Tina Turner

Tina Turner

Tina Turner, originally named Anna Mae Bullock, was an iconic American-born Swiss singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as the dynamic lead singer of the husband-wife musical duo Ike & Tina Turner before embarking on a highly successful solo career. Turner earned the title "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" due to her commanding stage presence, soulful vocals, and captivating performances characterized by swagger and sensuality.


After achieving considerable success in the United States, Turner relocated to Küsnacht, Switzerland, in 1994. Eventually, she obtained Swiss citizenship in 2013 and renounced her American citizenship. Throughout her career, Turner's powerful, gravelly voice and boundless energy endeared her to audiences worldwide, solidifying her status as one of the most influential and revered figures in the history of popular music.


Tina Turner's career began in 1956 when she joined Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. Initially performing under the name Little Ann, she made her recording debut with the song "Boxtop" in 1958. However, it was in 1960, when she adopted the stage name Tina Turner, that she achieved mainstream success with the hit single "A Fool in Love".


Together with Ike Turner, Tina formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which became renowned for its electrifying live performances. The duo produced several hits, including "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", "Proud Mary", and "Nutbush City Limits". Their dynamic stage presence and chart-topping songs solidified their reputation as one of the most powerful and influential acts in the history of popular music. However, their professional partnership ended in 1976.


Tina Turner's career extended beyond music into the realm of acting and literature. She showcased her acting talents in notable films like "Tommy" (1975) and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985). In 1986, Turner shared her life story in her autobiography titled "I, Tina: My Life Story", which later served as the basis for the 1993 biographical film "What's Love Got to Do with It".


After an illustrious career spanning five decades, Turner officially retired following her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour in 2009. However, her legacy continued to thrive, and in 2018, she became the focal point of "Tina", a jukebox musical celebrating her life and achievements.


Tina Turner, originally born as Anna Mae Bullock, entered the world on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tennessee. She was the youngest daughter of Floyd Richard Bullock and Zelma Priscilla Bullock (née Currie). The family resided in Nutbush, Tennessee, a rural unincorporated community where Tina's father worked as an overseer of sharecroppers at Poindexter Farm on Highway 180. Tina often reminisced about her early years, recalling experiences like picking cotton with her family.


Tina Turner's understanding of her ancestry underwent clarification when she participated in the PBS series African American Lives 2 with Henry Louis Gates Jr. The program utilized genealogical DNA tests to estimate her family lineage, revealing insights that challenged her previous belief in having a significant amount of Native American ancestry.


Tina Turner, then Anna Mae Bullock, had two older sisters named Evelyn Juanita Currie and Ruby Alline Bullock, who was a songwriter. She was also the first cousin once removed of bluesman Eugene Bridges. During their childhood, the three sisters experienced separation when their parents moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, to work at a defense facility during World War II.


Anna Mae went to live with her strict, religious paternal grandparents, Alex and Roxanna Bullock, who held positions as deacon and deaconess at the Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church. After the war, the family reunited, and they all moved back to Nutbush. Two years later, they settled in the Flagg Grove community, where Anna Mae attended Flagg Grove Elementary School from first through eighth grade.


As a young girl, Anna Mae Bullock sang in the church choir at Nutbush's Spring Hill Baptist Church. When she was 11 years old in 1950, her mother Zelma left without warning, seeking freedom from her abusive relationship with Floyd by relocating to St. Louis. Two years after her mother's departure, her father married another woman and moved to Detroit. Anna Mae and her sisters were then sent to live with their maternal grandmother, Georgeanna Currie, in Brownsville, Tennessee.


In her autobiography "I, Tina," Anna Mae, later known as Tina Turner, expressed feeling unloved and unwanted by her parents. Zelma had originally planned to leave Floyd but decided to stay once she became pregnant again. Tina recalled her mother's situation, stating, "She was a very young woman who didn't want another kid."


As a teenager, Anna Mae Bullock worked as a domestic worker for the Henderson family in Ripley, Tennessee. During her time there, she received the news of her half-sister Evelyn's death in a car accident, along with her cousins Margaret and Vela Evans.


Despite the challenges, Bullock remained active in school activities. She joined both the cheerleading squad and the female basketball team at Carver High School in Brownsville, and she enjoyed socializing whenever possible. At the age of 16, after her grandmother's passing, she moved to St. Louis to live with her mother. Bullock graduated from Sumner High School in 1958. Following her high school graduation, Bullock began working as a nurse's aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.


Bullock and her sister embarked on frequent performances at nightclubs in St. Louis and East St. Louis. It was during one of these outings that she first witnessed Ike Turner's performance with his band, the Kings of Rhythm, at the Club Manhattan in East St. Louis. Bullock was captivated by Turner's talent, recalling that she was mesmerized watching him play.


Despite the rarity of women singing with Turner's band, Bullock approached him and expressed her desire to sing with them. Turner initially promised to call her but didn't follow through. However, one night in 1956, Bullock took matters into her own hands. During an intermission, she grabbed the microphone from Kings of Rhythm drummer Eugene Washington and belted out B.B. King's "You Know I Love You".


Impressed by Bullock's performance, Ike Turner invited her to sing more songs. She seized the opportunity and sang throughout the rest of the night, eventually becoming a featured vocalist with Turner's band. Under the name Little Ann, Bullock recorded her first single, "Boxtop", in 1958. She is credited as a vocalist on the record alongside Ike Turner and fellow Kings of Rhythm singer Carlson Oliver. During this time, Turner mentored Bullock, imparting his knowledge of vocal control and performance techniques.


In 1960, Ike Turner originally intended the song "A Fool in Love" for singer Art Lassiter, with Bullock slated to provide background vocals alongside Lassiter's backing vocalists, the Artettes. However, Lassiter failed to appear for the recording session at Technisonic Studios.


Local St. Louis disc jockey Dave Dixon intervened and persuaded Turner to send the tape to Juggy Murray, the president of the R&B label Sue Records. Murray was impressed with Bullock's vocals upon listening to the song and decided to sign her. He later remarked that "Tina sounded like screaming dirt. It was a funky sound".


Murray purchased the track and paid Turner a $25,000 advance for the recording and publishing rights. He also convinced Turner to position Bullock as the focal point of the act. In response, Turner renamed Bullock "Tina" because it rhymed with Sheena, inspired by characters like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Nyoka the Jungle Girl. He combined "Tina" with his own surname, trademarking the name "Tina Turner" for added protection. Turner's rationale was that if Bullock were to depart, as his previous singers had, he could easily replace her with another "Tina Turner".


Despite the stage persona transformation, family and close friends continued to refer to Bullock by her given name, Ann, the name she had chosen during her teenage years.


Bullock made her public debut as Tina Turner with the release of the single "A Fool in Love" in July 1960. The song achieved considerable success, reaching No. 2 on the Hot R&B Sides chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Journalist Kurt Loder characterized the track as "the blackest record to ever creep into the white pop charts since Ray Charles's gospel-styled 'What'd I Say' that previous summer".


Following the success of "A Fool in Love", Ike and Tina Turner released another notable single, "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", in 1961. The song reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, earning the duo a Grammy nomination for Best Rock and Roll Performance. During the period from 1960 to 1962, they also released several other R&B hits, including "I Idolize You", "Poor Fool", and "Tra La La La La".


After the success of "A Fool in Love", Ike Turner organized the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, a dynamic ensemble featuring the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes, a girl group serving as backing vocalists and dancers. Ike assumed the role of bandleader, orchestrating electrifying performances that captivated audiences across the United States.


Under Ike's direction, the revue embarked on grueling tours, often performing for 90 consecutive days at venues nationwide. Their relentless schedule earned them a reputation as one of the most formidable and enduring R&B ensembles of the era, comparable to the James Brown Revue in terms of musical spectacle. Through their highly profitable performances, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue broke barriers by entertaining desegregated audiences in Southern clubs and hotels, leaving an indelible mark on the music scene of the time.


Between 1963 and 1965, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue maintained a relentless touring schedule while releasing several moderately successful R&B singles. Tina Turner's debut solo single, "Too Many Ties That Bind"/"We Need an Understanding," was released under Ike Turner's label Sonja Records in 1964. During this period, the duo produced hits such as "You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had," which peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard R&B chart.


Following their stint at Sue Records, Ike and Tina Turner signed with over ten different labels throughout the decade, including Kent, Cenco, Tangerine, Pompeii, A&M, and Minit. In 1964, they inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records, with Bob Krasnow assuming management duties. Their association with Warner Bros. resulted in their first charting album, "Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show," which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot R&B LP chart in February 1965.


Additionally, their singles "Tell Her I'm Not Home," released on Loma Records, and "Good Bye, So Long," released on Modern Records, both achieved success as top 40 R&B hits in 1965.

References

1.  "Tina Turner: Singer". People. May 8, 2000. Archived from the original on December 2, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
2. ^ Pierce, Charles P. (May 24, 2023). "Rest In Peace to Tina Turner, a True Rock 'n Roll Singer". Esquire. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
3. ^ Snapes, Laura (May 24, 2023). "Tina Turner: legendary rock'n'roll singer dies aged 83". The Guardian. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
4. a b c d "Tina Turner: the making of a rock'n'roll revolutionary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
5. a b "A new campaign for Hanes hosiery features the singer Tina Turner and her famous legs". The New York Times. September 17, 1996. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
6. a b "Tina Turner on Stage". Gallery of The Popular Image. San Francisco Art Exchange. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
7. ^ Kamen, Al (November 12, 2013). "Tina Turner formally 'relinquishes' U.S. citizenship". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2021.