Who is Tina Turner?

Synopsis

Born in Tennessee in 1939, Tina Turner began performing with musician Ike Turner in the 1950s. They became known as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, achieving popular acclaim for their live performances and recordings, until Tina left in the 1970s after years of abuse. Following a slow start to her solo career, Turner achieved massive success with her 1984 album, Private Dancer. She went on to deliver more chart-topping albums, and was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The singer later became involved in the spiritual Beyond project, and married longtime boyfriend Erwin Bach in July 2013.

Early Life

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee. Her parents, Floyd and Zelma Bullock, were poor sharecroppers, who, early in her life, split up and left Turner and her sister to be raised by their grandmother. When her grandmother died in the early 1950s, Turner moved to St. Louis, Missouri, to be with her mother.
Barely in her teens, Turner quickly immersed herself in St. Louis's R&B scene, spending much of her time at Club Manhattan. It was there, in 1956, that she met rock-and-roll pioneer Ike Turner, who often played at the club with the Kings of Rhythm. It wasn't long before Turner was performing with the group, and she quickly became the highlight of their show.

Making the Charts

In 1960, when another singer failed to show up for a Kings of Rhythm recording session, Turner sang the lead on a track titled "A Fool in Love." The record was then sent to a radio station in New York, and was released as "Ike and Tina Turner." The song became a huge R&B success, and soon crossed over to the pop charts. Before long, the group was touring as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue and earning renown for their electrifying stage performances. The group also capitalized on the success of "A Fool in Love" by releasing a string of successful follow-up singles in 1961, including "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "Poor Fool" and "Tra La La La La."
With their popularity growing, Ike and Tina were married in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1962. Two years later their son, Ronnie, was born (they had four sons in all, one from an earlier relationship of Tina's, and two from an earlier relationship of Ike's).
In 1966, Tina and Ike's success reached new heights when they recorded the album River Deep, Mountain High with superstar record producer Phil Spector. The title track was unsuccessful in the United States, but became a massive hit in Europe and brought the duo new fame. In 1969, they toured as the opening act for the Rolling Stones, winning themselves still more fans. Their popularity continued well into the 1970s, charting with tracks such as "Proud Mary" and "Nutbush City Limits." In 1975, Tina also appeared in her first film, playing the Acid Queen in the Who's Tommy.

Going Solo

Despite their success as a musical duo, by the mid-1970s, Tina and Ike's marriage was in shambles. In 1976, the couple separated both personally and professionally, and in 1978, they were officially divorced, with Tina citing Ike's physically abusive behavior, frequent infidelities and increasing drug and alcohol use.
In the years following her divorce, Tina's solo career got off to a slow start. According to Tina, when she left Ike, she had "36 cents and a gas station credit card." To make ends meet and to care for her children, she used food stamps and even worked cleaning houses. But she also continued to perform, only in lower-profile venues, and made guest appearances on other artists' records, though without achieving any notable success.
In 1983, however, Turner's solo career finally gained steam when she recorded a remake of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together." The following year, she exploded back into the record industry when her much-anticipated solo album, Private Dancer, was released to overwhelming critical and popular success. It went on to win four Grammy Awards and eventually sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. By this time, Turner had become known for her uniquely energetic performance style and raspy singing style, as well as for her signature look—typically performing in short skirts that exposed her famous legs, and with voluminously styled hair.
In 1985, Turner returned to the screen, starring opposite Mel Gibson in the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (to which she contributed the song "We Don't Need Another Hero"), and in 1986, she published her autobiography, I, Tina, which would later be adapted as the film What's Love Got to Do with It? (Her soundtrack for the film would go double platinum.) The year 1986 also saw the release of Tina Turner's second solo album, Break Every Rule. Tina Live in Europe followed in 1988 and won the Grammy for Female Rock Vocal Performance, and Foreign Affair (1989), which included the hit single "The Best," outdid Private Dancer in worldwide sales.
The following decade, Turner released Wildest Dreams (1996) and Twenty Four Seven (1999). She also made several recordings for film soundtracks, including "Goldeneye" and "He Lives in You." In 1991, Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ike was unable to attend the ceremony, however, as he was serving time for drug possession (he eventually died of an overdose in 2007).
In 2008, the iconic entertainer embarked on her "Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour," which became one of the highest-selling ticketed shows of 2008 and 2009. She announced that it would be her final tour, and essentially retired from the music business save for occasional appearances and recordings. One project that caught her attention was the recording of spiritual prayers and chants by singers Regula Curti and Dechan Shak-Dagsay. Turner joined them for the release of Beyond in 2010, as well as for the follow-up albums Children Beyond (2011) and Love Within (2014).

 

Personal Life

In 2013, it was announced that Turner, at the age of 73, was engaged to marry her longtime partner, German record executive Erwin Bach. In July 2013, they were married in Zurich, Switzerland, only months after Turner had gained her Swiss citizenship.