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The world stopped on 24 May, 2023 as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” died of natural causes in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. The icon that formed generations, women, fashion, and redefined genres of music was 83 and performed her last concert at 69. Tina Turner’s passing was due to her having apparently been battling illness for some time but gave no further public statements on it.
Her career spanned decades and she handled everything with such a piercing fire of passion as was obvious even when she was 60, running out above a crowd on stage in heels with no harness.
The icon was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, USA and her real name being Anna Mae Bullock. Tina Turner is often fondly remembered as filling the stage with just her presence, and her performances to this day are unmatched by any other. From the start of her career, she had a command in her voice that required attention as is undoubted in one of her most recognisable songs River Deep, Mountain High.
Over the 5 decades of Tina Turner’s career, she had accomplished:
Being the first black artist and first female to be on the cover of Rolling Stone
3 Grammy Hall of Fame Awards
12 Grammys
Over 200 million records sold worldwide
Set the Guinness World Record in 1988 for largest paying audience for a solo performer (180,000)
1 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
According to Billboard, the dedicated performer had one Number 1 Hit What’s Love Got To Do With It staying at number 1 for three weeks, six Top 10 Hits, and 18 songs on Billboard’s Top 100 Chart.
The music legend also has her life portrayed in the West End and Broadway musical, Tina- The Tina Turner Musical. It tells her life story of how she was unaccepting of limitations regarding her age, gender, and race during her lifetime career. Tina Turner reviewed the musical saying:
“This musical is not about my stardom. It is about the journey it took to get there. Each night I want audiences to take away from the theatre that you can turn poison into medicine.”
Her take-no-shit attitude broke the structures of many glass ceilings in a time that was nearly impossible for female performers to even get a foot in the door. Everything from her costumes to her actual shows, she strived to make sure her voice was not only heard but listened to. For her costumes Turner said she wore them for movement, not aesthetics.
“I’m the last person to ask about my legs! When I was growing up, I always thought they were too long and skinny. I felt like an awkward pony, so I never wanted to show them off. When I wore short skirts onstage it was for a practical reason — they gave me the freedom to move, and I really like to move.”
Tina Turner retired in 2007 after her lifetime career and changing the world forever for the better during that time. In an interview with Gayle King in June 2019, she said:
“I got on that plane… I took a deep breath, and I said ‘It’s over.’”
Also By Drew Janine:
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
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