Biography
At the 26th of
November 1939 Tina Turner was born as
Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee USA, as
daughter of Richard en Zelma. Tina's father Richard was overseer at a
cotton farm. Her mother Zelma was partly Indian. After her parents
divorce her grandmother took care of her in a town called Nut Bush,
Tennessee. Tina was very interested in music as a child and most of all
she liked Rhythm and Blues. She took part at a lot of talent scouting
events.
Ike Turner was born at the 5th of November
1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Ike’s influence at Anna Mae’s music
career should be very important and he gave her also, her artists name
Tina Turner. March 1951, Ike did record the record "Rocket 88"
at the Sam Phillips Studio. Singer was Jackie Brenston together with the
Ike Turner Band; this record is mostly called the first Rock and Roll
recording.
After Anna Mae’s grandmother past away in 1957 she
moved to St.Louis. Her mother and sister lived there already. Tina
became a regular visitor of the than very popular nightclub "Club
Manhattan". The band "Kings of Rhythm" did entertain here
every night. Ike Turner was their bandleader. Anna Mae was very eager to
perform with the band and at one night she grabbed the microphone and
started singing. Ike was immediately interested in this young girl and
particularity in her very raw blues voice. And of course her sexy
appearance at the stage did help too.
Her mother wasn’t very pleased to hear, that her
daughter became a singer in a band. Ike didn’t exactly have a clean
sheet and it was also widely known that he liked girls a lot and a fight
came often on his way too. But after a visit at Anna Mae’s home and a
talk with her mother Zelma, it was swiftly agreed, that Anna Mae had
permission to be the singer at his band.
Ike and Anna Mae first lived together as a brother and
sister. He bought her cloth and he arranged for instance a dentist to
put her teeth in a right manner. Anna Mae had meanwhile a relation with
Raymond Hill the saxophone player of the band. In the year 1957 Anna Mae
became pregnant out of this relation and she did get her first son
Raymond Craig. Soon after this, the relation stranded.
Anna Mae did take a job at the hospital to earn some
extra money for her and her son. She worked at the children’s ward. In
the evening she performed with the band. It was a hard life, but at that
time life was good for her.
In the year 1959 Anna Mae started to live together with
Ike and soon they lived as man and wife. Within a year she was pregnant,
which did result in her second son Ronald. By accident, because the
original planned singer didn’t arrive Tina recorded at the age of
twenty the single “Fool in Love” as "Little Ann" together
with the "Kings of Rhythm". This recording became unexpected a
hit.
Tina moved together with Ike to Los Angeles in the
year 1961. It was here; that Ike came up with her artist name Tina
Turner and the group "The Ike and Tina Turner Revue" became a
fact. The Revue was always on the road and did meanwhile record a few
Rhythm and Blues hits. Tina had to take care of four children now,
because she did take care for the two children out of Ike’s first
marriage too. Ike and Tina married in the year 1961 in a Mexican town,
Tijuana. Ike forgot to tell Tina that he wasn’t official divorced from
his first wife.The band did get very
popular;
the Revue now had nine band members, three backing
vocals "The Ikettes" and Tina as lead singer. A side effect of
the growing success was; Ike’s personality became very dominant and
explosive. He began to control all aspects of the group at stage but
also off stage. Tina had to cope with the fact that she very regularly
bodily and mentally was abused.
The music of the Revue was a loud and powerful Rhythm
and Blues. Ike played the guitar and did cover the whole stage. Tina and
the Ikettes performed in the spotlights and did show their act. They
also performed the popular dances at that time, like for instance the
Pony, the Hully Gully and the Bristol Stomp. The Revue did cover the
whole USA with their performances and recorded a lot singles, but this
didn’t result in a lot of success in the known hit parades. There
wasn’t, any group which could beat them at the stage, it was unique.
Phil Spector did ask Tina in the year 1965 to record
with him 
as producer a single. Ike wasn’t very pleased that he
had to take a step back but Phil didn’t like his work as producer. The
famous "Wall of Sound" and the magnificent voice of Tina made
"River Deep Mountain High" a huge success in both the UK and
Europe. Success in the USA stayed at a low level. This single impressed
the Rolling Stones, so they asked Ike & Tina to go on tour with them
through the UK. It was Tina’s first visit to the UK and she loved it
very much. It seems the right time for the band to make a final break
through.
Ike’s behaviour became more and more unreasonable and
Tina started to make herself a little bit less dependent from Ike’s
efforts to control her life. Tina’s private life was hell. Tina
regularly did get beatings and often stood with bruises at the stage,
once even with a broken jawbone. Leaving the band was a problem because
Tina didn’t have any money and she had to take care for the four boys
too.
When Tina became pregnant again in 1967. Tina was
desperate and an abortion did seem at that time the only way out. At
that time Tina was so depressed that she did take an overdose of pills
to make an end to her life. At the hospital they emptied her stomach and
luckily she survived. But Ike still was as violent as always and even
not fully recovered and still staying at the hospital he did get her out
to get her on stage.
In the year 1969 I bought my first Ike & Tina LP
"River Deep Mountain High", by the local retailer “Radio Van
Dijk", this LP was the fruit of the first recording together with
Phil Spector as producer. This record on the London label is still my
favourite LP. Releases of a later date never had this wonderful sound
not even the CD releases couldn’t reach this quality and sound. I was
Ike & Tina Turner fan for live.
For the band 1969 was a good year, Ike & Tina
had a hit single
with "I've Been Loving You Too Long". The
Rolling Stones asked them for their USA tour. Money was floating in and
Ike began his own recording studio. Tina didn’t get anything from
their gains.
1971 was the year that “Proud Mary" was recorded
by Ike & Tina. John Fogerty wrote this song and it was released
earlier through the Creedence Clearwater Revival. John Fogerty was
at that time a band member and founder of Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Proud Mary became a number 4 hit and more than a million records were
sold. The song "Nutbush City Limits" was a hit in the year
1972. It reached number 2 in the UK charts and number 22 in the USA.
1971 was the year that Ike & Tina did get a Grammy
Award for the best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a duo and or a group.
It was for their hit single "Proud Mary".
Valerie Bishop started in 1974 as a secretary working
at the Revue. She was a Buddhist follower and through her Tina did get
knowledge of this faith and she was touched by it. The chant "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo",
which must be in a particularly rhythm continuous repeated, gave Tina
the power to stand the brutalities of Ike.
Tina’s great opportunity to become something
different than a singer in the band came when Ken Russell in 1974 gave
her the role of the "Acid Queen" in the movie
"Tommy". Tina was great. Tina began to realise that there
could be a future without Ike, but she needed still some time.
The Revue's popularity went down dramatically and Ike
and Tina’s marriage did get at it deepest point. The next tour was at
its starting point when Ike and Tina did get a very violent fight in
their limousine. They were on their way to a Dallas hotel. Later that
evening Ike was completely out of this world through drugs and alcohol
usage.
That evening in the year 1975 Tina left Ike for good.
All Tina could take were her clothes she was wearing and a credit card
worth 36 cents. Tina was poor but not defeated. Tina Turner travelled
all around the USA and had also to fight the claims of Ike in many court
cases, which he begun. Divorce was official in 1976. Tina did get what
she asked; there should be no more claims opposed to her by Ike. He did
get in return the right to all their earnings ever made in their career
and marriage. The judge did give Tina the right to use forever her
artist name Tina Turner.
Tina Turner began her solo career with a new small
band, her target that time were the small clubs. Tina recorded a few
singles but it wasn’t a success. Her first album was "Rough",
1978. At that time it wasn’t a big success. So Tina decided to take a
completely new management. Roger Davies began to change her image from a
Rhythm and Blues diva to a more Rock 'n' Roller.
Her future at
last was brightening up, also through her performance with the Rolling
Stones and Rod Stewart. But also David Bowie had a great
influence, most of all because he was the reason that the record bosses
of Capitol did visit a Tina performance, they saw Tina perform at the
New York, Ritz Hotel. David had originally another appointment that
evening but he said he couldn’t come because he was planning to see
Tina Turner that night. This was an eye-opener for the Capitol bosses.
This was also the start of her comeback, which did result in a nice
contract with Capitol Records / EMI in 1983.
Tina’s single “Let's Stay Together” did reach the
charts in Europe; this was the step to the USA album "Private
Dancer". This album was in less than two weeks recorded in a London
studio. This album was de source for the 1984 number 1 hit “What's
Love Got to Do With It?". Tina renewed her status of Superstar through this album
. From this album more than 10 million
copies were sold all over the world.
1984 was a real Grammy Award year for Tina too, she did
get Grammy’s for; The record of the year (What's Love Got To Do With
It?); The best pop vocal performance for the same song; The best rock
vocal performance for the three singles (Better Be Good To Me, One Of
The Living en Back Where You Started); and one for the album "Tina
Live in Europe".
Tina performed in a marvellous double act with Mick
Jagger at the Live Aid Concert. Since this performance Tina performed
"All Over The World" and all her concerts were completely
"Sold Out". Tina performed with other superstars as,
David Bowie, Bryan Adams and Eric Clapton. Tina did get a role in the movie "Mad
Max Beyond Thunder Dome". "We Don't Need Another Hero" is
the hit single from this movie.
Tina began a relation with the German record record boss
Erwin Bach in the year 1986. Until this day Tina is
living together with Erwin in Switzerland. Pepsi Cola was the sponsor of
her 1987 "Break Every Rule Tour". The 1988 Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil concert took place for a record-breaking 182,000 spectators. This tour
did break records in thirteen countries for the total numbers of
spectators and revenues.
The 1988 tour was meant to be the farewell tour of Tina,
but luckily Tina had so much power and spirit left, that a lot of tours
followed in the next years. 1989 was the year the hit single "Simply
The Best" was released; it is still the most played song especially
at sports games and everywhere where someone is “The Best”.
The 1st of November 1990 was the day that Tina
performed for the first time in my hometown, Heerenveen, The Netherlands.
The “Thialf IJsstadion” was the place to be. It was an unforgettable
event and a smashing performance. I stood there and was astonished and
had an unforgettable night. It was the same show as taped that year in
Barcelona, Spain.
1991 Tina was installed into “The Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame", because of her exceptional achievements and for the, at
that time more than 50 million records sold around the globe.
Tina’s autobiographic book "I Tina" was filmed
in the year 1993 and did get an Oscar nomination. She performed herself in
the last minutes of this movie, called "What's Love Got to Do With
It"? In the same year Tina played a small role as mayor of a city in the movie
"Last Action Hero".
The "Wildest Dreams Tour"
started in 1996 and this tour confirmed Tina’s status
as superstar again. Tina was the first singer to perform at the, at
that time newly build Amsterdam ArenA. The show was taped here. It was a
true happening. In Heerenveen Tina performed at the 23rd of
November 1996. This show had about 10.000 spectators and for a town
where about 15.000 residents live it was quite an achievement to
organise a show of this kind. The show was as always sold out. Two years
later Tina performed at the New York, City's Beacon Theatre at the VH1
show together with Cher, Whitney Houston and Brandy. The Video and later
the DVD "VH1 Diva's Live" is a bestseller.
Tina is still popular in the USA, but her popularity in the
rest of the world is even greater and speciality in the UK Tina is hot.
But also in The Netherlands, Tina has traditionally a lot of fans; even
her fan club is founded here.
In
1997 Tina recorded together with Eros Ramazzotti a single and did appear
in the hit charts again. The television clip was beautiful. A nice video clip in a very old town, a beautiful Tina, a nice guy and a
beautiful vintage car.
The "Twenty Four Seven Millennium Tour 2000"
started in 2000 and at the same time Tina’s new CD “Twenty Four
Seven” was released. The London concert took place at the Wembley
Stadium and was taped here too. The Video (only released in England) and the
DVD "One Last Time" was released just after the tour. Tina
performed at the 18th of July 2000 on Dutch soil. The
“Stadspark, Groningen” was that night the place to be; it was a
one-night stand in The Netherlands.
At the European Leg of the Tour Tina sang for the first
time together with John Fogarty the song “Proud Mary”. Before this
tour she never had a meeting with John face to face. It was as I did
meet the father of the baby I did care so long for she said at the "All
the Best" interview on the 24/7 DVD. John Fogerty warmed the crowd in the European "Twenty Four Seven Millennium Tour 2000".
2000 was also the year that Tina took part in the Disney movie "Brother Bear" with the
song "Great Spirits".
Phil Collins wrote the music.
Open Arms released, November 2000 is Tina’s latest single.
The album "All the Best" is released in 2004 and contains two new songs. The release date for the USA is
February 2005. To promoot this album Tina performs at the “Oprah Winfrey
Show” and when asked she did leave open the possibility to give a big
"One of the Kind" concert in for example New York.
Tina is for a great part of the year living at her Swiss apartment. She spends
a lot of time at her nice mansion
at the South of France too. She feels more at home in Europe than in the
USA. She said that as a “Southern USA Girl" she is
feeling fine with the European way of life. Tina loves to have all the conveniences of
the big city, but in Europe always the rural live is near. The Swiss people have a
very strict way of life; this is something Tina likes too.
Tina now (2005) is taking part in an Indian movie about a
goddess.
Eeltje
