Ike & Tina Turner / Ike Turner / Tina Turner

Biography

Ike Turner (Izear Luster Turner Jnr., 5 November 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA, d. 12 November 2007, San Marcos, California, USA) and Tina Turner (b. Anna Mae Bullock, 26 November 1939, Brownsville, Tennessee, USA). The commercial rebirth of singer Tina Turner, coupled with revelations about her ex-husband’s unsavoury private life, has obscured the important role Ike Turner played in the development of R&B. A former piano player with Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Nighthawk, Turner formed his Kings Of Rhythm during the late 40s. This influential group was responsible for ‘Rocket 88’, a 1951 R&B release often named as the first rock ‘n’ roll recording but confusingly credited to its vocalist, Jackie Brenston. Turner then became a talent scout for Modern Records where he helped develop the careers of Bobby Bland, B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf.

Now based in St. Louis, his Kings Of Rhythm were later...

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