Tina Turner, one of the most iconic singers and performers of all time, has passed away, reports ABC News. She was 83.
Affectionately known as the "Queen of Rock and Roll," Turner's passing was confirmed on her official Facebook page.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner," the statement announced on her Facebook page. "With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly."
“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” Bernard Doherty, her U.K. spokesperson said in a statement.
Born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, Turner grew up singing in the Baptist church choir but was drawn to the local R&B scene as a teenager. Her big break came in 1956 when she met Ike Turner of the Kings of Rhythm in the St. Louis area. Eventually, she would marry him and join his band under the stage name, Tina Turner.
Rebranded as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, the group released their debut single “A Fool in Love,” which went to the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. The following year, they released “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine,” another bona fide hit that led to their first Grammy nomination for Best Rock and Roll Performance.
The group’s signature hit "Proud Mary," which was originally written and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival, won them a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1969. Other hit songs they recorded were “River Deep, Mountain High” and “Nutbush City Limits.”
Tina Turner divorced Ike in 1976 after 12 years of marriage.
After struggling throughout the 70s on the margins of the music industry, she made one of the greatest comebacks with her fifth solo album Private Dancer, which was released in the U.S. in May 1984. On the LP, her signature solo song “What’s Love Got to Do With It” spent three weeks at number 1 in the U.S. The song won Grammys for Record and Song of the Year as well as Female Pop Vocal. The album's other singles “Better Be Good to Me” and “Private Dancer” were also top 10 hits from the album.
In 1985, Turner released “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” from the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack; she also played Aunty Entity, the ruthless antagonist of the film.
Her follow-up album Break Every Rule was released in September 1986. The track “Typical Male” peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 for two weeks and the LP went platinum.
In 1993, her life story was made into the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, starring Angela Bassett and Lawrence Fishburne, which was based on her 1986 autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story.
Throughout her illustrious career, Turner sold more than 180 million albums, won 12 Grammy Awards and performed in sold-out stadiums across the world. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two separate occasions and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005.
In 2018 the hit musical Tina—The Tina Turner Musical, starring Adrienne Warren, was released to rave reviews.
Turner's final years were spent in Switzerland, where she became a citizen in 1995.
We at EBONY extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Tina Turner.
