CNN—
Tina Turner,The dynamic rock and soul singer who rose from humble beginnings and overcame a notoriously abusive marriage to become one of the most popular female artists of all time has died, her family said in a statement. She was 83 years old.
Turner died Wednesday at his home in Küsnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland.
"With her, the world is losing a musical legend and role model," her family said.
"With her music and boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired future stars. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who left us all his greatest work: his music. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family. Tina, we will miss you very much." aread a statement on her verified Facebook page.
A vivacious live artist, Turner had a string of R&B hits in the 1960s and early '70s with her overbearing and abusive husband, Ike Turner, before she left him—running out of a Dallas hotel room with 36 Cents.
Her solo career faltered for years before making a stunning comeback in 1984 with the multi-platinum album Private Dancer and the #1 hit,"What's love got to do with it."
Turner soon became a global superstar, ruling MTV with her spiky wigs, short skirts and famously long legs, strutting the stage in three-inch heels.
Her talent has earned her recognition as the "Queen of Rock'n'Roll," and her resilience has made her a hero to abused women around the world. As she sang about pain and hurt in her hoarse, guttural voice, every word rang true.
Hear why Tina Turner said she left the United States
02:05 - Source:CNN
For a long time, I felt like I was stuck in a place, with no way out of the unhealthy situation I was in, she said.Harvard Business Review2021. “But then I had a series of meetings with different people who encouraged me... And when I could see myself clearly, I started to change, giving way to confidence and courage. It took me a few years, but I was finally able to stand up for my life and start over."
"He knew I had the potential to be a star"
Turner poses for a portrait 1964.
She was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 to a poor farming family near Nutbush, Tennessee, a rural community north of Memphis that she later made famous in her autobiographical poem "Nutbush City Limits." She spent her first years living with her grandmother after her parents separated.
"We were not poor. We had food on the table. We just didn't have fancy things like bicycles," Turner said in a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
"We were church people, so everything was ready by Easter. I was very innocent and knew little more. I knew the radio - B.B. King, Country and Western"Turner said."That's the thing. I didn't know anything about being a star until the white people let us go down and watch TV once a week.
After her grandmother died in the 1950s, Turner and her sister Ruby moved to St. Louis, Missouri to live with his mother.
It is located in St. Louis began visiting some of the local clubs and met musician Ike Turner, whose band Kings of Rhythm was popular in the area. He recruited her at the age of 17 to join his band as a singer.
Tina and Ike Turner perform in 1975.
“Ike had to come home and ask my mom if I could sing with him. He knew I had the potential to be a star. We were close, like brother and sister," said Turner Winfrey. "On free nights, we would drive around the city, and he would tell me about his life and dreams. He told me that people found him unattractive when he was young. It hurt him a lot. I felt bad for him. I thought, "I will never hurt you, Ike." I was serious. He was so good to me then, but I saw the other side of him.
She began performing as Tina Turner, and in 1960 they formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Their relationship evolved and their son Ronnie was born the same year. They married in 1962 and raised four children, including two children from Ike's previous relationships and Tina's son Craig, also from a previous relationship.
A brutal relationship
As Turner stated in her autobiography and in interviews, the physical abuse began almost from the beginning.
Thin-skinned and erratic, Ike Turner would fly into fits of rage at the slightest provocation, she said, adding that he would hit her with anything within his reach - coat hangers, telephones, wooden shoe stretchers, his fists.
She said he often beat her before they went on stage.
“He would punch me in the ribs and then always try to smear my eye. He wanted his abuse to be visible. That was the embarrassing part," Turner told Winfrey.
In most of their songs, Tina sang the lead role with backing vocals, while her husband stayed in the background, usually on guitar. Their musical collaboration resulted in a string of R&B hits, including "A Fool In Love," "Nutbush City Limits" and "Proud Mary," a 1971 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's song that reached No. 4 on the charts and won them a Grammy.
But offstage, their marriage remained tumultuous, fueled in part by Ike Turner's cocaine addiction.
Ike i Tina Turner 1960-ih.
The next night we had an argument in the dressing room and when I went on stage my face was swollen, Winfrey said. “I think my nose is broken because blood was coming out of my mouth while I was singing. I used to be able to hide under makeup. But you can't hide the swelling."
She clung to Ike Turner for over a decade, horrified by his temper and determined not to leave him like the others.
But things came to a headJuly 1976when they were flying to Dallas for a show. Turner wrote in her book that after the flight her husband started beating her in the car on the way to their hotel. While he slept, she snuck out of their room with only a Mobil credit card and 36 cents — "a quarter, a dime and a penny."
She fled across the busy highway to a motel where a sympathetic clerk saw her bloody face and gave her a room. She then called a lawyer friend who arranged for the friend to pick her up and put her on a plane to Los Angeles.
"When my plane landed in California, my heart jumped out of my ears. I was afraid Ike would be there because when I left, he found me on the bus… Oprah said. "When I got off the plane, I ran like crazy. I said to myself, "If he's here, I'll call the police." And I had one intonation in my head: "I will die before I come back."
Her way to international fame
Turner performing in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1990.
By then, a friend had introduced Turner to Buddhism and its chanting practice, which she credited with giving her the strength to leave her husband. Raised a Baptist, Turner wholeheartedly embraced Buddhism in middle age and said its teachings changed her life.
"I realized that every achievement comes from an inner change," she told the Harvard Business Review. "The more I studied Buddhist principles, the deeper I went into myself and removed all the attitudes and habits that stood in my way."
She and Ike officially divorced in 1978 after a long legal battle. She wrote in her book that he kept most of the earnings and assets they earned as a couple, while she took care of their four sons. The divorce nearly destroyed her financially, and for the next few years Turner appeared on television shows and in Las Vegas, struggling to rebuild her career.
Her comeback gained momentum after she hired Australian manager Roger Davies in 1979. Two years later, Rod Stewart invited her to perform "Hot Legs" with him on "Saturday Night Live," and in 1983 her cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" became a hit in England.
Then came "Private Dancer," which spawned three top ten hits, won her three Grammys and eventually sold more than 10 million copies. Although she didn't like the song at first and had to be persuaded to record it, "What's Love Got to Do With It" made her, at 44, the oldest artist to score a No. 1 hit.
Turner won a Grammy Award in 1985.
In 1985, at her peak, she sang on the charity single "We Are the World", performed with Mick Jagger at the historic Live Aid concerts and starred in Mel Gibson's post-apocalyptic film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", scoring another hit. hit song from the movie "We don't need another hero".
The following year, Turner described her early career and toxic marriage in the best-selling memoir I, Tina, which was adapted into the 1993 hit film What's Love Got To Do with Angela Bassett.
Hit albums, singles and sell-out concerts continued throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, and Turner remained a popular live performer well into the new millennium - particularly in England.
Turner moved to Switzerland in the 1990s with her German boyfriend Erwin Bach, the director of her record company. He was 16 years younger.The couple got married in 2013after 27 years of romantic relationship and in 2022 he bought a property on Lake Zurich for 76 million dollars.
“I pay taxes here (in the US). My family is here"she told CNN's Larry Kingin 1997. "I left America because my (greatest) success was in another country and my boyfriend was in another country. Europe has been very supportive of my music."
Turner and Erwin Bach at the premiere of the musical "Tina" in London in 2018.
Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and she was inducted as a solo artist in 2021. Tina, a musical based on her life story, premiered on Broadway in 2018.
Turner was preceded in death by her two sons, Craig, who died in 2018, and Ronnie, in 2022.
"Some of the happiest moments of my life were the birth of my beautiful boys, Craig and Ronnie, and my wedding to my partner and soul mate, Erwin Bach."she told NBC's Today Show in 2021.
Professionally, she says, her happiest moments are live performances.
"One of my goals early in my career was to become the first black woman to fill stadiums around the world," she told NBC. "At the time it seemed impossible. But I never gave up and I am very happy that I was able to fulfill that dream.
FAQs
What religion is Tina Turner? ›
'She was not afraid of dying': Tibetan musician speaks about Tina Turner's Buddhist faith. Tibetan Buddhist mantra musician Dechen Shak-Dagsay said Tina Turner, who died last week, was “not afraid of dying” as she discussed the singer's Buddhist faith.
Has Tina Turner had a stroke? ›The same year she married her second husband, Tina Turner was hit by a stroke she compared to a “lightning bolt”, which also robbed her of her voice.
Why did Tina Turner pass away? ›Tina Turner's cause of death has been revealed one day after her passing. The music icon died on May 24 of natural causes, her rep told the Daily Mail Thursday. She was 83 years old.
How old was Tina Turner on her last tour? ›"It was beyond impressive." Turner was 69 at the time of her last concert, but Andrew Curphey, from Widnes, recalled the her tireless performance. He remembered her rushing across the stage in high heels and said: "She was just such a physical performer, she filled that stage.
Who will inherit Tina Turner money? ›It should be remembered that her two sons died. One of them in 2018, Craig Raimond, who committed suicide at the age of 59. The other in 2022, Ronnie Renelle Turner, died of cancer. Tina has therefore chosen to leave her wealth to her two other adopted children and her widower, Bach.
Who will inherit Tina Turner's fortune? ›He was found by neighbors struggling to breathe on the sidewalk in front of his home. However, she is survived by her second husband, German music executive Erwin Bach, who is expected to receive roughly half of her $250 million fortune.
Has Tina Turner ever been married? › How long does Tina Turner last? ›What is the running time of Tina Turner the musical? The Tina Turner musical has a running time of 2 hour 45 minutes including one interval.
What illness did Tina have? ›Tina Turner had intestinal cancer
In January 2016, Turner was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, she shared in her memoir. She'd been suffering from chronic diarrhea for months previously, she wrote. It was diagnosed at an early stage, and she had carcinoma and multiple malignant polyps.
Did Tina Turner have any children? ›
How many times did Tina Turner marry? ›Turner, who was born Anna Mae Bullock, died Wednesday at the age of 83. The iconic singer, who was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, was married twice.
What year did Tina Turner stop singing? ›Tina retired in 2007 after her last tour, telling Gayle King in June 2019, “I got on that plane … I took a deep breath, and I said, 'It's over.' I really felt like it's over. And I'm glad it's over.
How much is Tina Turner's net worth? ›Tina Turner had an estimated net worth of $250 million at the time of her death. Her financial success was a testament to her immense talent, hard work, and enduring popularity among fans worldwide.
Is Tina Turner's hair her own? ›“I'm not surprised when people think my wig is my own hair because I've always considered it an extension of myself. In a way, it is my hair,” shared Turner in her memoir, Tina Turner: My Love Story.
How many children did Tina Turner have? ›The 'Queen of Rock 'n' Roll' had two biological children. She had her first son, named Raymond Craig, with Kings of Rhythm saxophonist Raymond Hill. She had a second son with Ike Turner, named Ronnie, who played bass guitar in a band called Manufactured Funk with songwriter and musician Patrick Moten.
Is Tina Turner's husband a billionaire? ›Is Tina Turner's husband a billionaire? Tina Turner's husband, Erwin Bach, isn't a billionaire, but he's plenty wealthy, with an estimated net worth of $50 million.
Who is Tina Turner's oldest child? › Has Tina Turner got a son? › Where is Tina Turner born and raised? ›How old was Tina Turner when she met her last husband? ›
When the couple met, Bach was 30 and Turner was 47.
How old was Tina Turner when she had her baby? ›She had her first child at age 18. She had a second with Ike Turner, a relationship fraught with tales of domestic abuse. Tina would find love with German music executive Ermin Bach in the 1980s. They would marry in 2013 after nearly three decades together.
Where is Tina Turner now? ›Items representing the life and career of Tina Turner are now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The legendary singer and two-time Rock Hall inductee died May 24 at her home in Switzerland after a long illness. She was 83.
Has Tina Turner retired from performing? ›Even though Turner declared her retirement in 2001 with an international run of 121 concerts, she returned to the stage in 2008 for one last tour celebrating her mercurial 50-year career.
When was the last time Tina Turner performed in public? ›The tour ended on May 5, 2009, in Sheffield, England. This was before every member of the audience had a video camera on their phone, but one fan managed to capture “Proud Mary” from the end of the main set. This is a song that she played well more than 1,000 times throughout her career, but this is the final one.
What age did Tina Turner get married? ›When 'Rock N Roll Queen' Tina Turner Opened Up About Getting Married At 73, Adding “No One Minded” The Bride's Age.
What mental illness does Tiny Tina have? ›Tiny Tina, one of the most prominent NPCs in the game, clearly has PTSD and clinical depression.
Where did Tina Turner live most of her life? ›Tina Turner lived a quiet life in the charming Swiss town of Küsnacht, her home for decades. The legendary Tennessee-born singer, who died Wednesday at age 83 of natural causes, moved to the municipality after she began dating Erwin Bach, a music executive.
Is Tina Turner married to a German? ›Tina Turner was born in Nutbush, Tennessee and spent a majority of her career performing for fans around the world. But almost 20 years ago, she left the United States and moved to Switzerland, where she lived in her estate with her second husband, Erwin Bach, a German record producer.
Where did Tina Turner pass away at? ›She died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative said. Turner began her career in the 1950s during the early years of rock 'n' roll and evolved into an MTV phenomenon.
Who else did Tina Turner marry? ›
All About Erwin Bach. Tina Turner found true love with husband Erwin Bach. The "Queen of Rock and Roll" met the former music executive a decade after she fled from her abusive first husband and music partner Ike Turner, with whom she shares four kids.
Was Tina Turner married to Ike Turner? › What did Tina Turner's husband do to her? ›Tina Turner, who died at age 83 after a long illness, had hypertension, or high blood pressure, which affected her kidneys and required a lifesaving kidney donation from her husband, Erwin Bach, in 2017.
How old was Tina Turner when she did what's love got to do with it? ›At the time, aged 44, Turner became the oldest solo female artist to top the Hot 100. It was the second-biggest single of 1984 in the United States and the 17th-biggest in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart.
How long did Tina Turner date her current husband? ›Prior to Turner's passing, the couple opened up in the 2021 HBO documentary Tina. Tina Turner's legendary life, career, and 34-year relationship with Erwin Bach were the focus of 2021 HBO documentary, Tina, before the icon passed away at age 83 on May 24, 2023.
When did Beyonce perform with Tina Turner? ›The two performed together at the Grammy Awards in 2008, soaring through a version of “Proud Mary,” Turner's hit 1971 cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic.
Who will get Tina Turner's estate? ›While it has not been revealed who will inherit her fortune, it is assumed that she will leave the majority, if not all, to her husband of 10 years. The couple dated for 27 years before they tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Switzerland in 2013.
How much money did Ike Turner have when he died? ›At the time of his death his fortune was estimated at 500 thousand dollars, according to the website celebritynetworth.com. Ike Turner died of an accidental cocaine overdose, the San Diego medical examiner said.
What church did Nat Turner go to? ›Nat was finally allowed baptismal rights on the land of John Person, where in 1838 he would found Persons United Methodist Church. According to Person, anyone was welcome on his land. So there, in Persons Mill Pond, Nat Turner was baptized, his bible close at hand.
Is Tina Turner a vegetarian? ›Tina Turner is a vegetarian musician, Buddhist
Born and raised in the Southeastern United States.
What were slaves not allowed to do? ›
There were numerous restrictions to enforce social control: slaves could not be away from their owner's premises without permission; they could not assemble unless a white person was present; they could not own firearms; they could not be taught to read or write, or transmit or possess “inflammatory” literature.
What famous slaves fought back? ›Nat Turner's Rebellion
One of the most famous slave revolts in American history came in 1831 when Nat Turner led a bloody uprising in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner was deeply religious, and planned his rebellion after he experienced prophetic visions ordering him to gain his freedom by force.
An insurrection was planned, aborted, and rescheduled for August 21,1831, when he and six others killed the Travis family, managed to secure arms and horses, and enlisted about 75 other enslaved people in a disorganized insurrection that resulted in the murder of an estimated 55 white people.
What was Tina Turner's favorite food? ›“She loved curry, Thai curry, she loved Chinese food in general and hot & sour soup was a favourite.
What does Tina Turner eat for breakfast? ›"I eat a breakfast of banana, kiwi and melon, and brown German bread. I only have two meals a day because I sleep for a very long time." And rather than the fatty fried-food of her childhood in the southern United States, these days Tina enjoys lighter options.
Did Tina Turner get surgery? ›Tina Turner - Tina Turner admitted to having a nose job, which she said was corrective. Due to the abuse she experienced with her ex-husband, Ike Turner, her nose was altered to remove broken cartilage.
Did Tina Turner's husband donate a kidney to her? ›Tina Turner, who died at age 83 after a long illness, had hypertension, or high blood pressure, which affected her kidneys and required a lifesaving kidney donation from her husband, Erwin Bach, in 2017.
How big is Tina Turner's house? ›The estate, comprised of 10 buildings, was bought by Turner and her German-born husband Erwin Bach as a weekend retreat. The 260,000-square foot property came complete with water features including a private pond, stream, swimming pool and boat deck.
Where does Tina Turner leaves? ›Switzerland was the place Turner, who relinquished her U.S. citizenship in 2013, eventually called home. “With Tina Turner's death, the world has lost an icon,” Swiss President Alain Berset tweeted Wednesday following the star's death at the age of 83.