Rest In Peace to Tina Turner, a True Rock 'n Roll Singer

Legend has it that, back when John Fogerty was refusing to play his Creedence masterpieces because of a dispute over a contract he'd signed as a teenager, he was warned by no less than Bob Dylan that, if he didn't start playing the hits again, people were going to come to believe that "Proud Mary" was a Tina Turner song. What The Master missed, of course, was that the horse was already out of the barn, over the hill, and far away. Once Ms. Turner got a hold of a song, she never let it go.

(Incidentally, happy 82nd, Bob. Long may you wave. You did it in Las Vegas, and you can do it here.)

Tina Turner, who passed away on Tuesday, at 83, was a rock 'n roll singer. She certainly was brimming with soul. She certainly was steeped in rhythm, blues, and rhythm and blues. She could work a crowd into a frenzy any gospel preacher would be proud to incite, albeit a frenzy of rather a more, ah, secular spirit. But she was a rock 'n roll singer, in spirit, in her career, and, especially, in her voice, that ferocious, turn-it-up-loud, hot and gravelly gift of a generous god that got her out of Nutbush, Tennessee and, most important of all, got her out of a violent marriage to Ike Turner and gave her a second career that was even more successful than her first. It is not possible to listen to, say, Rod Stewart, or Joe Cocker, or Mick Jagger without hearing Tina Turner in the background, egging them on.

And she was the oldest woman ever to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. That is a rock 'n roll life right there.

Let me present the exhibits in defense of the proposition.

Here she is, saluting her hometown, also inventing Bob Seger.

Here she is, lighting Mr. Jagger on fire.

And let's not forget her movie career.

May her memory be the blessing her life and voice were. And all say amen.