| Ike And Tina Turner |
Article Index for Ike |
Website Links For Tina |
Information AboutIke And Tina Turner |
Ike & Tina Turner were an American Rock & Roll and Soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo played among its repertoire, Rock & Roll , Soul , Girl Group Pop , Blues and Funk . They are known for their wild and entertaining dance shows and especially for their scintillating cover of " Proud Mary ", for which they won a Grammy. They are also known more infamously for Ike's physical abuse of Tina, which has sometimes overshadowed the group's legacy. BIOGRAPHY Origins Ike Turner's first taste of musical stardom occurred in 1951 when his band, ''The Kings of Rhythm'', recorded the blues single, " Rocket 88 ", later debated as the First Rock And Roll Record Ever Issued . However, due to music industry regulations, the song was credited to ''Jackie Brenston and His Daily Cats''. Brenston later left for his own solo career and Ike and his band laid low performing at local haunts at St. Louis . In 1956, a sixteen-year-old teenager named Anna Mae Bullock had moved from her hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee to live with her mother and sister in St. Louis. Within a year, Anna frequented nightclubs with her sister. It was at one of the nightclubs that Anna first spotted Ike performing with the Kings of Rhythm. After seeing members in the audience getting chances to sing, Anna determinedly tried to secure her spot finally achieving such after begrudgingly grabbing the microphone launching into a version of BB King 's "I Know You Love Me Baby" with her now-trademark raspy throated vocals impressing Ike so much (he was known to have said ''Damn! That girl can sing!'' afterwards) that he allowed the girl known by friends as "Little Ann" in his band as a background singer. However, that changed after a male singer failed to show up for a recording session and Anna, then eight months pregnant with her second child - only child with Ike - recorded what became " A Fool In Love ". Originally Ike's intent was to erase her but after hearing Anna's vocals allowed it in and in the process he changed Bullock's name from ''Little Ann'' to ''Tina'' adding in his last name though they weren't married and Ike was married to another woman and also changed his group's name from ''The Kings of Rhythm'' to ''The Ike & Tina Turner Revue'', which included the original Kings of Rhythm members and three background singers later known as ''The Ikettes''. Throughout their recording, the group was known as simply ''Ike & Tina Turner'' with Tina singing lead behind Ike's lead and guitar playing. Success Released in the winter of 1960, Ike & Tina's first single, " A Fool In Love ", became an instant hit reaching number two on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides Chart and number twenty-seven on the American Pop Singles Chart , firmly launching the duo into the national spotlight with Tina being the major attraction to their live shows. That was followed a year later by " It's Gonna Work Out Fine ", which included One-hit Wonders Mickey & Sylvia in the background. That song gave them their first Grammy nomination and peaked at number fourteen on the pop singles chart. A third hit, 1962's "Poor Fool", was a sequel to "A Fool In Love", which peaked at number thirty-eight. However, their chart success was limited compared to their live shows that included a series of grueling one-nighters and the occasional big shows. Ike & Tina's touring popularity helped them land national teen shows including '' Shindig! '', ''Hollywood A Go-Go'' and '' American Bandstand ''. With Ike leading the band and Tina and the Ikettes dancing up a storm with Tina showcasing a shouting soulful voice, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue were a national attraction by the mid-1960s even with limited top forty pop success. In 1966, Phil Spector signed Ike & Tina to his Phillies label and recorded the landmark single, " River Deep - Mountain High ", with Ike accepting $25,000 from Spector not to participate in the recording and to be allowed to record Tina alone. While the record failed to grant success on the American pop charts peaking at a dismal eighty-eight, the song later became an international hit reaching number three on the UK Pop Chart landing the group an opening spot on The Rolling Stones ' UK tour. Befriending the rockers, lead singer Mick Jagger eventually learned how to dance from Tina and her Ikettes and, in turn, the Revue opened for the Stones on their 1966 and 1969 US tours gaining international acclaim. By 1969, that acclaim was finally getting them more chart action with the release of the Funk-rock / Blues -heavy ''The Hunter''. That same year, the group opened for the Stones on their Altamont festival. That performance was recorded for the documentary, ''Helter Skelter''. In 1970, they performed in Africa for a documentary film titled ''Soul II Soul''. That year, they scored a hit with their version of Sly & The Family Stone 's " I Want To Take You Higher ." Also in 1970, they appeared on the '' The Ed Sullivan Show '' and performed an early version of what would be their biggest hit to date - a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, " Proud Mary ". Released in the spring of 1971, "Proud Mary" gave the duo their biggest chart success, reaching number four on the American pop singles chart and later winning them a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The duo scored their final charted hit with the semi-autobiographical " Nutbush City Limits " in 1973. Decline By 1975, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue's popularity was fading. Seventeen years after she was first allowed in Ike's band, Tina began to take more steps toward a solo career, appearing without Ike on shows such as ''Cher!'' and '' The Mike Douglas Show ''. That same year, she gave a rousing performance on the rock musical, '' Tommy '', as the Acid Queen. Fearful of Tina's growing independence after years of what she described as imprisoned torture at his hands, Ike - high on cocaine and prescription pills - abused Tina in order to keep her within his control. Years later, Tina recalled in her '' I, Tina '' autobiography that Ike had used abuse to control her throughout the group's tenure and the pair's 14-year marriage. After finding out that Ike was cheating on her with one of the Ikettes, Tina tried to commit suicide, swallowing 80 tranquilizer pills before a show in 1968 only to be woken up by Ike's verbal taunts. Tina finally escaped from Ike after another violent confrontation escalated while in route to a hotel in Dallas before a show at the Dallas Academy. Tina said she ran out of the hotel's back door and kept running until she saw a Days Inn motel where, with only 36 cents in her purse, she left Ike for good and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue abruptly came to an end. Tina then filed for divorce and the former duo fought over legal matters in divorce court until the matter was resolved in 1978 with Ike retaining monetary assets including having to pay up for Tina's exits during shows that often led to fines. Tina was allowed to keep the stage name Ike had given her and within six years climbed her way back to the top, finding success while performing at New York's Ritz Theater and later opening for rock acts David Bowie , The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart , the latter of which brought Tina with him to perform their rendition of " Hot Legs " on '' Saturday Night Live ''. Tina eventually found solo superstardom following the release of 1984's '' Private Dancer '' album, which included the biggest hit of her recording career, " What's Love Got To Do With It ", which peaked at number one on the US pop chart, a position Ike & Tina never reached while together. Ike, in the meantime, failed to gain any solo success during the first years without Tina and was besmirched by legal troubles including a conviction on drug charges. After his release from prison in 1993, Ike found musical acclaim on his own as a blues musician, eventually winning his first solo Grammy in 2007 with the album, ''Risin' With the Blues''. Tina, in the meantime, had become an international rock superstar with successful albums and selling out stadiums throughout the 1980s and 1990s winning seven Grammys in the process. Having established herself as a pop superstar, Tina semi-retired from performing after a successful stadium tour in 2000. Controversy Though regarded as one of the most explosive rock music duos in history, Ike & Tina's musical success has been overshadowed by stories of domestic abuse committed by Ike against Tina and Ike's legal battles, which have subsided since his 1993 release from prison. Ike's reputation was further damaged after the release of the 1993 Tina Turner biopic, '' What's Love Got To Do With It '', which documented the Turners' turbulent marriage and depicted Ike - played by Laurence Fishburne in the film - as a violent, abusive misogynist with a venomous attitude. After the film and Tina's '' I, Tina '' autobiography (the film's basis), Ike steadfastly denied the abuse allegations saying that he only hit Tina a few times and that Tina often hit back. In his own autobiography, 2001's ''Takin' Back My Name'', he admitted that he "slapped Tina...there have been times I have punched her for no reason" but still denied ever beating her as alleged in Tina's book. During a recent appearance in St. Louis, controversy arose around Ike again when he was denied having a day in his honor due to his history of abuse against Tina. Ike publicly apologized to his former wife for "all the things that I've done that hurt her" but admitted he couldn't change the past. Ike is now married and currently lives in Los Angeles while Tina is living with her boyfriend of twenty-one years, German -born Erwin Bach, in Switzerland and France . AWARDS AND ACCOLADES Ike & Tina Turner were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1991; Ike Turner was still incarcerated so Tina Turner accept their induction and her and Ike's behalf. The group was nominated twice for a Grammy Award, winning in 1972 for "Proud Mary". The group also received a NAACP Image Award and both Ike and Tina each received stars and were inducted individually to the St. Louis Hall of Fame. Two of their songs - " River Deep - Mountain High " and " Proud Mary " - have been inducted to the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999 and 2003. Tina received a solo star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1986. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|