Legendary for her tireless live performances, Tina Turner has a strong, soaring voice with a raw edge—the epitome of the soul/blues singer. Though possessing a wide vocal range, her most passionate work is sung in the lower register. While she could be described as a “shouter” in the rhythm and blues (R&B) tradition, she is also a superb performer of slow emotional numbers.
She was born Annie Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, on November 26, 1938. As a child she sang gospel in her family’s church choir, and appeared in talent shows. She moved to St. Louis with her mother and sister in the 1950s, where she met guitarist and vocalist Ike Turner of The Kings of Rhythm. She joined The Kings as backing singer, and soon became the core of the group, marrying Turner in 1958. Her first recording was the song “Box Top” (1958), and she first sang lead vocals on “A Fool in Love” (I960), which became the group’s first million-copy hit. For the release of that record, Ike changed her name to Tina.
In 1962, The Kings of Rhythm became the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. With nine musicians and three female backing singers, the Revue became a major soul band. Unfortunately, their critically acclaimed album River Deep, Mountain High (1966) failed to create interest with the U.S. listening public, although it reached No. 3 on the U.K. charts. As a result, they were given a slot as the warm-up act on the ROLLING STONES’ 1966 British tour, which won them many fans. They were also the opening act for the Stones’ U.S. tour in 1969. In the 1970s, the Turners continued recording and touring, releasing a successful version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” in 1971. The autobiographical song “Nutbush City Limits” (1973), written by Tina, brought them widespread international success. Tina Turner also enjoyed critical acclaim for her performance as the Acid Queen in Ken Russell’s film version of The Who’S rock-opera Tommy (1975).
Tina and Ike fought frequently over his womanising, and their relationship deteriorated as he fell into the grip of drugs. On stage and in the studio, he was a musical martinet, rarely allowing her to expand as an artist. After several suicide attempts, Tina eventually left Ike and the Revue at the beginning of a tour in 1976, sneaking out of a motel room with only the clothes she was wearing and the money in her pocket (36 cents). She also relinquished all legal rights to the songs she had recorded with Ike.
After appearing with various artists such as Rod Stewart and the Stones, Tina Turner began to reestablish her career. In 1982, she enjoyed enormous success in Europe with Al Green’s song “Let’s Stay Together.” She signed with Capitol Records in 1984 and released the album Private Dancer, which went to the top of the album charts and produced three Top 40 singles, “Better Be Good to Me” (1984), “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” (1984), and “Private Dancer” (1985). Turner earned three Grammys in 1984 for best pop single (”Private Dancer”), best rock performance (”Better Be Good to Me”), and album of the year. In 1985, she starred in the film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Her 1986 autobiography I, Tina was a best-seller, and was later made into the movie What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993), although she condemned it as inaccurate.
To promote her 1986 album Break Every Rule, Turner toured for 14 months, performing 230 concerts. It paid off: the album went platinum and “Typical Male” was another Top 40 hit. In 1989, she released the album Foreign Affair, her first in three years. She sang the title theme for the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye, and in 1996 released the album Wildest Dreams. Tina Turner has built up an enormous and devoted fan-base for her gutsy songs and performance style.
Steve Valdez
SEE ALSO: FILM MUSIC; GOSPEL; ROCK MUSIC; ROCK’N’ROLL; SOUL.
FURTHER READING
Gaar, G. She’s a Rebel (Seattle, WA: Seal Press, 1992);
Hammer, Kate. Tina Turner (Watford: Exley, 1994).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
Break Every Rule; Ike and Tina Turner Revue Live; Private Dancer; River Deep, Mountain High; Simply the Best; Wildest Dreams.