RIP: Tina Turner (1939-2023)
"A spirit running free . . . I'm there in history"
The former Anna Mae Bullock was a force of nature. She was so electrifying in the mid-60s that Mick Jagger, then only 23, wisely stole a few dance moves. She enjoyed an astonishingly successful — and well-deserved — comeback in the 1980s. She could tear up a stage at age 51 with “Nutbush City Limits” and she could make an memorable entrance and belt out “Acid Queen” while showcasing those famous gams when she was almost 70.
Ike Turner, from Takin’ Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner:
I’d be writing songs with Little Richard in mind, but I didn’t have no Little Richard to sing them, so Tina was my Little Richard. Listen closely to Tina and who do you hear? Little Richard singing in the female voice.
You’ll search a long time to find a better compliment than that. (Little Richard was pure dynamite.)
1965: The Big T.N.T. Show (November 29, 1965)
Shake, A Fool In Love, It’s Gonna Work Out Fine, Please Please Please, Goodbye So Long (Live)
1965: “A Fool in Love” (Hollywood A-Go Go)
1966: “River Deep, Mountain High” (Phil Spector version)
1971: “Proud Mary” (Italian TV)
1971: “River Deep, Mountain High”
1973: “Nutbush City Limits” (Der Musikladen)
Rolling Stone (Issue #2, November 23, 1967)
