Tina Turner

Turner had her first child, Raymond Craig, in 1958 when she was 18. Pregnancy out of wedlock agitated her mother and she threw her out of the house. She went to live with her future husband Ike Turner.

She got married to Ike in 1968 and became stepmother to his sons from former marriages. The couple had a son together, Ronald. The relationship, as described by Turner on several occasions, was of abusive nature and they got divorced.

Tina Turner was born in Tennessee to Zelma Priscilla and Floyd Richard Bullock. Her father was an overseer of the sharecroppers. During World War II, Turner was separated from her parents and had to and live with her grandparents in Knoxville.

After the war, her family joined her in Knoxville and she attended the Flagg Grove Elementary School. Turner had a knack for singing from a very young age and used to sing in the church choir.

Turner’s childhood became chaotic when her mother ran away because of her abusive father. She was only 13 when he remarried and abandoned her and her sister. She went to live with her grandmother and worked as a domestic worker.

She attended the Carver High School while living with her grandmother. When Turner was 16, her grandmother died and she had to go and live with her mother. She graduated from Summer High School in Missouri and dreamt of becoming a nurse.

Turner used to visit nightclubs in St. Louis and at Club Manhattan she met here future husband Ike Turner, and his band ‘Kings of Rhythm’. Ike recognized her talent and gave her chance to record with him as a background singer in 1958.

In 1959, she recorded a dummy vocal for Ike’s song, which was later sent to Juggy Murray, president of Sue Records. Ike was paid a large sum of money for the recording and publishing rights of the song.

Turner and Ike started singing together and in 1960 their single ‘A Fool in Love’ reached at number 2 on the Hot R&B Sides and after that ‘It’s Gonna Work Out Fine’ earned them their first Grammy Award nomination.

The duo became popular and went on to sign with Loma Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records in 1965. They gave live performances all over the United States and performed in shows like, ‘Hollywood A Go-Go’, etc.

In 1965, she recorded the song ‘River Deep – Mountain High’ produced under Philles record label. The song became a big hit in the UK giving Turner an opportunity to do the opening for The Rolling Stones on their UK tour.

‘Private Dancer’, Turner’s fifth album, released in 1984 is considered to be the breakthrough album of her career. It gave her the worldwide success at the time when her career suffered a major setback after she got divorced.

Turner earned four Grammy Awards for her album ‘Private Dancer’ and the hit single ‘What's Love Got to Do with It’, etc. has become her signature track. The album was a bestseller both in the United States and internationally.