‘Queen of Rock’n’Roll’ Tina Turner dies aged 83
Legendary American-born singer Tina Turner has died aged 83. The Grammy-award winner died after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.
Tina Turner was one of the most successful recording artists of all time, with international hits like What’s Love Got to Do with It, and (Simply) The Best.
“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” said her publicist Bernard Doherty upon revealing the news.
Music legends and public figures from across eras have also paid tribute to Turner.
“I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner,” said The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. “She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”
“She was the Queen of Rock and Roll, and a star whose light will never fade,” said former US president Barack Obama. “Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable. And she was unapologetically herself – speaking and singing her truth through joy and pain; triumph and tragedy.”
Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 and grew up in the rural Tennessee community of Nutbush. Her music career began as teenager in the late 1950s performing and recording with established musician Ike Turner. She would go on to marry Ike Turner in 1962 and the duo released hits such as It’s Gonna Work Out Fine, River Deep – Mountain High, Proud Mary, and Nutbush City Limits.
However, Tina Turner was also a victim of abuse and domestic violence in the marriage. Turner left her husband one night in 1976 on a tour stop in Dallas, after he attacked her during a car ride, and their divorce was finalised in 1978.
Following their separation, Tina Turner’s solo career took a few years to get off the ground, but hit lofty heights in 1980s. The decade saw her land a dozen songs in the Top 40, including Typical Male, The Best, Private Dancer and Better Be Good to Me. During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, she set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience (180,000) for a solo performer.
Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Turner is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, which also ranked her among the ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’ and the ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time.’
Turner moved to Switzerland with her long term partner, German music executive Erwin Bach, in the 1990s and they were married in 2013. Since retiring, Turner battled a number of health problems and personal tragedies. In 2018 her oldest son, Craig, took his own life at age 59, while her younger son Ronnie died of cancer in 2022.
Turner is survived by Bach and two sons of Ike’s that she adopted.
RIP Tina Turner (1939-2023). You were simply the best.