49 Fun Facts About Tina Turner

What was Tina Turner's birth name?

Anna Mae Bullock was raised largely by her grandmother after her parents split up. Rejoining her mother in St. Louis as a teenager put her in the clubs where Ike Turner's band played.

In which state was Tina Turner born?

Tennessee: the one-room school she attended there spent decades as a barn before it was moved to Brownsville and restored as the Tina Turner Museum, filled with stage costumes and gold records she sent.

What crop did Tina Turner recall picking with her family as a young child?

Cotton: she picked it alongside her family, yet by her own account they were better off than many neighbours, because her father was the farm's overseer.

Which producer paid Ike Turner to stay away while Tina Turner recorded 'River Deep – Mountain High' in 1966?

Phil Spector paid Ike $20,000 to keep clear of the sessions. The single he saw as his crowning achievement reached the UK top five but stalled at number 88 in America.

What was the name of Ike Turner's band that Tina Turner first saw perform in East St. Louis?

The Kings of Rhythm played the Club Manhattan, where she and her sister were regulars. She ached to get up and sing with them, and by her own account it took a year before she did.

Whose blues ballad did Tina Turner sing at an intermission, winning a spot in Ike Turner's band?

B.B. King's 'You Know I Love You' was the song, sung when the microphone reached her during a break. Ike Turner, amazed that such a voice came from so slight a teenager, began working her into the show.

Under what name did Tina Turner make her recording debut in 1958 on the single 'Boxtop'?

Little Ann was the billing Ike Turner gave his new backup singer on 'Boxtop'. It was two more years before he renamed her Tina and put her out front.

Which 1960 debut single did Tina Turner sing only because its intended male singer dropped out?

'A Fool in Love' was written for Art Lassiter of Ike Turner's band. Tina sang the demo in his place, and her vocal got the act signed by Sue Records boss Juggy Murray.

Ike Turner modelled Tina Turner's stage name on which fictional jungle heroine?

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, inspired the name. Ike Turner never asked his singer before renaming her, and she did not like it.

What were the backing singers and dancers in Tina Turner's 1960s stage revue called?

The Ikettes also made records of their own: their 1961 hit 'I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)' resurfaced three decades later in the chorus of Salt-N-Pepa's 'Shoop'.

In 1967 Tina Turner became the first woman and first Black artist on the cover of which magazine?

Rolling Stone gave its first cover to John Lennon and its second to Tina Turner, more than three years before Ike & Tina Turner had their first US top 10 hit.

Which band did Ike & Tina Turner open for on tours of the UK in 1966 and the US in 1969?

The Rolling Stones invited the Revue onto both tours. White rock audiences began paying attention, and the Turners started working rock covers into their soul set.

'Proud Mary', Ike & Tina Turner's biggest hit, was first recorded by which band?

Creedence Clearwater Revival took it to number 2 in 1969. Ike & Tina Turner's version starts slow and smouldering, then bursts into a frantic rock workout that reached number 4.

Which 1973 hit did Tina Turner write about the tiny rural community where she grew up?

'Nutbush City Limits' found a second life in Australia: a line dance to it, the Nutbush, spread through primary schools from the mid-1970s and became a staple of weddings and parties.

Which character did Tina Turner play in the 1975 film of The Who's rock opera Tommy?

She played the Acid Queen in Ken Russell's 1975 film of The Who's Tommy, and her 1975 solo album was titled Acid Queen after the role.

In which city did Tina Turner flee from Ike Turner in July 1976?

Dallas: while Ike slept in their hotel suite, she slipped out and ran across a freeway to a motel with 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket.

In her 1978 divorce settlement, what was the one professional asset Tina Turner insisted on keeping?

Her stage name was legally Ike's, because he had trademarked 'Tina Turner'. She came away with it, but gave up her share of the studio and property and took on the debts from their missed concerts.

Roger Davies, the manager behind Tina Turner's comeback, first saw her sing while working with which Australian star's manager?

Olivia Newton-John's manager brought Davies, his assistant, to Tina Turner's San Francisco hotel show. Davies took her on, got her to drop the supper-club act and aimed her back at hard rock.

Tina Turner's 1983 comeback single was a cover of which Al Green song?

'Let's Stay Together' was produced by Martyn Ware of the synth-pop band Heaven 17. Its success in Europe persuaded Capitol to pay for a full album, which became Private Dancer.

How long did Capitol Records give Tina Turner to record her 1984 album Private Dancer?

Two weeks was all Capitol allowed. Her manager flew her to England, gathered songs from British writers and split them among several producers, and the rushed record became her comeback.

Which song was Tina Turner's only number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

'What's Love Got to Do with It' was a song she disliked at first and had to be talked into recording. It went to number one in 1984 and made her, at 44, then the oldest woman to top the chart.

Which British Eurovision act recorded Tina Turner's signature 1984 hit before she did?

Bucks Fizz, Britain's 1981 Eurovision winners, recorded the song for their album I Hear Talk, then left it off when Tina Turner's version came out first.

With which artist did Tina Turner duet on a 1984 cover of Iggy Pop's 'Tonight'?

David Bowie made 'Tonight' the title track of his 1984 album. A year earlier he had told Capitol Records that Tina Turner was his favourite singer, which helped win her the deal behind her comeback.

Which character did Tina Turner play as the ruler of Bartertown in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?

Aunty Entity was the villain opposite Mel Gibson. Tina Turner took that part but turned down Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, saying its story was too close to the life she had just escaped.

Which Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome song gave Tina Turner a transatlantic top 3 hit?

'We Don't Need Another Hero' reached number 2 in America. Its children's chorus is a British school choir, and one of the boys, Lawrence Dallaglio, grew up to captain England at rugby.

Who pulled off Tina Turner's skirt on stage during their duet at Live Aid in July 1985?

Mick Jagger tore away her leather miniskirt during 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll' in Philadelphia, and Tina Turner, then 45, danced out the rest of the song in a black leotard.

What was the title of Tina Turner's 1986 autobiography, later the basis for a hit film?

I, Tina, written with music journalist Kurt Loder, went far deeper into Ike Turner's abuse than the 1981 People interview where she first went public. It became a bestseller and the basis of the 1993 biopic.

In which city did Tina Turner draw about 180,000 people in 1988, then the largest paying crowd for a solo artist?

Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium held the crowd in January 1988, a Guinness record at the time. She was 48, and five years earlier she had been playing hotel ballrooms and clubs without an American record deal.

Which enduring anthem came from Tina Turner's 1989 album Foreign Affair?

'The Best' was a cover. Bonnie Tyler's 1988 original stalled at number 95 in Britain; Tina Turner's version reached number 15 in America and became a fixture at sporting events around the world.

Who wrote 'Private Dancer', the title track of Tina Turner's 1984 comeback album?

Mark Knopfler wrote it for Dire Straits, then decided it did not work with a man singing. Members of his band played on Tina Turner's version, with Jeff Beck taking the guitar solo.

Which actress earned an Oscar nomination for playing Tina Turner in a 1993 biopic?

Angela Bassett got a Best Actress nomination for the part, and in 2021 she was the one who inducted Tina Turner into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist.

Which two U2 members wrote Tina Turner's 1995 James Bond theme 'GoldenEye'?

Bono and the Edge wrote 'GoldenEye' with her in mind, after hearing that Tina Turner was in line to sing the next Bond theme. It gave her a UK top 10 hit.

Whose 2000 tour ran second to Tina Turner's in North American earnings?

NSYNC sold more tickets than anyone that year, but the Twenty Four Seven Tour out-earned them, $80.2 million to $76.4 million. She was 60 and billed it as her last.

With whom did Tina Turner perform at the 2008 Grammy Awards in her public comeback?

Beyoncé joined her for 'Proud Mary'. The response helped persuade her, at 68, back on the road that October for what proved her final tour.

Which Italian film star talked a retired Tina Turner into touring again in 2008?

Sophia Loren heard at a Milan fashion show that her friend was taking a break, asked how long, and told her to get back to work. The 2008 tour that followed proved her last.

By her own account, what mishap pushed Tina Turner into wearing her first wig?

Bleach left on too long by a beautician damaged her hair on the day of a show. She called the accident a blessing in disguise, loved how the wig moved when she did, and went on to make her own.

Which religion did Tina Turner take up in the 1970s and credit with giving her the strength to leave Ike Turner?

Buddhism: she took up chanting in 1973 and kept it up daily for the rest of her life. Raised a Baptist, she never gave that faith up and called herself both.

Whom did Tina Turner marry in 2013 after 27 years together?

Erwin Bach was a German record executive sent by her label to collect her from the airport before a concert. She called it love at first sight, though he was 16 years younger.

In 2013 Tina Turner gave up her US citizenship to become a citizen of which country?

Switzerland had been her home for about 20 years, in a lakeside house near Zurich. She became a Swiss national in April 2013 and told US officials she had no plans to live in America again.

What did Tina Turner's husband donate to her for a 2017 transplant?

A kidney: hers had failed after years of high blood pressure that she had not treated with conventional medicine, a choice she publicly regretted in 2023.

Tina, the stage musical about Tina Turner's life, opened in which city in 2018, a year before it reached Broadway?

London saw it first, at the Aldwych Theatre, with Tina Turner herself sharing memories with the writers. Adrienne Warren played her there and on Broadway, where the part won her a Tony.

Tina Turner sang on which jazz pianist's Grammy-winning Joni Mitchell tribute?

Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year in 2008, so the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll's eighth and final competitive Grammy came for a hushed jazz reading of 'Edith and the Kingpin'.

Tina Turner sang one of the solo lines on which all-star charity single of 1985?

We Are the World was recorded overnight in Los Angeles straight after the American Music Awards, because the stars were already in town. A sign on the studio door told them to check their egos.

Why did Ike Turner miss his and Tina Turner's 1991 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

He was in prison on a cocaine conviction when the pair were honoured. Thirty years later, in 2021, she was inducted a second time, this time on her own.

Which 1986 album gave Tina Turner the number 2 US hit 'Typical Male'?

Break Every Rule sent 'Typical Male' to number 2, but the single's B-side travelled further: 'Don't Turn Around', left off the album, became a UK number one for Aswad and a US top 5 hit for Ace of Base.

Which DJ's 2020 remix of Tina Turner's signature 1984 hit returned her to the UK top 40?

Kygo called it one of his all-time favourite songs and said working with her felt surreal. His remix gave Tina Turner, at 80, a UK top 40 hit in a seventh straight decade.

Which singer invited Tina Turner to perform with him on Saturday Night Live in 1981?

Rod Stewart brought her on to sing his own 'Hot Legs' in October 1981, when she was without a hit and working clubs and cabaret. In 1990 the pair teamed up again for 'It Takes Two', a hit across Europe.

Which Washington award did Tina Turner receive in 2005 alongside Tony Bennett and Robert Redford?

Kennedy Center Honors night brought a tribute from Oprah Winfrey, who said Tina Turner made her proud to spell her name w-o-m-a-n, and a salute from President Bush to the most famous legs in show business.

Who played Ike Turner in the 1993 biopic of Tina Turner's life?

Laurence Fishburne turned the part down five times, calling the script one-sided, and gave in only after Ike's role was rewritten and his co-star was cast. It brought him an Oscar nomination.