Foreign Affair: The Farewell Tour - City Stadium Velika Gorica, Croatia - 18th August 1990 (Image by Les Zg via Wikipedia Commons)

Interesting Facts About Tina Turner: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Legendary Rock Icon

May 25, 2023

The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner passed away at the age of 83. She died on May 24, 2023, in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Being one of the most recognizable voices and iconic figures in the ‘80s music scene, one of the many indisputable facts about Tina Turner is she left a legacy that many would like to remember and honor.

10 Interesting Facts About Tina Turner

1. Tina Turner was not her real name.

Tina Turner was born on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville Tennessee. Her birth name was Anna Mae Bullock.

2. Her mother abandoned her

When Tina Turner was 11, her mother abandoned her and her sisters. Her mother allegedly did this because of her abusive relationship with her husband — or Tina Turner’s father. She spent the majority of her childhood in Nutbush and Knoxville, Tennessee.

3. Tina Turner played basketball.

One of the surprising facts about Tina Turner was she used to be a member of the Carver High School basketball team in Brownsville, Tennessee.

4. She met her first husband when she sort of took the mic from him

Tina Turner watched the Kings of Rhythm play at the Manhattan Club in East St. Louis, Illinois. During the intermission, she got a hold of the microphone — from the drummer of Kings of Rhythm — Eugene Washington. Tina Turner then sang “You Know I Love You” by B.B. King. The crowd was instantly blown away by her performance — including Ike Turner.

5. The first song Ike & Tina Turner recorded together was released in 1960

The song “A Fool in Love” was released in 1960. It was the first song she and Ike Turner recorded together.

6. Tina Turner married Ike Turner in 1962

Despite beginning their relationship while Ike Turner was with his live-in girlfriend then, Tina Turner and Ike Turner eventually started a relationship. Eventually, Ike Turner and Tina Turner got married. The wedding took place in Tijuana, Mexico.

7. Tina Turner was a victim of domestic violence

Ike Turner suffered from substance abuse; he was heavily addicted to cocaine. Additionally, Ike Turner was also abusive towards Tina Turner throughout their marriage. The final straw was when she and Ike Turner got into an argument (that led to a physical altercation) while they were on the way to the Dallas Statler Hilton.

8. After the divorce, Tina Turner struggled to make ends meet

While the finalization of the divorce was taking place, Tina Turner received food stamps and performed in small clubs just to get by. Several promoters also lost money, and some even sued the former couple for their cancellation of several tours.

9. Tina Turner was a Buddhist

In 1973, Tina Turner was drawn to Nichiren Buddhism when a friend of Ike Turner, Valerie Bishop, taught the singer the chant “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” — she said she started noticing positive changes in her life when she chanted the mantra.

10. In 1984, Tina Turner released perhaps her biggest hit

After her divorce, Tina Turner gradually re-emerged in the music scene with a “sexier” image. And in 1984, she released her 5th studio album as a solo artist, “Private Dancer”. One of the songs in the album is the Billboard chart-topping hit, “What's Love Got to Do with It". In 2012, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Tina Turner: From Nutbush’s Anna Mae Bullock to The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Tina Turner was known for many things — her undeniable talent for performing, her chart-topping records, her iconic hairstyles, and her long and shapely legs. However, beyond “Tina Turner,” the artist, many draw inspiration from her as a person.

From being a small-town girl who grew up in a rural community, Tina Turner’s priceless possessions were not just her beautiful raspy — and now-instantly recognizable — voice, but also her passion for singing, as well as her resilience and dedication.

Tina Turner was also a victim of domestic abuse. Despite starting her career as one-half of the duo, Ike & Tina Turner, the songstress fought for her own identity and eventually built a career as a solo performer. After several years, Tina Turner achieved superstardom. She even broke a world record.

Tina Turner performed at a sold-out concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil back in 1988. Around 180,000 attended the concert. Previously, the world record-breaking titleholder for “performing in front of the biggest fee-paying crowd that had ever turned out for a concert by a single artist” was Frank Sinatra.

Despite her doomed marriage with Ike Turner, the “What's Love Got to Do with It” singer didn’t hold herself back from finding love again. In 2013, she married the German music executive, Erwin Bach — 27 years since they first met at the Düsseldorf Airport. The couple resided in Küsnacht, Switzerland until Tina Turner passed away.

In Summary

Legendary singer Tina Turner passed away on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83. One of the many undeniable facts about Tina Turner is she left behind countless songs that we can listen to — but she also left behind an inspiring legacy that we can remember her by. There may not be another Tina Turner, but her life will continue to remind us to be passionate so life works in our favor, and to be resilient when it doesn’t.

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