Legendary Singer Tina Turner Dead at 83
The music world has a lost a beloved artist.
Legendary singer Tina Turner died at the age of 83, her team confirmed on May 24.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner," their statement, posted to her social media pages, read. "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."
Tina's death comes five months after the passing of her and Ike Turner's son Ronnie.
Ronnie died on Dec. 8 from complications of metastatic colon carcinoma, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office. He was 62.
In the wake of his death, Tina remembered her son in a heart-wrenching tribute, writing in a Dec. 9 Instagram post, "Ronnie, you left the world far too early. In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son."
Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, Tina grew up in the rural town of Nutbush, Tennessee. She spent much of her childhood singing in the church choir, though her home life was strained due to her father's alleged abusive behavior toward her mother. When Tina was 11, her mom left the family and relocated to St. Louis, leading the young girl and her two older sisters to be raised by their maternal grandparents and other relatives.
Tina spent her teenager years split between Tennessee and Missouri, and, while in St. Louis, she and her sisters began frequenting the local blues lounges, including the Manhattan Club. It was there that her future husband Ike and his band Kings of Rhythm played in the late 1950s.
In her 2018 memoir My Love Story, Tina recalled she wasn't physically attracted to Ike at first, but he'd "hit one note, and I thought, 'Jesus, listen to this guy play.'"
Though Ike was initially against Tina joining his band, he agreed after hearing her perform B.B. King's "You Know I Love You" one night during intermission. Their relationship began as a professional one—with Tina dating and welcoming son Craig with saxophone player Raymond Hill in 1958—before turning romantic. (Craig died by suicide in 2018.)
"My relationship with Ike was doomed the day he figured out I was going to be his money-maker," Tina wrote in her memoir, adding that Ike's control even extended to changing her name against her wishes. "He needed to control me, economically and psychologically, so I could never leave him."
She gave birth to Ronnie in 1960 and married Ike two years later. Throughout their relationship, the singer claimed that she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse from her partner behind closed doors.
However, on stage, the couple rose to fame with hits like "A Fool in Love," "It's Going to Work Out Fine," "I Idolize You," "I Can't Believe What You Say" during the 1960s. Under the banner of Ike & Tina Turner Revue, their covers of The Beatles' "Come Together" and Creedence Clearwater Revivals' "Proud Mary" cemented their superstardom, with Tina being dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll."
It wasn't until 1976, after years of torment and abuse, that Tina left Ike. As depicted in the 1993 biopic What's Love Got to Do With It, the pair were on tour—and Ike was asleep—when Tina snuck out of their hotel room with just a Mobil credit card and 36 cents in her pocket.
She filed for divorce days later, and the split was legally finalized in 1978. (Ike died in 2007 at the age of 76.)
Though critics at the time believed that the breakup would be the end of Tina's musical career, she proved them wrong. "Considering my age, 39, my gender, my color, and the times we lived in, everything was strong winds against me," she wrote in My Love Story. "But you keep going."
Her 1984 solo album Private Dancer included smashes like "Better Be Good To Me" and the now-iconic "What's Love Got to Do with It," earning her four Grammys.
From there, Tina's success continued with "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" for the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack and the titular James Bond theme song in 1995's Golden Eye.
Tina's many career accolades includes three American Music Awards, 12 Grammys and a Kennedy Center Honor. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Ike in 1991, and again as a solo artist in 2021.
In her personal life, Tina found love with music executive Erwin Bach, who she first met in 1986. The pair tied the knot in July 2013 after 27 years of dating.
Keep reading to take a look back at Tina throughout the years.
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