Ike Turner
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
Ike Turner
Izear Luster Turner Jr.
- Ike Wister Turner
- Icky Renrut
- Lover Boy
November 5, 1931
Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.
December 12, 2007 (aged 76)
San Marcos, California, U.S.
- Musician
- record producer
- talent scout
- bandleader
- songwriter
- Guitar
- keyboards
- vocals
1940s–2007
A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner began playing piano and guitar as a child and then formed the Kings of Rhythm as a teenager. His first recording, "Rocket 88" (credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats), is considered a contender for the distinction of first rock and roll song. During the 1950s, Turner also worked as a talent scout and producer for Sun Records and Modern Records.[2] He was instrumental in the early careers of various blues musicians such as B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Bobby "Blue" Bland.[3] In 1954, Turner relocated to East St. Louis where his Kings of Rhythm became one of the most renowned acts in Greater St. Louis.[4] He formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1960, which over the course of the decade became a soul/rock crossover success.
Turner's cocaine addiction and legal troubles, together with accounts by Tina Turner of domestic violence (published in her 1986 autobiography I, Tina and the 1993 film adaptation What's Love Got to Do with It), had an impact on his career.[5] Addicted to cocaine for at least 15 years, Turner was convicted of drug offenses and served 18 months in prison.[6] After his release in 1991, he relapsed in 2004, and died of a drug overdose in 2007. During the last decade of his life, Turner revived his career as a frontman by returning to his blues roots. He released two award-winning albums, Here and Now (2001) and Risin' with the Blues (2006).
Hailed as a "great innovator" of rock and roll by contemporaries such as Little Richard and Johnny Otis,[7][8] Turner received critical acclaim as well.[9] Rolling Stone editor David Fricke ranked Turner No. 61 on his list of 100 Greatest Guitarists and noted, "Turner was one of the first guitarists to successfully transplant the intensity of the blues into more commercial music."[10] Turner won five Grammy Awards, including two competitive awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.[11][12] He also received the Recording Academy's Heroes Award. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Tina Turner in 1991.[13] As a solo artist he is inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the Clarksdale Walk of Fame, the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Personal life[edit]
Marriages[edit]
Turner was married fourteen times.[16][210] He often married another woman before divorcing his existing wife. Speaking on his early marriages, he said: "You gave a preacher two dollars, the (marriage) papers cost three dollars, that was it. In those days, blacks did not bother with divorces."[8]
Death[edit]
In the weeks leading up to his death, Turner became reclusive. On December 10, 2007, he told his assistant, Falina Rasool, that he believed he was dying and would not live until Christmas.[16] He died two days later, on December 12, at the age of 76, at his home in San Marcos, California.[5][293] He was found dead by his former wife, Ann Thomas. Rasool was also in the house and administered CPR. Turner was pronounced dead at 11:38 a.m.[16]
His funeral was held on December 21, 2007, at the City of Refuge Church in Gardena, California.[294] Among those who spoke at the funeral were Little Richard, Solomon Burke and Phil Spector. The Kings of Rhythm played "Rocket 88" and "Proud Mary". Turner was cremated after the funeral service.[16]
On January 16, 2008, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office reported that Turner had died from a cocaine overdose. "The cause of death for Ike Turner is cocaine toxicity with other significant conditions, such as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema", Supervising Medical Examiner Investigator Paul Parker told CNN.[295] His daughter Mia was said to be surprised at the coroner's assessment, believing his advanced stage emphysema was a larger factor.[290]
Turner died without a valid will. Less than a week after his death, his former wife Audrey Madison Turner filed a petition stating that he had penned a handwritten will naming her as a beneficiary. In 2009, a judge ruled that the handwritten will was invalid and that Turner's children were legally the direct heirs to his estate.[296]