Tina Turner is an American singer in the genre of rock music and an actress whose career spanned 50 years.

Born on 26th November 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock) was the younger of two girls to her mother-Zelma Bullock.

She attended Sumner High School in St Louis. She met Ike Turner-rhythm and blues musician- at a nightclub there. He let her perform as a vocalist for him. Going by the name “Little Ann,” Turner was also the spotlight of a soul revue led by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm band.

In 1960, “A Fool in Love” was a huge R&B hit reaching #2, crossing over to the top 30 of the US pop chart. Ike changed the name of his band to The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In 1962, the two married in Tijuana, Mexico.

Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, Ike and Tina rose to stardom. As times and music styles changed, Tina developed a unique stage persona as a singer-dancer-performer. Hits like “I Idolize You”, It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” and the groundbreaking “River Deep, Mountain High” were increasing her popularity.

In mid 1970’s Tina Turner’s marital life began to fail. While most of the bands original records weren’t making success at the chart, Ike took to drugs and erratic behavior. In 1978 her divorce was finalized and she charged him with drug addiction and spousal abuse.

In December 1983, her cover of “Let’s Stay Together” hit #6 in the U.K. and became a huge hit across all of Europe and hit the no.5 in the R&B and dance charts in America. On January 16, 1988, Turner made history when she entered the Guinness World Records performing in front of the largest paying audience (over 184,000) to see a solo artist.
Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Rolla hall of fame in 1991.

Later in 2000, Turner went out on one of her most successful tours of her career. By tour’s end, the Twenty Four Seven Tour had become the highest-grossing tour of 2000 according to Pollstar grossing over $100 million. Later, Guinness World Records announced that Turner had sold more concert tickets than any other solo concert performer in music history.

In November 2005, Turner released All the Best – Live Collection and it was certified platinum by the RIAA and was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Her legs were referred to as “the most famous I show business” by President Bush, while many artists like Oprah Winfrey, Melissa Etheridge and Beyonce paid tribute to her that night.

In May 2007, Turner returned to the stage to perform for a benefit concert for the Cauldwell Children’s Charity at London’s Natural History Museum and performed with Beyonce at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2008. These marked Turner’s return to a major public performance since her record-breaking “Twenty-Four Seven Tour”. In 2008, Tina Turner left semi-retirement to embark on her ‘Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour.’

One of the most popular entertainers of her time, Tina Turner has earned the name of ‘The Queen or Rock and Roll‘. She was known for her long-spanned career, energetic stage performances and widespread appeal. She now divides her time into England, France and Switzerland.

- Kritika Rao