Another icon is gone. Legendary singer Tina Turner died Wednesday, May 24 at her home near Zurich in Switzerland, according to her publicist Bernard Doherty. She was 83.
Doherty revealed in a statement in a social media post that the Queen of Rock passed away peacefully after a long illness.
“Tina Turner, the “Queen of Rock’n Roll” has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” the statement read. “There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time.”
Since 1994 the American-born singer had been living in Switzerland with her husband, German actor and music producer Erwin Bach, earning her Swiss citizenship in 2013. In recent years she battled a number of serious health problems, including a stroke, intestinal cancer and total kidney failure that required an organ transplant.
Turner has had one of the longest careers in rock history. She landed on the Top 40 Hits Billboard lists for four decades with a list of awards and honors that include: Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and entry into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
If you’ve seen Turner’s biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” starring Angela Bassett, then you know the struggles and successes of her life.
Born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939 in the town of Nutbush, Tennessee, Turner began singing in a Baptist church choir. Her childhood was not a happy one; at the age of 11 her mother left home in an effort to flee her abusive husband. Two years later, when Turner was a teen, her father married another woman and left the state, leaving Turner and her sisters in the care of her grandmother. She then reunited with her mother as she got older.
Turner would meet her future husband Ike Turner in the late 1950s, when he was performing on the St. Louis club circuit with his band, Kings of Rhythm. He was 25 years old, and Turner was just 17.
Turner shared in her 2018 memoir “My Love Story” that she wasn’t attracted to Ike at first.
“Actually, he wasn’t handsome at all — and he certainly wasn’t my type. I was used to high school boys who were clean-cut, athletic, and dressed in denim, so Ike’s processed hair, diamond ring, and skinny body looked old to me, even though he was only 25. I couldn’t help thinking, ‘God, he’s ugly.'”
Tina became a member of Ike’s band and developed a relationship with the sax player, Raymond Hill, which resulted in the birth of her first son, Craig in 1958. Shortly after, she began a romantic relationship with Ike.
After the band’s first studio recording with Tina brought in $25,000, Ike sensed an opportunity that had nothing to do with love. “My relationship with Ike was doomed the day he figured out I was going to be his money-maker,” Tina later wrote. The abuse begin appearing in their marriage, “He needed to control me, economically and psychologically, so I could never leave him.”
Ike wrote a song that was intended for another singer who didn’t show up so Turner stepped in. “A Fool in Love” ended up on the Top 40 hit list and became Ike and Tina’s first hit.
Other memorable songs are: “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (which earned them a Grammy), “I Idolize You,” “I Can’t Believe What You Say,” “River Deep-Mountain High,” and “Proud Mary,” which soared to No. 4 in 1971 and would become one of Turner’s signature songs.
Following years of torment, Turner famously fled her abusive husband in 1976 with nothing but a Mobil card and 36 cents in her pocket. She made her escape while the pair were on tour, staying at the Statler Hilton in Dallas, Texas.
From there, she rebuilt her career, playing solo gigs for the first time in decades, and going head to head with her soon-to-be ex-husband in the courts and she sought custody of her kids — and her name.
“I told the judge, ‘It’s only blood money. I want nothing,'” she wrote. “I did have one request. I wanted to continue using the name ‘Tina Turner.’
Following her divorce, Turner came back stronger than ever. The ’80s would see her score hits like “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “Private Dancer,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” and videos on a nascent MTV made her a star for a whole new generation — and transformed her into a global icon. Her 1984 solo disc Private Dancer earned four Grammy Awards and eventually sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Her success continued through the ’90s, when she released more high-selling albums. She also published her memoir and a feature film of her life debuted in 1993.
In 2008 she announced that her Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour would also be her last, and from that point on she largely retired from the music industry.
She began to focus more on her private life, including her relationship with German actor and music producer Erwin Bach. After decades together, the pair married in 2013 and bought a $76 million estate on Lake Zurich.
“I pay taxes here (in the US). My family is here,” she told CNN’s Larry King in 1997. “I left America because my (biggest) success was in another country and my boyfriend was in another country. Europe has been very supportive of my music.”
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.
Turner’s last public appearance was at the premiere of the London musical based on her life story, Tina.
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career,” she wrote in the show’s program, “and after more than 50 years of performing I don’t need a musical, I don’t need another show. But I get so many cards and letters — I still can’t believe how people feel about me on stage and the legacy they say I left. People tell me I gave them hope. It meant so much to people I feel I have to pass it on, and I hope this show serves what the people need, as a reminder of my work.”
Turner is preceded in death by her two sons, Craig, who died in 2018, and Ronnie, in 2022.
She is survived by Bach and two sons of Ike’s that she adopted. Sending condolences to the family.
Rest in peace, Tina Turner.
