ANALYZING TURNER
BY: Wynda Lee

WHO IS TINA TURNER?

TINA TURNER BEGAN PERFORMING WITH MUSICIAN IKE TURNER IN THE 1950s. THEY BECAME KNOWN AS THE IKE AND TINA REVUE, ACHIEVING POPULAR ACCLAIM FOR THEIR LIVE PERFORMANCES AND RECORDINGS LIKE THE TOP 5 HIT "PROUD MARY," UNTIL TINA LEFT IN THE 1970s AFTER DOMESTIC ABUSE.

EARLY LIFE
TURNER WAS BORN ANNA MAE BULLOCK ON NOVEMBER 26, 1939, IN NUTBUSH, TENNESSEE. HER PARENTS FLOYD AND ZELMAN BULLOCK, WERE POOR SHARECROPPERS, WHO SPLIT UP AND LEFT TURNER AND HER SISTER TO BE RAISED BY THEIR GRANDMOTHER. WHEN HER GRANDMOTHER DIED IN THE EARLY 1950s, TURNER MOVED TO St. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO BE WITH HER MOTHER.

BARELY IN HER TEENS, TURNER QUICKLY IMMERSED HERSELF IN St. LOUIS'S R&B SCENE, SPENDING MUCH OF HER TIME AT CLUB MANHATTAN. IN THE 1956, SHE THE THAT ROCK-AND-ROLL PIONEER IKE TURNER, WHO OFTEN PLAYED AT THE CLUB WITH THE KINGS OF RHYTHM. SOON TURNER WAS PERFORMING WITH THE GROUP, AND SHE QUICKLY BECAME THE HIGHLIGHT OF THEIR SHOW.

MAKING THE CHARTS: "A FOOL IN LOVE"

IN 1960, WHEN ANOTHER SINGER FAILED TO SHOW UP FOR A KINGS OF RHYTHM RECORDING SESSIO, TURNER SANG THE LEAD ON A TRACK TITLED "A FOOL IN LOVE." THE RECORD WAS THEN SENT TO A RADIO STATION IN New York AND WAS RELEASED UNDER THE MONIKER "IKE AND TINA TURNER." THE SONG BECAME A HUGE SUCCESS AND SOON CROSSED OVER THE POP CHARTS. BEFORE LONG, THE GROUP WAS TOURING AS THE IKE AND TINA TURNER REVUE AND EARNING RENOWN FOR THEIR ELECTRIFYING PERFORMANCES.

DIVORCING IKE
DESPITE THEIR SUCCESS AS A MUSICAL DUO, TINA AND IKE'S MARRIAGE WAS IN SHAMBLES. TINA WOULD LATER REVEAL THAT IKE WAS OFTEN PHYSICALLY ABUSIVE.

BY THE MID-1970s, THE COUPLE SEPARATED BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY AFTER AN ALTERCATION IN DALLAS IN WHICH TINA FOUGHT BACK. 1N 1978, THEY WERE OFFICIALLY DIVORCED, WITH TINA CITING IKE'S FREQUENT INFIDELITIES AND INCREASING DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE IN ADDITION TO THE ABUSE.

IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING HER DIVORCE, TINA'S SOLO CAREER GOT OFF TO A SLOW START. ACCORDING TO TINA, WHEN SHE LEFT IKE, SHE HAD "36 CENTS AND A GAS STATION CARD." TO MAKE ENDS MEET AND TO CARE FOR HER CHILDREN, SHE USED FOOD STAMPS AND EVEN CLEANED HOUSES. HOWEVER, SHE CONTINUED TO PERFORM IN LOWER-PROFILE VENUES AND MADE GUEST APPEARANCES ON OTHER ARTIST' RECORDS, THOUGH NOT ACHIEVING ANY NOTABLE SUCCESS INITIALLY.

TINA'S HUGE COMEBACK

IN 1983, HOWEVER, TINA'S SOLO CAREER FINALLY GAINED STREAM WHEN SHE RECORDED A REMAKE OF AL GREEN'S "LET'S STAY TOGETHER." NOTED FOR A RELATED VIDEO IN WHICH SHE APPEARED IN A RAG DRESS BETWEEN TWO DANCERS, TURNER TOOK HER REMAKE TO THE TOP 5 ON THE DOMESTIC R&B CHARTS AND THE TOP 10, U.K. POP.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SHE EXPLODED BACK INTO THE RECORD INDUSTRY WHEN HER MUCH-ANTICIPATED SOLO ALBUM, PRIVATE DANCER, WAS RELEASED TO OVERWHELMING CRITICAL AND POPULAR SUCCESS. IT WENT ON TO WIN FOUR GRAMMY AWARDS AND EVENTUALLY SOLD MORE THAN 20 COPIES WORLDWIDE.

CONTINUING ON...

PRIVATE DANCER WAS A FORMIDABLE ENTITY IN TERMS OF IT'S INDIVIDUAL SINGLES, WITH EMPOWERMENT ANTHEM, "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT" REACHING NO.1 ON THE U.S POP CHARTS AND EARNING A GRAMMY FOR RECORD OF THE YEAR. THE SMOOTH-JAZZ TITLE TRACK "PRIVATE DANCER" AND "BETTER BE GOOD TO ME" BOTH REACHED THE TOP TEN AS WELL.

LATER CAREER

RETURNING TO THE SPOTLIGHT IN 2018, TURNER WAS HONORED WITH A GRAMMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO OPEN THE YEAR.

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