Tina Turner: It’s a long way from Nutbush, Tennessee

Tina Turner’s shows have been described as “electrifying”, “awesome” and a “once in a lifetime experience”. This cannot be described as an overstatement. Tina Turner concerts are indeed all these and more. There are numerous reasons s to why she puts in such great performances. Or it could be because of her personality as a strong, willful and passionate woman.

Born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, Tina Turner first performed in Ike Turner’s shows in St. Louis. Ike changed her name to Tina after Sheena: Queen of the Jungle and they became The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She married Ike in 1962. Working a heavy touring circuit, they rose to fame during the 1960s and 1970s, recording songs like “A Fool in Love”, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” and “River Deep, Mountain High”.

Tina Turner’s tumultuous marriage life continued well into the 70s. Tina’s husband was a cocaine user who mismanaged the band and he produced Tina’s first solo album. It did not do well commercially. In 1976, over the Fourth of July weekend, Tina Turner finally left Ike Turner when he beat her before a Dallas show. She had nothing but thirty-six cents in her wallet. She left behind her abusive marriage as well as breached contracts.
She lived rough and appeared in TV shows to supplement her income. She finally got a divorce from Ike in 1976 and with trepidation commenced in earnest her solo career. She finally got the recognition she craved for in 1984 when she released her fifth album, Private Dancer. The album earned her three top ten singles in the United States, topped the charts in Europe UK and Australia and established her as a rock diva. She earned Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year all in the 1985 Grammys.

The unstoppable Ms Turner also made forays into film appearing in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, sung numerous soundtracks for movies, wrote her autobiography I, Tina and toured in Europe, the US and Latin America. In the latter, she performed for 184,000 fans and entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the single performer to have performed to the largest paying crowd in history.

For most people with a lifetime of achievements, time to settle back and reflect on life would be in order. But not this lady, as she is coming out of 8 years of retirement. She probably never did retire. She is set to tour again in October kicking off in Kansas City. She will continue to tour until November and you can get Tina Turner tickets in registered ticket sellers. Tina Turner tickets are already available for her shows in Chicago, Minneapolis, Rosemont, Los Angeles, among others.