Tina Turner, known as the ‘queen of rock and roll’, has left behind an outpouring of condolences and shock from all walks of life, from music to politics, following her death.
The queen of rock and roll, Tina Turner, died on Wednesday at the age of 83, her representative confirmed in a statement. “Tina Turner died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model”. She had been retired for years and suffered from intestinal cancer, diagnosed in 2016. She had received a kidney transplant in 2017.
An image with Tina Turner that Mick Jagger has shared on his Instagram.
The artist had lived an intense life, not without its difficulties: an unhappy childhood, abandonment, a violent marriage, a stalled career, financial ruin, the premature death of family members and multiple illnesses, as she herself recounts in the introduction to her memoirs, Happiness Is Born From You, published in 2021. Her strength made her never give up and she became a global icon and role model for black female rock singers and many white stars. The list of her sung hits is long: Proud Mary, River Deep, Mountain High, What’s Love Got To Do With It or The Best.
Tina Turner: The life of a warrior
Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on 26 November 1939 and grew up in Nutbush, Tennessee. She sang in her hometown church choir and in the early 1960s joined Ike Turner’s band. Right away, Ike saw Tina’s potential and began engineering her for success. The duo and their band preceded the Rolling Stones, Elton John and The Who. In the eighties she changed her sound, adapted to the times and reached the top of the charts. The album Private Dancer (1984) made her an even bigger star.
When she turned 60, and with the release of her album Twenty Four Seven (1999), she began a retirement with low-key interventions over the next few years. Until 2013, when her presence was testimonial.
One of the first to react to her death was Mick Jagger, who wrote on his social networks: “I am very saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was a hugely talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She was a great help to me when I was young and I will never forget her”.
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