Tina Turner, the iconic vocalist and on-stage performer in rock, soul, and pop music, has died at the age of 83. The family stated that she died peacefully at her home in Switzerland ‘after a long illness.’ Turner is renowned as the Queen of Rock & Soul for being one of the top vocalists in rock music. and a high-energy live performer.
Born Anna Mae Bullock, she began singing with guitarist and singer Ike Turner in 1957, and performed as Little Ann until 1960, until Ike gave her the name Tina Turner, and they debuted as a duo on the song ‘A Fool in Love,’ which became a rare R&B crossover hit and established Ike & Tina Turner’s early success as a duo. Despite Tina’s name, they did not marry until 1962.
The duo’s popularity soared after their single ‘River Deep – Mountain High‘ climbed to No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, landing them a spot opening for the Rolling Stones. Turner and Ike had other hits, including their 1970 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s ‘Proud Mary‘. Tina Turner divorced Ike in 1976 and started performing as a soloist.
She released her hit album ‘Private Dancer‘ in 1984, which went multi-platinum and garnered her first and only No 1, ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It‘. In the 1980s, she had more hit with the songs ‘Better Be Good to Me,’ ‘Typical Male,’ and ‘The Best.’
She also co-starred with Mel Gibson as ‘Auntie Entity‘ in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and released the hit single ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero‘. Turner also performed the title song for the James Bond film ‘GoldenEye‘ in 1995. In 1999, she released her final album, ”Twenty-four Seven‘.
In recent years, her legacy has grown, with her receiving a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2018, eight Grammy awards, and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—one of only a few women to do so. Her story hit Broadway in 2019 in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, on which she collaborated, and HBO released a documentary on her life in 2021.
Once named ‘one of the greatest singers of all time’, Turner leaves a seven-decade legacy that paved the way for artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Christina Aguilera.
