Legendary singer Tina Turner dies at 83
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on May 24, 2023
Legendary singer Tina Turner, known for her sultry voice and a string of Platinum hits, has died at age 83.
The news was confirmed on Turner’s official Facebook page.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner,” the statement said on Facebook. “With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”
Born Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee, Turner’s first success came as part of the duo Ike & Tina Turner with ex-husband Ike Turner. They had such hits as “River Deep-Mountain High,” “Proud Mary” and “Nutbush City Limits.”
The pair split in 1976, with Turner later revealing in her 1986 autobiography, I, Tina, My Life Story, that she suffered horrible abuse by Ike. She eventually went on to have a hugely successful solo career, thanks to her 1984 multi-Platinum album Private Dancer and its Grammy-winning single “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which was her first and only number one song.
Other Turner solo hits include “Better Be Good To Me,” “Private Dancer,” “The Best” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome).”
Turner also dabbled in acting, appearing in The Who’s Tommy, as well as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Her memoir was turned into a hit movie, What’s Love Got to Do With It, which earned Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Turner.
Turner was a 12-time Grammy winner and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 with Ike and again as a solo artist in 2021. She also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005.
In addition to her movie, Tina’s life became the subject of a jukebox musical, Tina, which had its world premiere in London in 2018 and opened on Broadway in November 2019.
While no cause of death was given, in Tina’s 2018 memoir, My Love Story, she revealed various health struggles. She suffered a stroke in 2013, had intestinal cancer in 2016 and in 2017 received a kidney transplant from her husband, Erwin Bach.
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