TinaTurnerSoundovers

Persistence, as we know, paid off, but then Tina became pregnant with a membr of Ike's band, he moved her into his home, she had that baby, then another by Ike, and then finally, Ike and "Tina," as she was now known, were married in 1958 in a quickie Tijuana ceremony, which turned out to be illegal, since Ike had never bothered to divorce his first wife. But finally, Tina began regular work as the band's singer, but their first historic single together still only happened by one of those fateful chances that the record industry seems to specialize in.

The duo's track record in the '60s and early '70s, both on cast-iron anthems like River Deep, Mountain High, Nutbush City Limits, and Proud Mary, as well as lesser-feted soul classics like I Can't Believe What You Say, is the stuff of legend, as, sadly, is the violent disintegration of their marriage.

At first, she stood at the bottom of what seemed an impossible mountain of debts and disinterest from the industry. While other soul divas made good in a world that she had inspired them to enter, Tina was living for a time on food stamps. Her name still got her onto TV game shows and then the supper club circuit in Las Vegas, then in 1979, Tina met Roger Davies, a young Australian manager who'd recently relocated to Los Angeles and took the challenge of redefining one of the greatest vocalists and performers of the age.

With Davies' help, Turner refound the rock 'n' roll guts of her best records, infused it with her intuitive soulfulness, and started again. A 1981 support slot on the Rolling Stones' US tour led to an invitation from Heaven 17's Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware for Tina to take part on their multi-artist Music Of Quality And Distinction Volume 1 album. Before the end of 1982, she had a new solo deal with Capitol Records.

What's followed has been an extraordinary catalogue of collaborations and achievements on record, on the big screen and as an author: a role as Aunty Entity alongside Mel Gibson in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome; a duet with Mick Jagger at the greatest live event in music history, Live Aid; a raft of Grammy Awards; a bestselling autobiography, "I, Tina," Tina has continured recording and setting concert dates with avowed Turner fans like Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Elton John, David Bowie, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler; and performing on record-breaking concert tours including sellout shows in such singular locations as the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janero, and England's Woburn Abbey and Wembley Stadium.. Add to this, her U2 penned smash hit from the Bond movie Goldeneye, her stadium tour of Europe in 96, and her smash box office records in ten countries playing to over 3 million people, and it was clear that her status as rock diva was indisputable

She lives these days in Switzerland, happy to lead a relaxed off duty life in her time away after the immense world tour that accompanied Wildest Dream, but now energised by another new challenge. "I got a break from the music world, I always need to detox from the business," she says. "But now I'm ready for it."

Anna Mae Bullock (Tina's real name) was born on November 26 1938, in Brownsville, Tennesee, and raised nearby in the "li'l ol' town" of Nutbush,just like the song says. The daughter of a sharecropper, Anna Mae and her older sister Alline, relocated to St.Louis in 1956. Both girls had been deserted by both father and mother, by the time 17 year old Annie first asked the leader of a local club favorite, The Kings of Rhythm if she could sing with them. The answer from Ike Turner was a firm no.

In addition, the ensuing divorce left tina responsible for months of unperformed bookings putting her deep into debt, even as she lived in fear of ike's retaliation

In 1991 Tina Turner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

"Nobody has had a life like mine, not even Joan Collins"
- Tina Turner

"So...do you want some action?"
- Tina Turner

"I will never give in to old age until I become old. And I'm not old yet!"
-Tina Turner

In the autumn of 1960, the session singer booked to record Ike's A Fool In Love didn't show. Tina stepped in, an R&B smash and US Top 30 pop crossover ensued, and soon the band was going by a new name: the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

However, Tina's natural resiliancy, emboldened by her newly-found Buddhist faith and the recent big-screen solo success as the Acid Queen in The Who's Tommy, Tina struck out on her own in the summer of 1976.

Ike Turner had many problems when he was off the stage. A drug addict, he abused his wife and children both mentally and physically. For years, Tina suffered in silence as her so called "husband" used fear and intimidation to control her.

More that a decade of violence and abuse finally came to a head when Ike's complete dominance over her life had finally become too much for Tina, and after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, she walked out on him in 1975, with nothing more than thirty-six cents and a gas station credit card.

Turner's early singles charted in Europe, leading to a U.S. album called "Private Dancer," and the album's lead off single, "What's Love Got To Do With It?" recorded in London in the record breaking time of less than two weeks. The rest as they say...is history!

In 1984, "Private Dancer produced the No. 1 single "What's Love Got to Do With It?" which renewed Turner's status as a U.S. star; the album eventually went on to sell 11 million copies worldwide. Also that year Tina appeared in the film "Mad Max Beyond

Thunderdome," whose soundtrack spawned the hit single, "We Don't Need Another Hero." Turner won three Grammys and embarked on her first world tour.

This year, at age 65,(2003) America's rock diva, is far from resting on her laurels. She will be releasing her latest album. Entitled "Great Spirits," this October. The album is actually the soundtrack to the Disney film, "Brother Bear," and in her words, "There's a real spiritual quality to it and the message is about love and care and coming together."
In addition, she will perform live during the superbowl in January, and she will once again perform on the big screen in a movie titled, "The Goddess," which is due to start filming in spring 2004.

In 1993, Her autobiography, "I, Tina," inspired the 1993 Oscar-nominated movie "What's Love Got to Do with It."

In 1986, Tina Turner began dating German record excutive Erwin Bach, with whom she continues to live.