Reminiscing The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner

 

Anna Mae Bullock was born on 26 November 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee. She has two elder sisters, Evelyn Juanita Currie (half-sister), and Ruby Alline Bullock.
As a young girl, Bullock was a member of the church choir at Nutbush’s Spring Hill Baptist Church. While in her teens, she worked as a domestic worker for the Henderson family. She was at the Henderson’s when she received the news that her half-sister, Evelyn, had died in a car crash. Bullock also joined the female basketball team and cheerleading squad at Carver High School in Brownsville. And in 1958, she graduated from Sumner High School. Bullock worked as a nurse’s aide after high school at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Wait, I thought we are going to reminisce about Tina Turner, why are we kept on talking about Anna Mae Bullock?

Well, just sit tight, keep on reading, and let’s get it on!

 

From Little Ann to Tina Turner

 

Sometime in 1957, Bullock saw Ike Turner performing with his band, Kings of Rhythm, at the Manhattan Club. She was dazzled by his talent that she felt “almost in a trance” watching him. She then asked Turner if she could join and sing with his band, and he said he will just call her but he never did.
One night in 1957 during an intermission, Bullock got a chance to hold a mic and sang a blues ballad, You Know I Love You, by B. B. King. When Turner heard her, he immediately asked if she knew more songs. And on the rest of that night, Bullock became the featured vocalist of his band. From then, Turner taught her vocal control and performance.
And in 1958, under the name of Little Ann, Bullock had her first recording and it is the single Boxtop!

 

 

Here’s Boxtop by Ike Turner, Carlson Oliver, and Little Ann (1958)

 

 

And in July 1960, Little Ann was introduced as Tina Turner with the single A Fool In Love. And here’s what happened: The song A Fool In Love was actually written by Ike Turner for Art Lassiter, an American singer who was known for his work with Ike. During the recording session, Bullock was supposed to sing with the Artettes (Lassiter’s backup vocalists) as a background singer. But for some reason, Lassiter was not able to come. And since the studio was already paid, Bullock suggested that she will sing the lead. Ike Turner agreed but with the intention of editing the vocals and changed it with Lassiter’s after. Well, thanks to Dave Dixon, a local St. Louis disc jockey, who convinced Ike Turner to submit the unedited demo to Juggy Murray, president of Sue Records. Murray was so amazed with Bullock’s voice, and upon hearing the song he immediately bought the track and paid Turner an advance of $25,000 for the recording and publishing rights! Murray is also the one who convinced Turner to make Little Ann become the “Star of the show”. Ike Turner again agreed and named her “Tina”, which was inspired by “Sheena” Queen of the Jungle, and Nyoka the Jungle Girl, for her stage persona. And added “Turner” as Ike’s trademark and as a form of protection just in case Bullock will leave the band, he could easily make another “Tina Turner”.

 

Now here’s A Fool In Love – Live in 1960

 

And from that song, her fame started to shine like the sun of 12 noon!

 

Here’s Ike & Tina performing Proud Mary Live in Central Park – 1971

 

And here’s River Deep Mountain High Live by Ike & Tina – 1971

 

Now, let’s take a look at her discography with Ike Turner

 

Ike & Tina Turner

Studio album:

The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner – 1961
Ike & Tina Turner’s Kings of Rhythm Dance – 1962
Dynamite! – 1962
Don’t Play Me Cheap – 1963
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine – 1963
Get It – Get It – 1966
River Deep – Mountain High – 1966
So Fine – 1968
Outta Season – 1969
Cussin’, Cryin’ & Carryin’ On – 1969
River Deep – Mountain High (reissue) – 1969
The Hunter – 1969
Come Together – 1970
Workin’ Together – 1970
Her Man. . . His Woman – 1971
‘Nuff Said – 1971
Feel Good – 1972
Let Me Touch Your Mind – 1973
Nutbush City Limits – 1973
The Gospel According to Ike & Tina – 1974
Sweet Rhode Island Red – 1974
Delilah’s Power – 1977
The Edge – 1980

 

Live Albums

Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live – 1964
Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show – 1965
The Ike & Tina Turner Show – Vol. 2 – 1967
In Person – 1969
Festival of Live Performances – 1970
Live In Paris – 1971
What You Hear Is What You Get – Live at Carnegie Hall – 1971
Live! The World of Ike & Tina – 1973

 

Plus, selected compilation albums, Singles from the 1960s to 1980s, as well as Promo singles

 

Despite having a massive success, things come to an end. The relationship between the duo was hindered due to Ike’s heavy cocaine addiction. By the mid-1976, while on the way to Statler Hilton hotel for a gig, they had a physical bloodied fight that pushed Tina to get away from Ike with only 36 cents and a gas card. She later hid across the freeway at the Ramada Inn. And on the 7th of July of the same year, Tina filed a divorce which was finalized on the 29th of March 1978. After the split, two more studio albums were released by United Artists: Delilah’s Power, 1977 (the 19th and final studio album of Ike and Tina), and Airwaves, 1978 (a compilation album of the duo).

 

Going Solo

 

And because of the split up, many gigs were canceled and ended up with lawsuits. To earn income and to pay her debts, Tina Turner resumed touring and guesting on TV shows such as The Sonny & Cher Show, Donny & Marie, and The Hollywood Squares. She also did a series of cabaret shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. She also released Rough (third solo album, 1978), and Love Explosion (1979) but both failed to chart. A time came she was considered to be a nostalgia act performing at the clubs and hotel ballrooms in the US.

 

Greatest Comeback

 

In 1984, Tina Turner finally released the album that will bring her career back to a pedestal, the multi-platinum album Private Dancer. One of its singles What’s Love Got To Do With It won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and it also peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. By that time, at the age of 44, she became the oldest female solo artist to hit number 1 on the Top 100 chart. She continued her chart success with songs like Private Dancer, We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), and The Best. She also set a Guinness World Record for the “Largest Paying Audience” (180,000) for a solo performer during her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988.
What happened was indeed “One of the greatest comebacks in music history”!

 

 

Now let’s have a look at her Discography as a Solo artist

 

Studio albums

• Tina Turns the Country On! (1974)
• Acid Queen (1975)
• Rough (1978)
• Love Explosion (1979)
• Private Dancer (1984)
• Break Every Rule (1986)
• Foreign Affair (1989)
• Wildest Dreams (1996)
• Twenty Four Seven (1999)

 

Soundtrack albums

• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
• What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993)

 

Compilation albums

• Simply the Best (1991)
• The Collected Recordings: Sixties to Nineties (1994)
• All the Best (2004)
• Tina! /The Platinum Collection (2008)
• Love Songs (2014)
• The Greatest Hits (2018)

 

Live albums

• Tina Live in Europe (1988)
• Divas Live ’99 (1999)
• Tina Live (2009)

 

TOURS:

• 1977: Australian Tour
• 1978: Tina Turner Revue
• 1979: Tina Turner Show
• 1981–83: Tina Turner: Live in Concert
• 1984: 1984 World Tour
• 1985: Private Dancer Tour
• 1987–88: Break Every Rule World Tour
• 1990: Foreign Affair: The Farewell Tour
• 1993: What’s Love? Tour
• 1996–97: Wildest Dreams Tour
• 2000: Twenty Four Seven Tour
• 2008–09: Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour

 

As opening act

• 1981: American Tour 1981 (for the Rolling Stones)
• 1981: Worth Leavin’ Home For Tour (for Rod Stewart)
• 1984: Can’t Slow Down Tour (for Lionel Richie)

 

FILMOGRAPHY

• 1966: The Big T.N.T. Show
• 1970: It’s Your Thing
• 1970: Gimme Shelter
• 1971: Soul to Soul
• 1971: Taking Off
• 1971: Good Vibrations from Central Park
• 1975: Tommy
• 1975: Ann-Margret Olsson
• 1975: Poiret est à vous
• 1978: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
• 1982: Chuck Berry: Live at the Roxy with Tina Turner
• 1985: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
• 1993: What’s Love Got to Do with it
• 1993: Tina Turner: Girl From Nutbush
• 1993: Last Action Hero
• 2012: Ike & Tina on the Road: 1971–72
• 2021: Tina

 

The Setting of the Sun

 

Most of us were shocked upon hearing the passing of The Queen of Rock and Roll, Tina Turner. But many of us didn’t know, and that includes me, about her multiple life-threatening illnesses until she revealed them in 2018 in her memoir, My Love Story. Since 1978, she’s suffering from Hypertension or most commonly known as high blood pressure. It was left untreated which eventually damaged her kidneys. In 2013, Tina Turner had a stroke just three weeks after her wedding to Erwin Bach. She was also diagnosed with Intestinal cancer in 2016. Her health issues got worsened when she tried to treat them with Homeopathy (or homoeopathy which is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine). On 7 April 2017, Turner had her kidney transplant after she accepted her husband’s offer to donate his.
24 May 2023, after years of illnesses, Turner passed away at her home in Switzerland at the age of 83. Many fellow artists mourned, including Mariah Carey, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Gloria Gaynor, Lionel Richie, Bryan Adams, Madonna, Elton John, and members of The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood just to name a few.

 

 

 

Tina Turner Legacy

 

Tina Turner is considered as one of the greatest singers/performers of all time. With her unique vocals and high-energy performances, she was often called The Queen of Rock and Roll.
She is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. She received a total of 12 Grammy Awards. She was ranked among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. And, Tina Turner was the first woman, and the first black artist to be on the Rolling Stone cover!

 

 

Now let’s take a look back on a few of Tina Turner’s great performances!

 

Beatles medley from The Cher Show in 1975, Cher with Tina Turner and Kate Smith

 

Hot Legs Live by Rod Stewart and Tina Turner before their SNL performance in 1981

 

State of Shock / It’s Only Rock n Roll – Tina Turner and Mick Jagger – Live Aid 1985

 

Proud Mary – Live from Arnhem, Netherlands

 

What’s Love Got To Do With It – Live from Wembley (2000)

 

The Best – Live from Arnhem, Netherlands

 

 

Tina Turner is simply The Best! You will surely be missed.

 

 

Thank you once again for your precious time, hope to see you again in my next article!

Stay safe, and God bless. Much Love!