Tina Turner is a Grammy Award winner. In the 1960s, she began performing concerts with Ike Turner (husband). They became known as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Artists have received recognition through their performances. But Tina left her husband in the 1970s after years of domestic abuse.
The singer then enjoyed an international solo career with hits: What's Love Got to Do With It, Better Be Good to Me, Private Dancer and Typical Male.
She enjoyed huge popularity thanks to the album Private Dancer (1984). The artist continued to release even more albums and popular singles. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Later, the singer participated in the Beyond project and married Erwin Bach in July 2013.
Early life of Tina Turner
Tina Turner (Anna May Bullock) was born November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee. Parents (Floyd and Zelma) were poor farmers. They broke up and left Turner and her sister with their grandmother. When her grandmother died in the early 1950s, Turner moved to St. Louis, Missouri, to be with her mother.
As a teenager, Turner took up R&B in St. Louis, spending considerable time at the Manhattan Club. In 1956, she met rock 'n' roll pioneer Ike Turner, who often played in the club with the Kings of Rhythm. Soon Turner performed with the group and quickly became the main "chip" of the show.
Chart Leader: A Fool in Love
In 1960, one singer did not appear on a Kings of Rhythm recording. And Turner sang the lead on A Fool in Love. The recording then broke through at a radio station in New York and was released under the pseudonym Ike and Tina Turner.
The song was very successful in R&B circles and soon hit the pop charts. The group released successful singles including It's Gonna Work Out Fine, Poor Fool and Tra La La La.
Ike and Tina got married
The couple got married in Tijuana (Mexico) in 1962. Two years later, their son Ronnie was born. They had four sons (one from Tina's early relationship and two from Ike's early relationship).
Famous interpretation of Proud Mary
In 1966, Tina and Ike's success reached new heights when they recorded Deep River, Mountain High with producer Phil Spector. The main song was unsuccessful in the United States. But she became successful in England and the duo became very famous. Nevertheless, the duo became more famous thanks to their live performances.
In 1969, they toured as the opening act for the Rolling Stones, gaining even more fans. Their popularity was revived in 1971 with the release of the album Workin Together. It featured a famous remake of the track Creedence Clearwater Revival Proud Mary. It reached the top of the US charts and helped them win their first Grammy.
Then in 1975, Tina also appeared in her first film, playing Acid Queen in Tommy.
Divorce with Ike
Despite the success of the musical duo, Tina and Hayk's marriage was a nightmare. Tina later revealed that Ike often physically abused her.
By the mid-1970s, the couple had separated after an argument in Dallas. In 1978 they were officially divorced. Tina cited Ike's frequent infidelities and constant drug and alcohol use.
In the years following the divorce, Tina's solo career developed slowly. According to Tina, when she left Ike, she had "36 cents and a gas station credit card." To make ends meet and take care of the children, she used food stamps, even cleaned the house. But the singer also continued to perform at minor venues and appeared as a guest star on the recordings of other artists, although she initially did not achieve noticeable success.
The resounding return of Tina Turner: Private Dancer
However, in 1983, Turner's solo career began to take off. She recorded a remake of Al Green's Let's Stay Together.
She returned to the recording studio the following year. The Private Dancer album was very popular. Thanks to this collection, the artist received four Grammy awards. And as a result, it was sold with a circulation of more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Private Dancer was a huge success in terms of other singles. Since the song What's Love Got to Do With It took 1st position in the American pop charts and received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The single Better Be Good to Me also hit the top 10.
By that time, Turner was about 40 years old. She became even more famous for her energetic performances and raucous singing technique with her signature look. The artist usually performed in short skirts that exposed her famous legs, and with voluminous bouffant hair in a punk style.
Beyond Thunderdome and Foreign Affair
In 1985, Turner returned to the screen starring Mel Gibson in Mad Max 3: Under Thunderdome. She wrote the popular song We Don't Need Another Hero for it.
A year later, Tina published her autobiography I, Tina, which was later adapted into the film What to Do With Her (1993) starring Angela Bassett (as Tina) and Laurence Fishburne (as Ike). Tina Turner's soundtrack for this film was certified double platinum.
Turner's second solo album, Break Every Rule, was released in 1986 and featured the song Typical Male. The track was another hit for Turner, who peaked at #2 on the pop charts.
In 1988, Tina Turner received a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance. And the following year, the Foreign Affair album was released, which included the single The Best. It later became a Top 20 single, surpassing Private Dancer in global sales.
Wildest Dreams and final tour
In 1996, Tina Turner released Wildest Dreams, presenting her cover version of Missing You (John Waite).
And in 1999, the singer presented a new album, Twenty Four Seven. She has also produced several recordings for film soundtracks, including the James Bond lead song Goldeneye (a UK Top 10 hit) and He Lives in You (The Lion King 2).
In 1991, Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, Hayk was unable to attend the ceremony as he was serving time for drug possession. In 2007, he died of a drug overdose.
In 2008, the artist embarked on her "50th Anniversary Tour Tina!". It became one of the most visited shows in 2008 and 2009. She announced that this would be her last tour. And she left the music business except for occasional performances and recordings.
Turner continued to be a music luminary, appearing on the cover of Dutch Vogue in 2013.
Personal life and religion of the singer Tina Turner
In 2013, Tina Turner at the age of 73 became engaged to her partner, German Erwin Bach. They got married in Zurich (Switzerland) in July 2013. This happened a few months after Turner received Swiss citizenship.
In the 1970s, a friend introduced Turner to Buddhism, in which she found peace through chanting rituals. Today, she adheres to the teachings of The Soka Gakkai International. This is a large Buddhist organization, which includes about 12 million people who practice Buddhism.
Turner collaborated with musicians Regula Kurti and Dechen Shak-Dagsey on the release of Beyond: Buddhist and Christian Prayers (Buddhist and Christian Prayers) in 2010. And also for the subsequent albums Children Beyond (2011) and Love Within (2014).
Grammy Award and Tina Turner: The Tina Turner Musical
In 2018, Tina Turner was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (along with such music legends as Neil Diamond and Emmylou Harris).
A few months later, fans got the chance to hear her big hits with Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theater in London.
That same summer, Turner learned that Craig (the eldest son) had been found dead at his home in Studio City, California, as a result of a spontaneous gunshot wound. The real estate agent (Craig) was Turner's son from her relationship with saxophonist Raymond Hill in the 1950s.
Tina Turner in 2021
In March 2021, the singer surprised fans with the announcement that she was leaving the stage. Turner spoke about this during an interview for the documentary film Tina. The film will premiere at the end of March.
