Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born
Anna Mae Bullock on
November 26,
1939 - some sources say
1938) is a
Grammy Award-winning
American pop/
rock singer,
Buddhist and occasional
actress. She was born of
African American,
Navajo, and
Cherokee ancestry in the Haywood Memorial Hospital in
Brownsville,
Tennessee and raised in
Nutbush,
Tennessee. Tina Turner's dominance in
rock and roll throughout the
1980s and
1990s, earned her the title "
Queen of Rock & Roll".
At age 16, she moved to
St. Louis, Missouri and became well-known for her high energy performances with
The Ike and Tina Turner Revue during the
1960s and
1970s. At the height of the revue's success, Tina Turner became as popular a live performer as other major performers during this period such as
James Brown.
Tina Turner was a very popular performer before she split with Ike Turner, but it was her solo comeback in the mid-1980s that propelled her to a level where she would become one of the most successful musicians and rock artists of all time, selling more concert tickets than any other female performer in history. Tina Turner is noted for her overpowering stage presence. Her physical trade marks are her long legs, big hair, and raspy voice.
Throughout her career, Tina Turner has received many awards and honors. Tina possesses a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the 1990s. In addition, she is a member of the
St. Louis Walk of Fame. She is also the winner of seven
Grammy Awards.
Her boyfriend is
German record executive Erwin Bach. Turner and Bach live together in Küsnacht,
Zürich,
Switzerland.
Early life
Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner) and her elder sister, Alline Bullock were abandoned by their father, and temporarily by their mother. They moved out of
Nutbush,
Tennessee and into
St. Louis to reunite with their mother in 1956.
In St. Louis, Annie Bullock met Ike Turner, a noted pioneer of rock and roll, and later asked him if she could sing for him. Ike's initial response was no, but after much persistence on Annie's part, he eventually agreed.
Early career
|
Tina Turner performing with Ike Turner |
Young Anna Mae started working with
Ike Turner in
1958. Ike changed her stage name to Tina Turner. They later married in
1962. She began as an occasional vocalist in his show at the age of 18, but within a couple of years she not only had a new name, but was the spotlight of a popular soul revue led by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm.
When a singer was scheduled to record the famous R&B song, "A Fool In Love", didn't appear, Tina stepped in and recorded the song instead. "A Fool In Love" was a huge
R&B hit, and it crossed over into made it into the top 30 of the
U.S pop chart. After this, Ike changed the name of his band to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s Ike & Tina rose into superstardom. As times and musical styles changes, Tina developed a unique stage persona as a singer/dancer/performer that people very much enjoyed in live concert.
Ike and Tina Turner recorded a string of hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, including "A Fool In Love," "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "I Idolize You," "Nutbush City Limits," and
River Deep - Mountain High with producer
Phil Spector in his
Wall of sound style. They also carved out a successful niche for themselves by "covering" songs made popular by other artists, such as, "Come Together", "Honky Tonk Woman", "I Want to Take You Higher". In fact, their signature hit became their high energy cover version of
Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" (1971). Proud Mary was the revue's greatest commercial successes, peaking at number four in March 1971.
While many of their original recordings never charted, by the late 1960s the Ike and Tina Turner Revue was well known for their live act and electrifying television appearances. Their supporters included
The Rolling Stones and
Janis Joplin. They were always performing anywhere and everywhere. A one night gig at a small predomininately black supper club could be followed up in the same week with a show at a major venue or a national TV appearance. Ike acted as the groups' manager and lead musical director, calling all the shots and ruling the act (and Tina) with an iron hand. This atmosphere caused the musicians and backup singers to frequently come and go, and Tina later reported being isolated and physically abused by Ike on a regular basis.
Ike and Tina had one child together, born in 1960, although their extended family consisted of two older sons of Ike's from a previous relationship and a son whom Tina bore in 1958 by Raymond Hill, a onetime saxophone player in Ike Turner's band.
1970s
By the mid-1970s, Tina Turner's personal life and marriage began to further deteriorate. Ike's alleged drug use led to increasingly erratic and physically abusive behavior toward Tina. Their act was losing speed, largely due to Ike's refusal accept outside management of their recording or touring, preferring to keep management costs down. Touring dates began to decline, and record sales were down. Despite Tina's successful big-screen appearance in
The Who's rock opera,
Tommy, Ike placed the blame for the Revue's decline on Tina. After a final vicious beating right before they were due to appear in Dallas over the Fourth of July, 1976, Tina abruptly decided to leave Ike, fleeing with nothing more than thirty-six
cents and a gas station credit card. She spent the next few months hiding from Ike by staying with various friends and relying on food stamps to exist.
Tina credits her newfound
Buddhist faith with giving her the courage to eventually strike out on her own. Legally, by walking out on Ike in the middle of a tour, she learned she was liable for sizable damages to the tour promoters. Needing to earn a living, Tina decided to strike out on her own as a solo performer, pulling a lounge act together, supplementing her income with TV appearances on shows like
Hollywood Squares and
The Sonny & Cher Show. Tina finalized her
divorce in
1978 after 18 years of marriage, accusing Ike of years of severe spousal abuse and rampant drug addiction in her autobiography
I, Tina, which was later made into the film
What's Love Got to Do with It?. To put the marriage (and Ike) behind her, Tina left the marriage with no money or property, asking for and retaining only the use of the stage name Ike had given her--and assuming responsibilty for the debts owed from the cancelled tour, as well as a significant IRS lein.
Private Dancer
Tina Turner began touring extensively to pay the bills and released several solo albums in the 1970s, but her career stalled until teaming up in 1982 with BEF for a remake of
the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" and recording a remake of
Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," which drew the attention of
Capitol Records. While she was largely considered to be washed-up by the American record industry, her popularity as a top stage act never faded in Europe and other parts of the world, so Capitol had signed her to a limited deal with their UK label. She divided her time between appearing at supper clubs and small venues in the US, and still selling out major venues in Europe.
When Tina Turner's version of "Let's Stay Together" was released in the United Kingdom, it became a huge hit, peaking at number six. This record marked a major turning point in Tina's solo career. Capitol shrewdly released the record in the US, where it made the Top 20. Given this turn of events,
Capitol Records was quickly forced to review their previous assessment of Tina's chartability and put forth the resources to let her record an album.
In 1984, after much anticipation Tina Turner was able to release her long awaited solo album
Private Dancer. The album was an enormous success, and established Tina Turner as a solo artist. Private Dancer had three top ten singles in the U.S, two of which won
Grammy Awards. The
Billboard Hot 100 number one hit, "
What's Love Got to Do With It?", which won
Record Of The Year,
Song Of The Year, and
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The album's title track, written by
Mark Knopfler, peaked at number seven on the Top 100. The third single, "Better Be Good To Me", reached number five on the charts and won the 1985
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy.
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" was one of the most popular songs of 1984, and remains one of Tina Turner's most beloved songs.
Private Dancer went on to sell over 6 million copies in the United States alone, and well over 20 million copies world-wide, becoming the most successful album of the 1984-1985 period. It peaked at number three on the US album sales chart, and remained at number one for five weeks on the US R&B album sales chart. More than twenty years after its release,
Private Dancer is one of the highest-selling albums of all time.
Break Every Rule and beyond
In 1984 she also recorded a duet with
Bryan Adams entitled "It's Only Love". In 1985, she appeared as "Aunty Entity" in
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with
Mel Gibson, and scored additional hits with the movie's
soundtrack, "We Don't Need Another Hero," and "One of the Living." We Don't need Another Hero was a huge success on the radio charts. It peaked at number 2 in the U.S. The song remains one of Tina Turner's most popular and powerful songs.
"One of the Living" was also quite popular and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance. That same year, Tina famously dueted with
The Rolling Stones' own
Mick Jagger in a performance of "State of Shock" at the
Live Aid benefit concert at
JFK Stadium.
In 1986 Tina Turner released her second solo studio album,
Break Every Rule. The album was a great sales chart success and tour success. It spawned a number of hit singles including the most popular, "
Typical Male", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number two. "Typical Male" is noted for its powerful, fast-paced beats, and strong vocals. Break Every Rule sold nearly 12 million copies worldwide.
Tina entered the
Guinness Book of World Records during her Break Every Rule tour when she performed in front of the largest paying audience to see a single performer. The audience was made up of over 182,000 fans in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The concert, sponsored by
Pepsi, was broadcast live to a worldwide audience.
In 1989, Tina Turner released her last album of the 1980s
Foreign Affair. This album was another great success for Turner, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. "Foreign Affair" sold 1.5 million copies in the United States. It spawned a variety of different hit singles. One of the album's most popular singles was the hit, "
The Best". The song peaked at number fifteen on the U.S. Hot 100, and peaked at number five in the
United Kingdom. Tina Turner continued to lead several extensive world tours in the 1980s and 1990s and released several more successful albums.
1990s
|
The cover of Tina Turner's 1999 Twenty Four Seven Album. |
During the early 1990s, her song "The Best" had become the theme song of two athletes: the legendary boxer
Chris Eubank (who made an unannounced appearance on stage with Tina at one years
Mobo Awards) and also the Brazilian Formula One racer
Ayrton Senna (she even called him onstage in an australian concert in 1993, a few months before his death). Also, the song was considered the anthem of the Rugby League in
Australia. The advertising campaign brought a lot of interest to the game, and the campaign reached a height when Turner appeared at and performed the song at the 1993 ARL Grand Final. A Rugby League version of the songs video clip was also released around the same time, which was in the top ten videos in Australia for a long time as well.
In 1993, her 1986
autobiography I, Tina (an international best seller) was made into a motion picture entitled
What's Love Got to Do with It?. Angela Bassett won the role of Tina Turner in the movie (
Whitney Houston and
Halle Berry had also auditioned for the role) and was nominated for an Oscar for her performance.
Laurence Fishburne played Ike and also received an
Oscar nomination for his portrayal.
Tina Turner released an official sound-track album to the movie also titled, '
What's Love Got to Do with It?. Tina returned to the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 with the theme song for the film "I Don't Wanna Fight," and embarked on a tour of
North America. The album went double platinum in the U.S. for sales over 2 million, and it sold over 9 million copies throughout the world.
Tina, What's Love Live! was broadcast by
FOX in the United States at the conclusion of her tour. That same year at the
World Music Awards, Tina was honored with the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.
In 1995, she recorded the title theme of the
James Bond movie
Goldeneye, penned by
Bono and
The Edge of
U2.
Shortly thereafter, at the age of 56, Tina embarked on a world tour to promote her
Wildest Dreams album. In 1996 Tina Turner released her fourth official studio album titled,
Wildest Dreams. "Wildest Dreams" sold over 8 million copies worldwide and 1.3 million copies in the United States. In 1998 Tina recorded the theme tune for "
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" called "He Lives In You"
Tina Turner's most recent official studio album was released in
1999. The album was called
Twenty Four Seven. It was not as successful as Tina's past albums, but it was still a success. It sold 1 million copies in the U.S. becoming platinum, and 6 million copies throughout the world. Also in 1999 Tina performed on
VH1 Diva's Live '99 with artists like
Cher,
Whitney Houston &
Elton John.
Tina Turner today
She gained great popularity throughout Europe and moved there permanently in 1986 to share a home with Erwin Bach, a German-born EMI record company executive 16 years her junior. In addition to a lakeshore home on the Goldküste, the most exclusive district of Zurich, Switzerland, Turner has an estate in France at Villefranche-sur-Mer, a small town about 4 miles (6km) east of the city of Nice. Her home there sits atop Mont Vinaigrier, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Now semi-retired, she teamed up with
Phil Collins to record the song "Great Spirits" for the Disney film
Brother Bear in 2003.
In 2004, Tina Turner released her latest greatest hits compilation abum,
All the Best, which made Tina's highest Billboard 200 debut of her career, entering at #2. All The Best has so far sold over 5 million copies in the world.
Tina continued to do several live television performances in the US and Europe, highlighted by an interview and performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in Spring 2005. Also in 2005, Tina was honored as one of the top legends in the entertainment business by Winfrey and her peers.
In December 2005, Tina Turner received the
Kennedy Center Honors, in a show stopping event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Turner joins an elite group of entertainers including contemporaries,
Aretha Franklin,
Michael Jackson,
Ray Charles,
Little Richard and
Chuck Berry.
Tina Turner's final major tour concert in 2000 was the highest grossing act in North America of the year. Though retired from major tours, Tina continues to give special performances to this day.
In August 2006 the Billboard Magazine has reported that Tina worked on a New Album, on the Oprah show in 2005 she added to touring before she is 70 in 2009. So its a good reason to go on Tour for the last time in a age of 68 Years.
For an Ike & Tina Turner discography, see the Ike Turner article.Albums
Official Studio Albums * 1974:
Tina Turns the Country On* 1975:
Acid Queen #155 U.S.
* 1978:
Rough * 1979:
Love Explosion * 1984:
Private Dancer #1 (5 weeks) R&B, #3 U.S., #2 UK (U.S. sales: 6 million+, WW sales: 20 million+)
* 1986:
Break Every Rule #7 R&B, #4 U.S., #2 UK (U.S. sales: 3 million+, WW sales: 11 million+)
* 1989:
Foreign Affair #83 R&B, #31 U.S.,
#1 UK (U.S. sales: 1.5 million+, WW sales: 10 million+)
* 1996:
Wildest Dreams #26 R&B, #61 U.S., #4 UK (U.S. Sales: 1.3 million+, WW sales: 8 million+)
* 1999:
Twenty Four Seven #29 R&B, #21 U.S., #9 UK (U.S. sales: 1 million+, WW sales: 6 million+)
Compliation/Soundtracks/Live Albums* 1985:
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome #47 R&B, #39 U.S.
* 1988:
Tina Live in Europe #86 U.S., #8 UK (U.S. sales: 1.1 million+)
* 1991:
Simply the Best (compilation) #99 R&B, #113 U.S., #2 UK (U.S. sales: 2 million+, WW sales: 9 million+)
* 1993:
What's Love Got to Do with It? #8 R&B, #17 U.S.,
#1 UK (U.S. sales: 2.3 million+, WW sales: 7.6 million+)
* 1994:
The Collected Recordings - Sixties to Nineties* 2004:
All the Best #12 R&B, #2 U.S., #6 UK (U.S. sales: 1.8 million+, WW sales: 5 million+)
Hit singles
*1975 "Whole Lotta Love" #61 R&B
*1975 "Acid Queen"
*1978 "Root Toot, Undisputable Rock & Roller"
*1978 "Sometimes When We Touch"
*1979 "Backstabbers"
*1982 "Ball Of Confusion"
*1983 "
Let's Stay Together" #3 R&B, #26 U.S., #6 UK
*1984 "Help" #40 UK
*1984 "
What's Love Got to Do with It?" #2 R&B,
#1 (3 weeks) U.S., #3 UK
*1984 "
Better Be Good to Me" #6 R&B, #5 U.S., #45 UK
*1985 "
Private Dancer" #3 R&B, #7 U.S., #26 UK
*1985 "I Can't Stand The Rain" #57 UK
*1985 "Show Some Respect" #50 R&B, #37 U.S.
*1985 "
We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" #3 R&B, #2 U.S., #3 UK
*1985 "One Of The Living" #41 R&B, #15 U.S., #55 UK
*1985 "It's Only Love" (with
Bryan Adams) #15 U.S., #29 UK, #12 Canada
*1986 "
Typical Male" #3 R&B, #2 U.S., #33 UK
*1986 "Two People" #18 R&B, #30 U.S., #43 UK
*1987 "What You Get Is What You See" #13 U.S., #30 UK
*1987 "Break Every Rule" #74 U.S., #43 UK
*1987 "Tearing Us Apart" (with
Eric Clapton) #56 UK
*1987 "Paradise Is Here"
*1987 "Afterglow" #5 Club
*1988 "Tonight (live)" (with
David Bowie)
*1988 "
Addicted To Love (live)" #71 UK
*1989 "
The Best" #6 U.S., #5 UK
*1989 "I Don't Wanna Lose You" #8 UK
*1989 "Steamy Windows" #39 U.S., #13 UK
*1990 "Look Me In The Heart" #31 UK
*1990 "Foreign Affair"
*1990 "Be Tender With Me Baby" #28 UK
*1990 "It Takes Two" (with
Rod Stewart) #5 UK
*1991 "
Nutbush City Limits 90s Version" #23 UK
*1991 "Way Of The World" #13 UK
*1992 "Love Thing" #29 UK
*1992 "I Want You Near Me" #22 UK
*1993 "I Don't Wanna Fight" #51 R&B, #9 U.S., #7 UK
*1993 "Disco Inferno" #12 UK
*1993 "Why Must We Wait Until Tonight" #103 R&B, #97 U.S., #16 UK
*1993 "Proud Mary 90s Version"
*1995 "
GoldenEye" #89 R&B, #102 U.S., #7 UK
*1996 "Whatever You Want" #23 UK
*1996 "On Silent Wings" #13 UK
*1996 "Missing You" #84 U.S., #12 UK
*1996 "Something Beautiful Remains" #27 UK
*1996 "In Your Wildest Dreams" (with
Barry White) #34 R&B, #36 U.S., #32 UK
*1998 "He Lives In You" (
Lion King Soundtrack)
*1998 "Cose Della Vita" (with
Eros Ramazzotti)
*1999 "When the Heartache Is Over" #3 U.S. DANCE/CLUB PLAY, #10 UK
*2000 "Whatever You Need" #27 UK
*2000 "Don't Leave Me This Way"
*2003 "Great Spirits"
*2004 "Open Arms" #70 R&B, #25 UK
*2004 "Something Special"
*2004 "Complicated Disaster"
*2006 "Teach Me Again" (with
Elisa) #1 Italy
The Big T.N.T. Show (1966) (documentary)
It's Your Thing (1970) (documentary)
Gimme Shelter (1970) (documentary)
Taking Off (1971)
Soul to Soul (1971) (documentary)
CS Blues (1972) (documentary) (unreleased)
Tommy (1975)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) (Cameo)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
What's Love Got to Do with It? (1993) (Cameo; biography) (singing voice for
Angela Bassett)
Last Action Hero (1993)
*A rather obvious impersonator of Miss Turner is occasionally featured on
Brainiac: Science Abuse in a segment entitled "Tina Turner and Her Bunsen Burner".
*According to VH1, she is second on the list of Rock legends
*Turner was offered the role of "Shug Avery" in the film "
The Color Purple", but turned it down because she thought it would bring back memories of her time with Ike.
*In 1984,Tina Turner beat Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," winning record of the year for "What's Love Got to Do With It."
*In 1986, Tina Turner received a Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame*Tina Turner has won seven
Grammy Awards throughout her entire career so far.
*As a young adult, Tina tried to dye her hair with too much
bleach, and it fell out. Since then, she has worn wigs.
*President Bush noted about Tina Turner that "People stand in wonder at the natural skill, the energy and sensuality, and the most famous legs in show business....who set a standard of excellence that is admired throughout the world" before the Kennedy Centre Honors on Dec. 4 2005
*Born a
Baptist, she credits her adopted religion,
Buddhism, with giving her the strength to endure difficult times.
*Tina has two natural sons (one is Ike's, the other from a previous relationship with a musician from the Kings of Rhythm). She also raised Ike's two sons from his previous marriage.
*Her duet with
Elisa, "Teach Me Again", from the soundtrack of All the Invisible Children (2005), entered the Italian singles chart at Number 1 in
2006.
*Throughout her extensive pop career, Tina Turner has embarked on six major tours. These tours are:
Private Dancer Tour,
Break Every Rule Tour,
Foreign Affair Tour,
What's Love? Tour,
Wildest Dreams Tour, and
Twenty Four Seven Tour.
*Since the beginning of her career, Tina Turner's record sales have grown close to 100 million.
*According to [Pollstar], rock icon Tina Turner takes the title for highest grossing tour in the year 2000. Tina, who proclaimed this tour to be her last headlining and stadium "wrecking" tour, beat out fellow legend
Barbra Streisand, rock mainstays Phish and teen pop's reigning boy band, n'sync, for the number one spot with a series of high-energy shows that crisscrossed the globe. While more elitist performers perform fewer shows with higher ticket prices, Tina grabbed the brass ring with a whopping ninety-five North American shows. Tina's earning topped $80.2 million on this North American tour.(23 international shows were not taken into considerationâ€"with mid-range ticket prices). Now (2000) sixty-one, proves once again that one need not be sixteen years old to make a splash in the music industry.
*Tina Turner has also sold more concert tickets than any other female performer in history.
*She also contributed her voice to the famous USA for Africa - famine charity song "We are the World".
*Tina Turner is the most successful female rock & roll artist in history.
*A show at
Six Flags Great America theme park called Tribute to the Stars features a Tina Turner impersonator.
*
Best selling music artists - World's top selling music artists chart.
*
List of best-selling albums worldwide*
List of number-one hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart*
Official site*
Turner's Entry on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
*
Tina Turner on all music quide *
Tina Turner at ask men
*
Tina Turner at VH1 Artist Main*
Tina Turner on the MTV official site*
Tina Turner Star Pulse
