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Anna Mae


For me, the Tina Turner from the 'What's Love Got to Do with It' video was the only one that existed. I had no idea she had been married to Ike and that she had basically reinvented herself and her life from scratch in order to become the icon (and I don't throw that word in the ring without thinking about it) she is. When I watched that video on MTV all I could think about was the power that literally emanated from the singer and the awesome attitude she seemed to project. And that voice. Tina Turner's voice is so particular, so recognizable, that I don't think anybody listens to it and would go 'who's that'?. When she told me that love was a second hand emotion, I believed her. She seemed to know what she was talking about. And she was right. 



I used to love MTV. In the eighties and nineties, there were very few outlets besides MTV if you wanted to be up to date with what was going on in music. And MTV showed me Tina singing and I was enthralled. I did not know she was forty then and that record executives had called her an 'old ***ger' not worth their time. I had no idea she had recorded River Deep Mountain High with Phil Spector.  It wasn't until years later that I learned that Ike was an abusive motherfucker and that Tina had left him with basically 35 cents in her bag and a Mobil gas card. I didn't know that from the divorce, she only demanded to keep her name. A name he had invented for her and given to her without her consent. Her whole life has been an ode to resilience and to the willpower go on and show that you cannot keep a good woman down. From Nutbush to Switzerland. From literally no money to one hundred million albums sold and some of the most successful rock concerts for a female solo artist under her belt. Not bad for a girl from Nutbush.



During the weekend I watched Tina, the HBO documentary that spans sixty years and the several lives lived by Tina Turner, one of the most fantastic performers I've seen. I loved watching sixty year old footage of Tina being, well, Tina. All legs and hair flying and an energy I have seldom seen in any performer. I also got to see her career through her own prism, not through the lens of an abusive, insecure, ignorant man who used her (and many other women) to hide his lack of balls. Tina was both a reminder of how great a performer Tina Turner is and a review of the things I thought I knew about her and her career as a singer. I can't believe it took Tina Turner an autobiography, a movie and a whole career to define her life in her own terms and not by the actions and words of an undeserving, petty man. Tina Turner is her own woman and she did what she needed to do to become the performer we all know today. Want to know what achieving a dream is? Watch footage of Tina in concert in Rio. 





If you have HBO, I strongly recommend you watch the documentary. If you don't, make sure you listen to her Private Dancer record, or read her I, Tina book (she wrote it with Kurt Loder!!). Or if everything fails, go watch the What's Love Got to Do with It movie. Angela Bassett nails that performance. Today, Tina is 81 and is as vital as I wish I will be when I'm that age. She now lives in Switzerland with her husband (they have a fantastic story of how they met!) and has a new book out: 'Happiness Becomes You', which I would actually like to read. This documentary seemed to be a goodbye of sorts for her fans, but I am just more interested in her now than before. And now, if you excuse me, I have a record I need to listen to again. And after that, I'll go watch the episodes in Schitt's Creek where Patrick and David made sure I would get into Tina once again.  

XOXO




P.S. Upton, did you know that What's Love Got to do With It is a song that was recorded by two artists? You should have it in your Who Did It Better? section! 

Comments

  1. Tina is all energy and gives it to us freely. She is such an awesome performer and quite the success story, given the abuse from her marriage to Ike. She has more energy at 81 than I feel I have sometimes.

    XOXO 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha I thought the same! So lucid, so engaging. At 81!
      She's a fantastic performer. She was a dynamo on stage.

      XOXO

      Delete
  2. Tina has LIVED.
    Tina has COME THROUGH.
    Icon, Legend, Diva.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG right?
      I could not believe it. Her childhood, her family, that horrible man. And then the music executives. A true survivor.
      And a fantastic performer. Legend indeed.

      XOXO

      Delete
  3. I haven't seen this yet, but I want to!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I highly recommend it.
      I think it's told from a more Tina-centric point of view. The shadow of Ike does not interfere with her shine. As it should be.

      XOXO

      Delete
  4. She is a priceless jewel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is!
      I was so impressed. I've always liked her. I like her more now.

      XOXO

      Delete
  5. I've watched the documentary three times and put back to back club mixes of 'I Can't Stand The Rain' on a CD and cruised around Wilma full blast! In her 2019 interviews (in the doc) the camera angles were very precise not to show the partial paralysis of her right side face from a stroke.

    Even though she said she was a good mother, I wonder if she would have had children today as she was driven to be 'The Best'.

    ps: Who didn't walk around sing 'Whats Love Got To Do With It' back in the '80's?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG I'm gonna watch it again this coming weekend! So good.
      I love 'I Can't Stand The Rain'! I remember when Missy Elliot sampled it. It's a bop. And I had no idea she had a stroke! I think that's why they are so close to her when they go see the premiere of her musical!
      I think she loved her children. One was Ike's, no? They only show one in the documentary. Her story with her mom is also heartbreaking.
      Love 'What's Love Got to Do with It'!!!

      XOXO

      Delete
  6. my (and wikipedia) tribute here
    What interesting life she had!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohhh thanks, Xersex!
      So many interesting tidbits! I didn't know one of her sons had died. They only show one in the documentary. I was wondering what happened to the others.

      XOXO

      Delete
  7. I did NOT. Get OUT! Really? That song is so HERS! And yes, I would leave the downtown Woolworth's where I managed the music department and walk across the Broadway bridge to a rehearsal studio in NE Mpls singing her songs (mostly Private Dancer) and kicking my toes like I had a pair of hot red high heels on. Sometimes the mens would honks they horns! Sigh. Them daze.

    Adore Tina. Such a survivor. Such a story. And such great music. Thanks for sharing all this, hon. You are the best. And I watched MTV like it was a master class. Could not get enough. I would stay up until 2:00 in the morning on work nights just to see as much as I could. Kizzes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who knew, right? I was like, that song IS Tina Turner's. Apparently they offered to several other singers and nobody touched it. Thank goodness because it brought her well deserved success in her solo career.
      Hahaha I can see you doing The Pony! That strut is sooooo Tina!
      Her story is so touching. Her music is so amazing. And I used to glue myself to MTV and watch all their countdowns. Kurt Loder was such a great VJ. When I saw him in the documentary I screamed.

      XOXO

      Delete
  8. I loved the movie with Angela Bassett. And I love Tina Turner. I remember when MTV was just that--music television. It has changed so much, I don't watch it anymore, at all.
    My buddy keeps talking about having me over to watch the documentary. And I am interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally!
      Angela is fantastic in that movie. And MTV and VH1 have changed SO MUCH! They used to be so much fun. And you should absolutely make it a movie night with popcorn and a Tina listening party after that. So worthy!

      XOXO

      Delete
  9. Well, see, now...that proves how fucking old I am. I listened to Ike & Tina back in the 60s. He thought he made her. What a joke. SHE made HIM. It took her a while to realize that because he was such an abuser. Classic abuser. When she burst back onto the scene, alone...well, it was explosive and powerful and magical.
    There are so many singers we knew/know nothing about. I watched the Mahalia biopic over the weekend. Mahalia Jackson, the Queen of Gospel. Right? My wife asked me, who's that? Mr reply: If Aretha Franklin owed anything to those who came before her, it would be Mahalia. Mahalia, Aretha, and Tina, like Ma Rainey, were so much more than what we were shown on TV through their appearances and short B&W clips. XOXO

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    1. Hahahaha Older, Big. Just older.
      Ike and Tina were a staple in the sixties. Ike was a Rock and Roll pioneer. A piece of shit, but a talented musician. And he didn't 'make' her. She had star quality. He realized that early, that's why he married her and brainwashed her into not living him. Typical abusive behavior through and through.
      I will have to check out Mahalia's biopic. My friend has two of her records and they're powerful. Trailblazers, all of them. They need more recognition.

      XOXO

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  10. No one...NO ONE is or could be Tina Tuner...except Tina Turner. Probably THE only legend in my lifetime. I lobe her old stuff, but I enjoyed her glam side in the video for the song she did for James Bond's Golden Eye. Right behind Bassey for my favorite singer to do a Bond song, and right before Garage and Adele.

    Long Live Tina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I absolutely agree with you.
      Living legend. I was just mentioning that when the pandemic ends, one of the things I wanna do is go see her musical. Its production came to a halt when the pandemic hit. I hope they stage it in Chicago.
      Oh, totally! She did GoldenEye! Glad you reminded me of that. She also did Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. So fab.

      Long Live Tina indeed!

      XOXO

      Delete

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