Tina Turner, the American-Swiss singer known for hits such as Proud Mary and The Best, passed away on May 24th at the age of 83 after a long illness. The singer, born Anna Mae Bullock, won eight competitive Grammy Awards during her 60-year career and had a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Turner, widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll, married her long-time German beau, the music executive Erwin Bach, in a Swiss civil ceremony in 2013 and has lived in Switzerland with him since 1994. It was her second marriage, having previously been married to musician Ike Turner from 1962 to 1978, a relationship which she famously narrated in her autobiography, I, Tina, later turned into the 1993 film What’s Love Got To Do With It.
Her autobiography revealed the singer had experienced abuse from Ike during their marriage and the relationship ended in divorce after he had physically assaulted her. Over the years, Turner spoke out about her experiences with domestic violence, becoming a role model and advocate for survivors. In 2005, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which recognised her as an inspiration to countless other artists and fans.
Throughout her career, Turner had a number of hits, including the Bond theme track for 1995’s GoldenEye, with a tune of the same name co-written by Bono and The Edge of U2 fame, and other tracks which included We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), What’s Love Got to Do With It, Private Dancer, and Let’s Stay Together. In 2021, she sold the rights to her back catalogue for an undisclosed sum, signing over her share of her recordings, her music publishing writer’s share and her name, image and likeness to BMG.
The world of music and celebrity was quick to pay tribute to Turner upon her passing. Singer Rick Astley hailed Tina Turner as “one of the greats” in his own tribute while Paloma Faith called her one of her “greatest influences and inspirations”. The West End show Tina The Musical, which portrays the singer’s life, also paid tribute to Turner saying it was “so proud to tell her story”. Actress Rosario Dawson commented that “legends never die” as she paid her respects to the singer while model Naomi Campbell called Turner a “legend and icon”.
Despite experiencing difficulties and hardships both in her personal life and career, Turner remained a strong and inspirational figure to many. Her powerful vocals and energetic performances influenced countless artists to come and her career will continue to be celebrated and remembered for generations.
