Before we start: A lot of changes have been occurring for me both personally and professionally as of late, which are taking up a good chunk of my time. This is necessitating I pull my focus away from things I'd rather be doing, such as this blog. While I hope to keep up with daily Retro Spins, the reality is that this may not be a feasible goal. If you see a sudden drop off in posts, it's not because I wanted to stop, but rather that other matters simply took over my time.
Anna Mae Bullock, known to most of the world as Tina Turner got her beginning in music after becoming enraptured with the music of Kings Of Rhythm, led by Ike Turner. She would regularly go with her sister to watch the band perform, which ultimately led to her sibling dating drummer Eugene Washington. Anna begged her sister to get him to convince Ike to let her sing with them. Though Ike would agree, he didn't ultimately follow through.
As a result, she took the initiative herself. During an intermission, she jumped on the stage, grabbed the microphone, and in true form, hammered out the B.B. King blues ballad You Know I Love You. Impressed, Turner invited her back, and she soon became a reoccurring vocalist for the band.
In 1960, Ike wrote the track, A Fool In Love for Art Lassiter. However, upon booking a studio for the recording session, the singer didn't show up. Rather than lose out on the money and studio time, Turner convinced Anna to sing on the track, but with the intensions of deleting her track later, and adding Lassiter to it. This wouldn't end up happening. Instead, the recording would end up in the hands of Sue Records president, Juggy Murray. He paid a $25,000.00 advance for recording and publishing rights of the song.
Murray would be instrumental in convincing Turner to make Anna the lead vocalist and start of his act. It was in this that Ike created the name Tina Turner and then trademarked it. This was with the intensions that if she left the group that he would retain the name, and could simply replace her with another singer, still utilizing it. A Fool In Love was released with the new name in July 1960.
The Ike & Tina Turner Revue were formed shortly thereafter, with Tina on lead, but remaining on backing vocals for Kings Of Rhythm. Together, they built up a solid reputation through constant high rigorous tours across the USA. Their high profitability also garnered them the opportunity to perform in front of desegregated crowds in Southern clubs and hotels. Between recording singles and touring, they remained highly active through 1965.
There's a lot that occurred between 1960 and 1971, including their marriage in 1962, but to avoid this post becoming a novel, we'll jump to '71 where mainstream success would come from their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary. The single would reach number four on the Hot 100, selling over a million copies.
By 1974, Tina was releasing solo albums, beginning with Tina Turns the Country On!. This was followed by an appearance as the Acid Queen in 1975's Tommy (The Who) and subsequently extended that same year into her second studio album which used the character's name for the title.
As commonly known, Ike was an abusive husband, and though she took this for over a decade, by 1976, Tina mustered the strength to walk out on him. Their divorce would be finalized in 1978. After which, she would record 1978's Rough, and 1979's Love Explosion. Unfortunately, these would both fail to chart, causing her label, United Artists to drop her. The joke would be on them.
Though it would take several years, in 1983 she recorded the Marvin Gaye single, Let's Stay Together, which became a major hit across Europe and the UK. Capitol Records dove into action, commissioning a full album, which would serve as Turner's unexpected comeback, 1984's Private Dancer. Upon its release, she took the world by storm, delivering hit after hit which flew up the charts. While she would peak with the album, overall success would continue with 1986's Break Every Rule, and lead us to today's Retro Spin, 1989's Foreign Affair.
Though it does feature six singles, most of them were popular in Europe, with only Look Me In The Heart charting on the US Adult Contemporary charts, and Steam Windows, along with The Best charting on the Billboard Hot 100. The latter is the only song I knew going into this one, but with that said, it's not the only good one.
Honestly, I was surprised how many hidden gems I found on this one. The first was Who (Is Doing You Know What), a peppy love / hate song, done only the way that Tina can do it. Following it were Look Me In The Heart, You Can't Stop Me Loving You, Ask Me How I Feel, Falling Like Rain, and I Don't Wanna Lose You. Of course, the icing on the cake is the smash, The Best.
All and all, it was a pretty solid decade ender. Good tracks, Tina's fantastic voice, and overall, just enjoyable to play through. It's funny in a way. You don't realize how much you miss someone you didn't even know when they're gone.
Following its release, Tina stepped out of the studio to focus on new projects. These included touring in support of the album throughout 1990, and the highly successful 1991 compilation, Simply The Best. Both her and Ike were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1991. However, wanting to remain distant from her abusive ex, she did not attend the ceremony.
Instead, she focused on her 1993 biographical film, What's Love Got To Do with It, and then 1995's theme song to 007's GoldenEye, written by Bono and The Edge of U2. It would be the latter that would rekindle her desire to return to the studio for 1996's Wildest Dreams. This was followed by her final studio album, 1999's Twenty Four Seven.
In 2008, she embarked on a farewell tour, which wrapped up in 2009. After which, she formally retired from the music industry. Though she would remarry in 2013, leading up to this, she suffered a stroke, which would have lasting effects on her. Sadly, life didn't get much easier from there. In 2016 she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, passing away after a long battle with it in 2023. Prior to her death, she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist in 2021, but once again did not attend. Still, it was one final honor in a storied career which spanned multiple decades.
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