Music Legend Tina Turner Has Passed Away At Age 83
Music legend Tina Turner has died at the age of 83. No cause of death was provided, but The New York Times reports that Turner passed at her home outside of Zurich, Switzerland. She was said to be battling kidney disease and other illnesses, following an extensive music and film career—which dates back to the 1950s.
A product of East St. Louis, Illinois, Tina Turner met her future collaborator and husband Ike Turner while still in high school. Tina became a standout attraction within the band, Kings Of Rhythm—which eventually rebranded to the Tina Turner Revue. By the 1960s, that band was invited by the Rolling Stones to be an opening act on their ’66 tour. Tina expanded her Bluesy repertoire to include Rock & Roll numbers, a quality that carried throughout her popular music career. In 1971, she earned a Grammy Award for her Creedence Clearwater Revival cover of “Proud Mary.”
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In the 1960s and 1970s, Tina Turner and Ike worked with iconic producer Phil Spector. In the 1980s, she collaborated with David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart. Her 1984 Private Dancer LP became Turner’s best-selling. The Capitol release contained the hit title track, as well as #1 smash “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” That song would later become the title of a biopic starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike. The 1993 film chronicled the abuse, jealous, and creative contrast between the couple who had divorced in 1978.
Turner’s 1984 hit “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was reworked in The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Machine G_n Funk” and Fat Joe’s similarly titled hit, “What’s Luv.” Warren G and Adina Howard had also covered the song a dozen or so years after its release. Brand Nubian sampled “Private Dancer” for “Step To The Rear,” while Black Moon, Madlib, Tim Dog, 45 King, and House Of Pain used Ike & Tina’s “Cussin’, Cryin’, And Carryin’ On.”
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Tina Turner last released Twenty Four Seven, her tenth solo LP, in 1999.
Ambrosia For Heads extends condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Tina Turner.