With her death this Wednesday, Anna Mae Bullock, better known as Tina Turner, passed into rock immortality after a life of artistic triumphs, albeit in a vital part was a victim of gender violence.
Her career began in the 1960s with her husband, Ike Turner.
His life was marked by impediments, both personal and professional that, however, she knew how to overcome, becoming the predecessor and mirror of another diva like Beyoncé.
The singer Tina Turner, during the concert that she offered in the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas in 1990 accompanied by “The Neville Brothers”.
BREAKING BARRIERS
Born in Nutbush, Tennessee (USA) in 1939, her musical career began when she met the guitarist of the group “Kings of Rhythm”, Ike Turner, a pioneer in the world of rock and roll who would later be her husband.
They began when he left his band to form a duo with Tina in 1960.
Their fame grew and they formalized as a duo “Ike and Tina Turner Revue”.
They were married in 1962 and, four years later, they released their album “River Deep, Mountain High.”
This work included the single “Proud Mary” which at first had no importance in the United States, but in England it became massive reaching number five on the charts.
In 1971 they remastered the song and this time it did have a lot of presence in their country, reaching number five on the charts, which allowed them to win their first two Grammy awards.
She, however, won eleven awards in this category, among many others, and is one of the artists who has sold the most records and concert tickets.
The African-American fused the different genres and took references from the most perfect trio of artists of the 80s: Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince, as she also did with David Bowie, her great friend and collaborator on the song “Tonight”.
According to the British media The Guardian, he is the star who managed to cross the lines and racial adversities that were presented to him and, even, defeated violent oppression to revolutionize music and reach the top, after a heroic and inspiring life.
THE VIOLENCE
The artist and the also deceased Ike Turner, were married for 16 years and were one of the most powerful and significant couples in rock and roll.
However, that duet became a nightmare for Tina, as she stated that she lived “between violence and continuous beatings” by her husband. They divorced in 1978.
INEXHAUSTABLE SUCCESS
After their separation, she carried out several works without much success, although one of them, produced with the help of Bowie: “Let’s Dance” (1982), marked the return of the great diva. In 1984 it was the culmination of her career with the album “Private Dancer”, which sold more than 20 million copies.
At the end of the 1980s, he was once again present on half the world charts with his LP “Foreign affair” (1989), which sold more than 12 million units and was number one on many European charts, while the success in the US The US was not so resounding.