American singer-songwriter, dancer, author and actress Anna Mae Bullock, better known as Tina Turner, was born on 26th November 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee and passed away on 24th May 2023. She was married and has 4 children.
As a kid, Tina attended elementary school and sang in the local church’s choir. During her teens, she went to high school and was part of the basketball team as well as the cheerleading group and even had a housemaid job. After graduating in 1958, Tina worked as a nurse.
Tina met her late ex-husband Ike in a nightclub she used to go to with her sister. Ike and his band played there, and she was impressed by his talent, so much so that she asked if she could join his group. He declined at first, but one night he heard her sing a few songs and she immediately became the band’s vocalist.
Ike and Tina’s first single ‘A Fool of Love’ was released in 1960, which was originally written by Tina for another singer. More successful singles were issued in the years that followed and the duo also went on an extensive tour around the country and became extremely popular. Tina was also invited to a few TV shows and her popularity increased further. She even released 2 solo albums.
The duo continued with their career until the mid 70s, until Tina left her husband due to his cocaine addiction. At first, she got money from guest appearances in various TV shows, performing in cabaret shows and eventually touring Australia as a solo artist. Afterwards, her third album came out and she also worked in an Italian TV programme plus touring South Africa.
Real stardom for Tina arrived during the 80s when she had a string of hits like ‘Let’s Stay Together’, ‘Private Dancer’, ‘What’s Love got to do with It’, ‘Better be good to Me’, ‘We don’t need another Hero’, ‘Typical Male’ and the duet with Canadian singer Bryan Adams ‘It’s only Love’. More hits followed in the 90s including ‘The Best’ and ‘Goldeneye’.
Apart from music, Tina also took part in movies, documentaries and other TV shows. She even published 4 books.
During her long career, Tina had 36 albums, 47 music videos and 72 singles, excluding those with her ex-husband Ike Turner. Frequently referred to as ‘The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, her records sold between 100 to 150 million copies globally and she is considered as one of the best-selling female singers of all time.
She has received over 160 awards and honours, amongst which there are 12 Grammy awards. Turner was also inducted twice in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and 3 times in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Moreover, between 1988 and 1997, Tina held a world record in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest paying rock concert attendance for a solo artist. This concert was held in Rio De Janeiro in Brasil to which around 180,000 people attended.
Tina passed away on 24th May 2023 after a long illness at the age of 83.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: genial.guru