Rock ‘n’ roll queen Tina Turner dies at 83

by Nehru Odeh

Tina Turner, the legendary queen of rock ‘n’ roll, died Wednesday at the age of 83.

Turner, best known for hits such as “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” died at her home in Kusnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland, after a long, unspecified illness.

His health had deteriorated in recent years, having been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and undergoing a kidney transplant in 2017.

In a statement on Wednesday night, her publicist Bernard Doherty said: “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ passed away peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness at her home in Kusnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland Done. In him the world has lost a great musician and a role model.”

A statement on the singer’s social media page on Wednesday said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner.

“With his music and his boundless passion for life, he has enthralled millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.

“Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who left us his greatest work: his music.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family. Tina, we will miss you so much.”

Turner is survived by her four sons – two before she died – and her husband, Irwin Beck who donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017 after being diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and cancer.

A music legend, Turner said in an interview with the Guardian last month that she wants to be remembered as ‘The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’.

Born Anna-May Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee in 1939 to Zelma and Floyd Bullock, Turner overcame a turbulent childhood and abusive marriage to become a musical sensation and legendary performer.

In her early 20s, she found fame with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, a live act alongside her ex-husband.

Behind their facade of success and marital bliss, they endured brutal abuse throughout their marriage. They got divorced in 1978.

Turner, on her own and determined to raise four sons, stunned fans and the media by speaking publicly about the abuse.

“I wanted to stop people from thinking that Ike and Tina were so positive, that we were such a good team,” Turner explained in an eponymous documentary.

In 1969 – a year after trying to kill himself with 50 Valium pills – he was awarded his first solo Grammy Award for The Hunter.

It wasn’t until she was separated from Ike in the late ’70s and had overcome bleak career prospects in Las Vegas that she made a notable comeback.

By the early ’80s, she was a musical powerhouse in her own right, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world’s most respected rock stars.

Electric performances with Mick Jagger and David Bowie ignited her success and she was quickly celebrated with an award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Throughout her career, Turner won eight Grammys out of 25 nominations and three lifetime Grammy Awards. Their last stadium concert was in 2009 in Sheffield, England.

In recent years, she has been memorialized by Tina – The Tina Turner Musical – in London’s West End across America.

Until 1986, Turner performed it as a solo artist. The risk paid off—she quickly garnered Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Turner’s final performance was at the end of their 50th Anniversary Tour in 2009. She has been featured on a multi-city tour in the UK.

Last December, Turner’s son Ronnie died of complications from colon cancer at the age of 62.

Turner posted a tribute to her son, Ronnie, after it was learned that he died outside their Los Angeles home at the age of 62.

In 2020, Turner told the Guardian that the last 10 years of her life embodied her ideal vision of happiness, despite some serious health problems.

He said, “True and lasting happiness comes from an unshakable, optimistic spirit that can shine on, no matter what happens.” “That’s what I’ve achieved, and it’s my greatest desire to help others to be truly happy.”