Checkout Tina Turner’s Life in Photos

Tina Turner’s career spanned 50 years and was one of the most prolific in music history. Take a look back at her life in images following her passing at the age of 83.

Tina Turner’s Childhood

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in a poor family. Tina’s parents were poor sharecroppers who divorced when she was 11 years old, leaving her and her sister, Alline, to be reared by their grandmother in Nutbush, Tennessee. Her father remarried soon after, and her mother relocated to St. Louis after escaping the toxic marriage.

Tina relocated to St. Louis when her grandma died when she was 16. She became immersed in the music scene there and met her future husband, Ike Turner.

Tina Turner’s Stardom

During a performance with his former band, Kings of Rhythm, in 1965, Ike invited Tina, then 17, to sing onstage. Ike was taken by her natural stage presence and raspy voice and gave her permission to hang around with the band.

When the vocalist who had been scheduled to record “A Fool in Love” failed to show up for the recording session, Tina rose to the occasion.

Ike felt he wanted Tina in his group when “A Fool in Love” became an instant smash. He changed her name to Tina Turner, and she went on to become the main vocalist for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

Marriage of Ike and Tina Turner

Though Ike and Tina’s relationship was initially platonic, with Tina saying in the HBO Max documentary, Tina, that she considered him as a big brother, their bond ultimately evolved into romance, and they married in 1962.

Theirs was hardly a romantic love story. For starters, the couple married in Tijuana in a ceremony that the “Proud Mary” singer learned about the same day.

“When Ike asked me to marry him, I knew it was for a reason,” she told CBS Good Morning’s Gayle King. “But I knew I had to say yes, or it was going to be a fight.”

Ike was notoriously harsh, and the marriage ended in divorce after 16 years.

The song ‘Proud Mary’ by Tina Turner

While “Proud Mary” is inextricably linked to Tina, the song is not an original Ike and Tina record.

According to Biography.com, John Fogerty, lead vocalist of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, wrote the song in 1967 and it quickly became a fan favorite when Ike and Tina Turner Revue sang it.

Tina requested Ike include the song on their second album, Workin’ Together, because it had so much popularity on the road. Ike added the famous guitar riffs and other production aspects to turn it into the smash song it is today.

According to Biography.com, “Proud Mary” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B chart in 1971.

Tina Turner Takes Back Her Name

Tina filed for divorce from Ike in 1976 after escaping his clutches. The “I Don’t Wanna Lose You” singer elected not to battle over any of their assets, however she did fight for the rights to her stage name, which she won.

Tina Turner’s Resurrection

Tina was in financial trouble after her divorce from Ike. Not only did she have business bills to clear, but she was also in charge of the couple’s four children as the procedures went on.

To make ends meet, she returned to the road and began her comeback by performing covers.

She was signed to Capitol Records in 1983, where she released Private Dancer.

The album included singles including “Private Dancer,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and “Better Be Good to Me.”

The album was nominated for three Grammy Awards and was considered “one of the greatest comebacks in music history.”

Tina Turner’s Private Dancer Tour

Following the release of the hit album, Tina embarked on a tour from February 1985 to December 1985. The Private Dancer tour encompassed a whopping 182 dates throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

Tina Turner perform at the Super Bowl XXXIV Halftime Show.

Tina lit up the stage in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome in 2000, when she headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. It would be one of her final performances before taking a break for a few years.

Tina Turner was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Tina was one of the artists honored with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 for her contribution to culture. Other luminaries in her class were Robert Redford, Tony Bennett, Suzanne Farrell, and Julie Harris.

Tina Turner Rediscovers Love

Tina married her long-term boyfriend, music producer Erwin Bach, in 2013 after 27 years together. They spent their time in Zurich, Switzerland, peacefully together.

Bach was sent to pick up the singer at Cologne Bonn Airport in 1986, and the two first met. The bond was immediate.

“He was [16 years] my junior.” He was 30 years old and had the most beautiful face. Tina claimed in an HBO Max documentary on her life, “You can’t [describe] it.” “It was really crazy. ‘Where did he come from?’ I wondered. He was incredibly attractive. My heart was racing, which indicates that a soul had met, and my hands were trembling.”

Tina Turner’s 50th Birthday Tour

Tina stated on The Oprah Show that she’d be returning to the stage for the first time in eight years, after taking some well-deserved time off. She was 68 years old.

The 50th Anniversary Tour started up in October 2008 and ended in May 2009, with 84 sold-out shows in North America and Europe.

She announced her retirement after the tour ended, making this her final tour.

Tina Turner’s Broadway debut

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical opened on Broadway in 2018 and was the living legend’s final public appearance. The play, like the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It, highlighted Tina’s remarkable life and career, but concentrated more on her comeback phase and major successes.

Tina Turner: A Legendary Career

Tina received several prizes over her five-decade career, including eight Grammys, three AMAs, seven Billboard Music prizes, and many more.

She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three songs: “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” and “Proud Mary.”

As ZiMetro, We truly appreciate the life of Tina Turner, her music will forever be stamped in our hearts, and we will continue listening to the wise words she left us.