his death. In 2008 Turner began her 50th anniversary tour where she toured worldwide to her legions of fans, which wrapped up in 2009 after 90 tour dates covering October 2008 to May 2009, after which she retired from touring. In 2018 Turner received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2019 a musical based on her life, Tina, would be opening on Broadway; this had been running in England and was a success. In 2021 Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Personal life/Death[ ]
Ike & Tina Turner were married in 1958 (or 1962, according to various sites). They have one son, Ronald (born 1961) and Tina has a son, Craig (born 1958) from a relationship with sax player Raymond Hill, and was adoptive mother to two of Ike's sons, Ike Jr. and Michael. After their divorce was final in 1978, Turner had no relationships until around 1985, when she became involved with Erwin Bach, a German record executive 16 years her junior, and they married in Switzerland in July, 2013 after a nearly 30 year relationship. Turner passed away on May 24, 2023, from undisclosed causes in Küsnacht, Switzerland at the age of 83.