The era has gone: Tina Turner, the Queen of Soul and Rock 'n' Roll, died at 83
Tina Turner, known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll for her brilliant performances and powerful gritty vocals, died after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. She was 83.
"With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model," her UK spokesperson, Bernard Doherty, said in a statement.
Tina, formerly known as Anna Mae Bullock, was born on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee. Starting her career as a member of Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1957, Turner debuted under the name Tina Turner in 1960 with her duet with Ike titled "A Fool in Love". Thus began a string of songs that, while not blitzing the charts, would become standards in the singer’s repertoire: "It’s Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", "Nutbush City Limits" and her hit, "Proud Mary".
Turner became famous in the late 1960s as the singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
After leaving husband Ike Turner after years of physical and emotional abuse, she staged what remains one of the greatest comebacks in pop music history, scoring massive hits in the 1980s such as "What’s Love Got To Do With it", "Private Dancer" and "The Best" with sold-out stadium tours around the world.
Her life story was told in the 1993 smash hit film "What’s Love Got to Do with It", for which Angela Bassett was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, and in the 2019 Broadway musical "Tina – The Tina Turner Musical".
With admirers ranging from Beyoncé to Mick Jagger, Turner was one of the world’s most popular entertainers, known for a core of pop, rock and rhythm and blues favourites: "Proud Mary", "Nutbush City Limits", "River Deep, Mountain High", and the hits she had in the ’80s, among them "What’s Love Got to Do with It", "We Don’t Need Another Hero" and a cover of Al Green’s "Let’s Stay Together".
She sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 12 Grammys, was voted along with Ike into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (and on her own in 2021) and was honoured at the Kennedy Center in 2005, with Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. Her life became the basis for a film, a Broadway musical and an HBO documentary in 2021 that she called her public farewell.
Turner was among the first celebrities to speak candidly about domestic abuse, becoming a heroine to battered women and a symbol of resilience to all.
A private funeral ceremony is expected for family and close friends and family.
Her spokesperson said there would be no response to further press requests.