By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Tributes and salutes came from around the globe last week in the aftermath of Tina Turners passing at 83.
She became not just a phenomenal live performer and dynamic vocalist, but the embodiment of perseverance and recovery as a woman who rebuilt her life and career while enduring and surviving unspeakable domestic abuse.
Turner would ultimately become not only a rock legend, but an inspiration and symbol of strength and bravery.
As detailed in both her autobiography “I Tina,” and the film: “What’s Love Got To Do With it,” she met Ike Turner at 17 after seeing his band The Kings of Rhythm perform in East St. Louis.
He renamed Anna Mae Bullock to Tina Turner, and the band became the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.
She stayed in the band with Turner from 1960 to 1976. They were acclaimed as one of the most powerful stage bands in popular music, but Turner wanted artistic and personal freedom.
After leaving Turner and the Revue, she managed through some lean times before encountering solo stardom.
Her 1984 LP “Private Dancer” elevated her into a select circle. It won multiple Grammy awards, earned her a number one hit with the single “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” and sold 20 million copies worldwide.
Turner would enjoy global star status from that point through the rest of her career.
She eventually had nine studio albums and two live ones, plus two soundtracks and five compluation albums.
Besides her eight Grammy Awards, Turner also received both a Lifetime Achievement and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards, bringing her total to 12. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Though she had been in retirement since 2007, anyone who ever saw Tina Turner perform in concert or on film knew they witnessed something magical. She will always be treasured and beloved, not only for her artistry, but also for her courage and endurance.
