Unstoppable until the end, author of memorable pieces such as 'Simply The Best', 'We Don't Need Another Hero' and 'What's Love Got to Do with It', for all she was 'The Queen of Rock'. Tina Turner passed away at the age of 83 at the end of a life made of daring descents and climbs.
Singer and stage performer who also collaborated with husband Ike Turner on a series of hit records and live shows in the 60s and 70s, before surviving that horrific marriage to triumph in middle age at the top of the charts around the world.
Her spokesperson announced: “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. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”
The star, born in Brownsville, Tennessee, in the United States, was one of the most beloved rock singers, known for her charisma on stage. Turner died on Tuesday after a long illness at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, according to her manager.
She became a Swiss citizen ten years ago, living on a 260.000-square-meter estate on Lake Zurich. Born Anna Mae Bullock in a segregated hospital in Tennessee, few stars have traveled as far as Tina Turner.
Physically abused, emotionally devastated, and financially ruined by her 40-year relationship with Ike Turner, she rose to self-made superstardom in her XNUMXs, at a time when most of her peers were in decline, and remained a major live star for several years afterward.
With admirers ranging from Beyoncé to Mick Jagger, Turner was one of the world's most successful rock stars, known for a range of pop, rock and rhythm and blues songs, including, in addition to the aforementioned '80s hits, such as 'Proud Mary,' 'Nutbush City Limits,' 'River Deep, Mountain High,' and '80s hits including 'What's Love Got to Do with It,' 'We Don't Need Another Hero' and a cover of Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together.'
The passing of Tina Turner is a “huge loss,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said after learning of the 83-year-old singer’s death at a press briefing. It’s “very sad” news, Jean-Pierre said, noting that the singer was “a musical icon.”
Known throughout the world as the “Queen of Rock,” Tina Turner’s name is also associated with Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism, which she has practiced since 1973 in Los Angeles. On the occasion of her sixtieth year of activity in the music industry and her forty-fifth year of Buddhist practice, Turner spoke about it in Living Buddhism, the American monthly magazine of the Soka Gakkai (the same one of which Roberto Baggio is a member):
“In reality,” she said in 2018, “there was no miraculous revelation from one day to the next. When I was desperate, in the worst moments I chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for several hours a day and I saw that it worked. When I had to face a difficult situation the answers emerged from within me, and when I needed them they were right there.
My reactions were appropriate to the situation and I felt they came from a real place deep in my life, which we call the innate wisdom of the Buddha.” Her trademark was her snarling contralto, her bold smile and strong cheekbones, her collection of wigs.
Turner has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 11 Grammys, was voted alongside Ike into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (and alone in 2021), and was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005, with Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey among those praising her.
Her life became the basis for a film, a Broadway musical, and a 2021 HBO documentary that called her a public farewell. “With her music and boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow,” Tina Turner wrote on Instagram.
“Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us her greatest work: her music. All our sincere sympathy goes to her family. Tina, we will miss you so much”. Her forays into Italy were few but memorable. In 1977, the year of her first tour in Australia, Tina Turner worked as a regular star on the Saturday night variety show Luna Park on Rete 1, hosted by Pippo Baudo, and was also a guest at the Sanremo Festival.
“I knew Tina well, Adriano Aragozzini brought her to Italy to my 'Luna Park' in 1977, and she immediately fell in love with my show”, the famous host's memory entrusted to LaPresse. “She had come to do just one episode, she was very happy and then I said to her: 'But why don't you stay for other episodes?'.
And so it was, every time she was totally spontaneous and artistically generous. She was always changing her clothes, I have never found an artist of that caliber so available and sensitive as her. A total show girl, she came here when she was in decline and with us she found the opportunity to relaunch herself”.
Article published on May 24, 2023 - 23:18 pm
