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R&B And Rock Legend Tina Turner, Dead At 83

R&B And Rock Legend Tina Turner, Dead At 83
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KÜSNACHT, Switzerland (CelebrityAccess) — Tina Turner, a rock and R&B singer who rose to fame as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before launching a successful solo career, died on May 24th at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland. She was 83.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly,” a rep for Turner announced via social media on Wednesday.

A cause of death was not announced, but Turner has faced a myriad of health challenges in recent years, including intestinal cancer and kidney failure followed by a transplant in 2017. A cause of death for Turner was not disclosed.

With a career that spans more than 7 decades, and more than 100 million records sold worldwide, Turner is one of the best-selling recording artists in history. She accumulated an impressive collection of honors which include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, Turner rose to fame in the 1960s as the singer of the band Ike & Tina Turner Revue, with her Husband at the time, Ike Turner.

Supported by Turner’s band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists called the Ikettes, the duo scored a string of R&B hits such as “A Fool In Love”, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”, “I Idolize You”, “Poor Fool” but was weighed upon by Ike’s addiction to cocaine, philandering and abuse behavior towards Turner.

The duo split in 1976 after a fight in Dallas with Turner leaving with just .36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket, according to her 2018 memoir.

During the mid-1980s, Turner enjoyed a resurgence of her career as a solo artist, releasing successful albums such as Private Dancer which earned Turner three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for 1984, and Break Every Rule, which reached No. 1 in four countries and sold over five million copies worldwide within its first year of release.

In December 2005, Turner was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and she was inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021.


CelebrityAccess senior writer Larry LeBlanc recounted his own experiences with Tina Turner.

I knew Tina Turner fairly well. In the ’60s I saw Ike & Tina perform in clubs in Toronto, and I spent hours with the two of them in 1967 when they played Club 888 at the Masonic Temple on Yonge Street in Toronto.

After we talked out front, Ike invited me backstage to the dressing room where to my amazement Tina and the three Ikettes stripped down to bra and panties, slipped on “bum pads,” and put on stage clothes in front of me.

Another encounter I had with Tina was years after she had left Ike and had become a major international star. I was working on a project about Canadian singer Bryan Adams with whom she had dueted with on “It’s Only Love.”

An old mate of mine, Australia’s Roger Davies who I had known since he had worked with Sherbet, set it up with his right-hand man Lindsay Scott for me to interview Tina by phone after she landed in London, England after a Concord flight.

At 1 AM ET Toronto time we connected by telephone, and we talked for over 4 hours about Bryan, her life, the records she had recorded with Ike, and why she’d never sing those songs again (but she did later on), her family, and finally about her faith of Buddhism for almost an hour.
At 5 AM my time, I recall being slumped over my desk thinking, “I don’t believe I can’t get Tina Turner of this phone call.” She simply was wound up and wanted to talk in the early UK hours.

As before years ago, she was funny, bright, and warm and remembered our earlier encounter two decades earlier.

I saw Roger and Lindsay three years ago in Toronto and we had supper backstage at a Cher/Chic show. I made them laugh saying, “I’ve got one thing you two haven’t got. I have Ike and Tina’s autographs on the same piece of paper.”

According to Turner’s reps, there will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. The family has asked that fans and well-wishers respect their privacy during their mourning.

After news of Turner’s passing broke, artists from across the entertainment world shared their thoughts and reflections on her influence and legacy.

 

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