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 Delta Cats. Brenston later left for his own solo career, while Ike and his band concentrated on performing at local
haunts in 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 Mae frequented nightclubs with her sister. It was at one of these nightclubs that she first
spotted Ike performing with the Kings of Rhythm. After seeing members of the audience getting chances to sing, she determinedly
tried to secure her spot, finally succeeding by grabbing the microphone from a begrudging rival and launching into a version of
BB King's "I Know You Love Me Baby". Her now-trademark raspy-throated vocals impressed 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 Mae, then eight months pregnant with her second child (her only child with Ike), recorded what became "A Fool In Love". Originally Ike's intent was to erase her but after hearing her vocals he not only
relented but also changed her stage name to Tina and appended his own surname to both, even though Ike was then still
married to another woman. He also changed his group's name from The Kings of Rhythm to The Ike & Tina Turner
Revue. The original group was extended to include three new background singers later known as The Ikettes. Throughout
their recording career, the ensemble was known simply as Ike & Tina Turner with Tina singing lead beside 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 The Cher Show and The Mike Douglas
Show. That same year, she gave a rousing performance in 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, by 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 while en route to a hotel in
Dallas before a show. 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.
Discography
Singles
- 1960: "A Fool in Love" (R&B #2, US #27)
- 1960: "I Idolize You" (R&B #5, US #82)
- 1961: "I'm Jealous" (US #117)
- 1961: "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (R&B #2, US #14)
- 1962: "Poor Fool" (R&B #4, US #38)
- 1962: "Tra La La La La" (R&B #9, US #50)
- 1962: "You Should'a Treated Me Right" (US #89)
- 1962: "Tina's Dilema"
- 1963: "The Argument"
- 1963: "Don't Play Me Cheap"
- 1963: "If I Can't Be First"
- 1963: "You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had"
- 1964: "Get It - Get It"
- 1964: "I Can't Believe What You Say (For Seeing What You Do)" (US #95)
- 1964: "A Fool For A Fool"
- 1964: "Finger Poppin'"
- 1964: "Please, Please, Please"
- 1964: "Am I A Fool In Love"
- 1965: "Tell Her I'm Not Home" (R&B #33, US #108, UK #48)
- 1965: "Chicken Shack"
- 1965: "Somebody Needs You"
- 1965: "Good Bye, So Long" (R&B #32, US #107)
- 1965: "I Don't Need"
- 1965: "Two Is A Couple"
- 1965: "Stagger Lee And Billy"
- 1965: "Dear John"
- 1966: "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"
- 1966: "Dust My Broom"
- 1966: "River Deep - Mountain High" (US #88, UK #3)
- 1966: "Two To Tango"
- 1966: "I'll Never Need More Than This"
- 1966: "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Every Day)"
- 1966: "Save The Last Dance For Me"
- 1966: "Flee Flee Fla"
- 1967: "Shake A Tail Feather"
- 1967: "Betcha Can't Kiss Me"
- 1967: "It Sho Ain't Me"
- 1967: "Too Hot To Hold"
- 1968: "So Fine" (R&B #50, US #117)
- 1968: "I Better Get Ta Steppin'"
- 1968: "Nothing You Can Do Boy"
- 1968: "Make 'Em Wait"
- 1969: "I'm Gonna Do All I Can (To Do Right By My Man)" (R&B #46, US #98)
- 1969: "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (R&B #23, US #68)
- 1969: "With A Little Help From My Friends"
- 1969: "I Wanna Jump"
- 1969: "The Hunter" (R&B #37, US #93)
- 1970: "Bold Soul Sister" (R&B #22, US #59)
- 1970: "Come Together" (R&B #21, US #57)
- 1970: "I Want to Take You Higher" (R&B #25, US #34)
- 1970: "Workin' Together" (R&B #41, US #105)
- 1971: "Proud Mary" (R&B #5, US #4)
- 1971: "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" (R&B #31, US #60)
- 1971: "River Deep Mountain High"
- 1971: "Pick Me Up (Take Me Where Your Home Is)"
- 1971: "I'm Yours (Use Me Anyway You Wanna)" (R&B #47, US #104)
- 1972: "Up In Heah" (R&B #47, US #83)
- 1972: "Feel Good"
- 1972: "Let Me Touch Your Mind"
- 1972: "Work On Me"
- 1973: "Early One Morning" (R&B #47)
- 1973: "Nutbush City Limits" (R&B #11, US #22, UK #4)
- 1974: "Farther Along"
- 1974: "Sweet Rhode Island Red" (R&B #43, US #106)
- 1974: "Sexy Ida (Part 1)" (R&B #29, US #65)
- 1975: "Baby-Get It On" (R&B #31, US #88)
- 1977: "Delilah's Power"
Àlbums
- 1960: The Soul of Ike and Tina Turner (Collectables)
- 1962: Dance With Ike & Tina Turner & Their Kings of Rhythm Band (Sue)
- 1962: Festival of Live Performances (United)
- 1963: Don't Play Me Cheap (Collectables)
- 1963: Dynamite (Collectables)
- 1963: It's Gonna Work Out Fine (Collectables)
- 1963: Please Please Please (Kent)
- 1964: The Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live (Kent)
- 1965: Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show (Warner Bros.)
- 1965: Ike & Tina Show 2 (Tomato)
- 1965: Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Harmony)
- 1966: River Deep - Mountain High (Philles/A&M)
- 1966: Ike & Tina Turner and the Raelettes (Tangerine)
- 1966: Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show (Loma)
- 1966: Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show, Vols. 1-2
- 1969: Outta Season (Blue Thumb)
- 1969: Ike & Tina Turner in Person (Minit)
- 1969: Fantastic (Sunset)
- 1969: Get It Together (Pompeii)
- 1969: Her Man His Woman (Capitol)
- 1969: The Hunter (Blue Thumb)
- 1970: On Stage (Valiant)
- 1970: Come Together (Liberty)
- 1971: Workin' Together (One Way)
- 1971: 'Nuff Said (United Artists)
- 1971: Something's Got a Hold on Me (Harmony)
- 1971: What You Hear Is What You Get (EMI)
- 1972: Feel Good (United Artists)
- 1973: Let Me Touch Your Mind (United Artists)
- 1973: Nutbush City Limits (United Artists)
- 1973: The World of Ike and Tina Live (United Artists)
- 1974: Strange Fruit (United Artists)
- 1974: Sweet Rhode Island Red (United Artists)
- 1974: The Gospel According to Ike and Tina (United Artists)
- 1974: The Great Album
- 1975: Sixteen Great Performances (ABC)
- 1977: Delilah's Power (United Artists)
See also
- Tina Turner, the main article
- Ike Turner, the main article
- Supercouple
External links
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