Tina Turner's rich contralto and bawdy stage presence made her a famous vocalist.

From rough childhood in rural Tennessee to global success was a long and painful journey.

She became a solo artist at almost 40 after leaving an abusive relationship.

She went on to release several best-selling albums, win numerous awards, and become one of music's most successful live acts.

Broken childhood
Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in rural Nutbush, Tennessee, on November 26, 1939. Her father Floyd farmed locally.Disrupted childhood. Anna Mae and her older sister Aillene were separated when her parents moved to a munitions plant and she lived with her strict religious grandparents.

After the war, Anna Mae sang in a Baptist church.

Anna and her sister moved to Brownsville, Tennessee, with her grandma two years after her mother left.

She played basketball, cheered, and socialized. She became a nurse at a St. Louis hospital after graduating in 1958.

She initially saw Ike Turner and The Kings of Rhythm at a nightclub with her sister.

Big chance
As a performer and session musician, Ike and his band were R&B club favorites.

Anna Mae was given the microphone during an intermission one night and pleased him enough to be asked to sing with the band.

She had Raymond with the band's saxophonist, Raymond Hill.In 1958, she recorded as a background singer, but Turner's Fool in Love gave her her big break two years later.

Anna Mae filled in for Art Lassiter, who didn't show up for the recording.

The demo impressed a local DJ, who gave it to the label.

Chart breakthrough
Ike urged his apprentice to lead the band and alter her name to Tina to avoid old loves.
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Fool in Love reached number 27 on the Billboard charts, and It's Gonna Work Out Fine reached the top 20 and won the duo a Grammy.After his fifth divorce, she began dating Ike. 1962 saw their wedding.

The newly named Ike and Tina Turner Revue toured for three years without a hit record.American Bandstand and Shindig featured Tina solo.

Tina's voice convinced Phil Spector to record River Deep, Mountain High.

Spector paid Ike to remain away from the studio because of his domineering nature.

Avoid abuse
Although Tina Turner was the only voice on the record, Ike and Tina Turner were credited. It failed in the US but was a tremendous hit in the UK.

The Rolling Stones asked the Revue to support a UK tour, which led to further European concerts and a larger audience.

The Turners performed on the Ed Sullivan Show when the Stones toured the US.

Two years later, they covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary for their biggest American hit.Tina played the Acid Queen in Ken Russell's 1973 rock opera Tommy.

Nutbush City Limits was the duo's last huge hit, but their relationship was deteriorating.

By the mid-1970s, Ike was addicted to drink and cocaine and physically abused his wife.

He beat her pregnant with a wire coat-hanger shoe stretcher and burned her with scorching coffee. Tina fled with a few coins in her purse in July 1976 to sue Ike for divorce.

A friendly record executive funded her solo tours, which established her as an artist. She initially struggled.

"A lot of people thought that Tina Turner was history," she told German Vogue. They only knew Ike and Tina Turner and didn't comprehend. So I tested myself."

After two albums failed to chart, she rebuilt herself with a gritty sound, leading to Rod Stewart and Rolling Stones tours.

Let's Stay Together revived her career in 1983. London-recorded Private Dancer had seven chart singles and began a world tour.

Two years later, she played Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and sang the theme song, We Don't Need Another Hero.

She sold out tours throughout the 1980s with hit after hit.

enduring icon
Over the next decade, they recorded GoldenEye, the theme song for Pierce Brosnan's first James Bond film.

She declared her semi-retirement aged 61 in the new millennium.

Tina Turner, a feminist icon, attended the 2003 Kennedy Center Honours with President George Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Al Green, and Beyonce.She returned to singing in 2008, performing at the Grammy Awards and touring to mark her 50th anniversary.

Her enthusiasm and voice were unaffected by time.

She was the oldest Vogue cover model at 73 in 2013. "I will never give in to old age until I'm old," she remarked. "And I'm not old yet."

After 27 years, she married record executive Erwin Bach and became Swiss.

In 2020, she updated What's Love Got to Do with It? She became the first artist in seven decades to reach the UK top 40.

Turner was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame a year after selling her work to BMG Rights Management for about $50m.

Tina Turner's remarkable life was the subject of a West End musical before her death.

She was asked what kept her going through the abuse and suffering.


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