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Tina Turner, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Dies at 83 Leaving a Legacy of Resilience The global music community is mourning the death of the legendary singer Tina Turner, known as the 'Queen of Rock 'n' Roll', who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, 24 May 2023, at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, following a long illness. Turner, whose career spanned more than six decades, rose from humble beginnings in the American South to become one of the most successful and electrifying performers in history, celebrated for her distinctive raw vocal power, high-energy stage presence, and inspiring life story of triumph over adversity. Her death marks the loss of a true cultural icon whose influence transcended music, making her a universal symbol of survival and empowerment for millions worldwide. Born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, Turner’s journey in music began when she met bandleader Ike Turner in St Louis, Missouri. Their collaboration quickly developed into the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, a group celebrated for its explosive and relentless live shows, which often challenged racial segregation barriers by performing before desegregated audiences across the US South. The duo achieved significant chart success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with hits like "River Deep – Mountain High," produced by Phil Spector, and their Grammy-winning, rearranged cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Proud Mary. " The band’s success established Turner's raw, soulful, and dynamic performance style, which would later influence a generation of rock and soul artists. Despite the professional success, Turner’s private life was marked by a turbulent and abusive marriage to Ike Turner, which she bravely documented in her 1986 autobiography, I, Tina. Her decision to leave the marriage in 1976, famously walking away with little more than her stage name, launched a challenging period of professional rebuilding. Her phenomenal solo resurgence in the 1980s is widely regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in music history.
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In 1984, at the age of 45—an age when many female contemporaries were seeing their careers fade—she released the multi-platinum album Private Dancer. The album spawned the global smash hit "What's Love Got to Do With It," which won the Grammy for Record of the Year and became her only US number-one single. The subsequent decade cemented her status as a stadium-filling superstar, with hits like "Simply the Best," "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)," and a record-breaking concert performance in Rio de Janeiro to 180,000 people. Beyond music, Turner became a cinematic figure, most notably for her powerful portrayal of Aunty Entity, the ruler of Bartertown, in the 1985 post-apocalyptic film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. This period of her career demonstrated her physical and creative vitality, challenging pervasive industry norms about age and race in rock music. Music critics have consistently highlighted Turner’s profound and lasting impact on the presentation of Black female artists in the rock genre. Writing after her passing, veteran music journalist and analyst Dr. Evelyn Reed noted that Turner was "a blueprint for feminine power in a male-dominated field. " Dr. Reed stated, "She didn’t just sing rock; she redefined the aesthetic of the rock star.
Her strength, her legs, her high-heeled choreography—all of it commanded attention and gave permission for every subsequent female rock artist to embrace their own ferocity and vulnerability on stage. She proved that the genre belonged to her as much as anyone else. " In her later years, Turner publicly discussed her serious health battles, including high blood pressure, which led to kidney failure and ultimately required a transplant in 2017, donated by her second husband, German music executive Erwin Bach. Her transparency about her health struggles, including a stroke in 2009, mirrored the openness she maintained about her personal trauma, further strengthening her image as a figure of enduring strength and truth. The news of her death prompted an immediate outpouring of tributes from around the world. US President Joe Biden described Turner as a "once-in-a-generation talent that changed American music forever," adding that her personal strength was "remarkable. " Close friends and collaborators also offered poignant reflections. Rock legend Mick Jagger, with whom Turner had toured and performed, wrote: "I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous.
She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her. " Actress Angela Bassett, who received an Oscar nomination for portraying Turner in the biopic, stated that Turner "gave us her whole self" and would always be "simply the best. " Tina Turner's remarkable journey, from her difficult early life to her peaceful retirement in Switzerland, culminated in her being a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—once with Ike Turner in 1991, and again as a solo artist in 2021. Her music continues to top streaming charts, and her stage musical, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, has been a global box office success, ensuring her story and her voice will resonate for generations. While the stage lights have dimmed on the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, her legacy as a survivor, an electrifying artist, and a cultural giant remains indelible. This video provides context on the later years of the music icon and the health battles she faced before her passing. Tina Turner's Cause of Death Revealed | E! News.
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