Tina Turner: the story of a soul and rock warrior – Music and Books – Culture

The queen of rock is gone. Tina Turnerthe star who was capable of making the world tremble with his hoarse and deep voice, who managed to exorcise the stigmata of mistreatment and the excesses of fame and also rose several times so as not to lose his throne in the musical universe for several decades, snuffed out its existence at the 83 yearsaway from the brightness of the cameras and the excessive devotion of those who followed his career.

The news of his death was released yesterday. She was dealing with an illness, but she preferred, as she had done in recent years, to keep a low profile and spend time at home in Kusnacht, near Zurich (Switzerland), where she lived with her husband Erwin Bach, whom she met at the label Emi at a time when he was healing the wounds of a violent relationship with the singer and musician Ike Turner, the man who discovered her and built her career, but who left deep wounds in her body and soul, which Tina, with a proud and total empowerment, was able to heal without too many scars. No details of her death were given, but it had been known for some time that she was not in good health.

In one of his most famous songs We Don’t Need Another Herofrom the film Mad Max: beyond the thunderdome (from 1983, in which she also played the role of a corrupt warrior known as Aunt Ama), made reference to the fight against fear and violence: “There has to be something better out there / Love and compassion / His day is coming / All the rest are castles built in the air / And I wonder when we’re ever going to change it / Live in fear until there’s nothing left”. And it seemed like a phrase taken from his own life.

Tina became known in the 50’s, when she was the vocalist for Ike Turner and his group; In the 60s, she was already touring Europe with the Rolling Stones and impacted with her energy and power for her singing, which was from another world.

Gives you context: Tina Turner: Coldplay dedicates their Barcelona concert to the singer

She became friends with Mick jagger and, on one occasion, she confessed that she ‘almost’ fell in love. On the other hand, she lived through hell – to which she always returned when talking about her memories – when her husband would leave her face full of bruises or throw what she found at hand when she lost her head due to their excesses of alcohol and drugs. But like in the post-apocalyptic warrior song of Mad Maxwhere children represented hope, the wonderful Turner did not allow herself to be overwhelmed by pain and fear.

She escaped from the nightmare of staying with Ike and began working as a solo artist. It was not easy to give up the fantasy of being a queen of soulR&B and joining as an actress such talented colleagues as Peter Frampton or the Bee Gees, Alice Cooper or Billie Preston in the film Sgt Pepper, in which a band tries to achieve fame against everything.

Tina was a faded memory in Tommy, the delirious rock opera for the big screen, in which she played the acid queen alongside The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey and film legends Ann Margret and Oliver Reed.
His musical successes, A Fool in Love, Mountain High or Proud Mary were fading. It is said that when she could not bear her husband’s abuse, she ran away from home with 39 cents in her pocket. and willing to try luck alone and safer.

He pop she was gaining more ground in the early ’80s and she, at first, didn’t seem to fit in. However, he sang a more modern version of The Temptations’ Ball of Confusion and another of Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, and was one step away from his new consecration in the industry with the release of his Private Dancer album, in 1984. .

A new air of fame

And everything changed, songs like What’s Love Got to Do With ItPrivate Dancer, I Don’t Wanna Lose You and The Best were hits all over the world.

In Europe his love lyrics, empowerment and resilience were sung out loud. Meanwhile, in Colombia, a generation was swept away by her musical power thanks to shows like Los ten mejores de la música or Oro solido, where the woman with a sensual presence and tousled hair did not go unnoticed by anyone.

The album sold five million copies. and Turner was capable of filling any stadium alone, as happened to her in 1988 when she shook the ground in Rio de Janeiro by bringing together more than 180,000 people at the Maracana. She had already earned a place in the Olympus of the stars together with michael jacksonLionel Ritchie or Diana Ross, just to name a few.

In addition, his legacy left nine studio albums and a live charisma that Beyoncé or Taylor Swift dream of having today.

Anna Mae Bullockher given name, became a diva who sold more than 200 million records in her career and a woman who was able to deal with pain and applause, which she explored in her memoirs in which she recalled when she didn’t make ends meet and the personal battle to be heard and loved again for her music.

Tragedy struck his life in 2018 with the suicide at the age of 59 of his eldest son Craig, the result of his relationship with saxophonist Raymond Hill.

“Ronnie, you left the world too soon. With pain I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son, ”was the message that the singer left on her Instagram account on that occasion.

In 1999, when he released the album Twenty Four Seven (At 60), he said it was time to say goodbye. After a promotional tour, he revealed that he was retiring from music. She couldn’t do it.

In 2008 he decided again to schedule a series of concerts to celebrate half a century of his career in music. The blame (thank God) for her reactivation with the stage and the meeting with the audience, was an energetic and unforgettable live duet with Beyoncé.