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Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, along with Turner Broadcasting System, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution (in recent years, this role has largely been limited to being the copyright holder, while sister company Warner Bros. handles all sales and distribution).

Background[link]

Turner Entertainment Co. was established on August 4, 1986 as a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System to oversee its film library after Ted Turner's short-lived acquisition of MGM/UA.

After re-selling the studio, Turner kept its library, which included the following:

• Nearly all of MGM's film and television library prior to May 23, 1986 ending with the film Killer Party (released on May 9, 1986)
  • Included in this portion are a few individual films that MGM acquired from other studios in connection with filming remakes, such as
    • The 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, originally from Paramount Pictures
    • The 1936 version of Show Boat and the 1931 version of Waterloo Bridge, both originally from Universal Studios
    • The 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda, originally from Selznick International Pictures and distributed by UA
• Some material from United Artists Television
  • Gilligan's Island and its two animated spin-offs The New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan's Planet
  • The former Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) catalog
    • Fleischer/Famous Popeye cartoons
    • Pre-1950 releases from Warner Bros.
      • Not included in this library were
        • Lady, Play Your Mandolin! - the first entry in the Merrie Melodies series
        • All the black-and-white entries in the Looney Tunes series
        • All the black-and-white Merrie Melodies produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
        • All Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies released on or after August 1, 1948
        • All live-action short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948
• The U.S. rights to a majority of the RKO Radio Pictures library
  • Some of these rights had not been held by MGM at the time of the Turner acquisition, these rights would be bought by Turner later on.
  • Turner later got rights to this library in Latin America and Australia as well.
• Films by Brut Productions, the production division of Fabergé (A Touch of Class).

Turner later re-sold United Artists and the MGM logo back to Kirk Kerkorian, and sold the old MGM studio lot to Lorimar, keeping the aforementioned library. In 1991, Turner Entertainment's parent Turner Broadcasting purchased Hanna-Barbera and its extensive animated library including The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, and Quick Draw McGraw (along with most of the Ruby-Spears library up to 1991). Turner's vast animation library served as the basis for Cartoon Network, and later Boomerang.

Turner Entertainment also played a huge part in film preservation and restoration, thus such classic films as Casablanca, Citizen Kane, King Kong, Easter Parade, and the original The Jazz Singer, can continue to be seen today via its various cable channels, as well as in revival movie houses and home video. The films are also internationally distributed and shown by many channels around the world.

Turner Entertainment also distributes films from the RKO Radio Pictures, pre-May 1986 MGM and pre-1950 Warner Bros. libraries, certain films from New Line Cinema (1994–1997), and shows from TBS, TNT, Hanna-Barbera (1991–1997), Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV and PBS (1994–2004) on home video via Turner Home Entertainment, and after 1996, Warner Home Video (which currently operates Turner's home video subsidiary as an in-name-only division). (see below.)

The library itself[link]

Today, as part of Time Warner, Turner Entertainment continues to oversee its inherited library, which also includes The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Story, Gone with the Wind, Gilligan's Island, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, Top Cat, Huckleberry Hound, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost and Captain Planet.

There are very few exceptions to this library, however.

• The Flipper TV series produced by MGM Television and later sold to The Samuel Goldwyn Company is now owned by MGM again.
• Charlotte's Web, produced by Hanna-Barbera, is still distributed by Paramount Pictures. Hanna-Barbera continues to hold the copyright to the film alongside co-producer Sagittarius Productions.
• While Warner Bros. and Turner hold the film elements of Hanna-Barbera's Once Upon a Forest, all theatrical, television and home entertainment rights are completely and exclusively controlled by 20th Century Fox.
• 20th Century Fox owns Hanna-Barbera's Capitol Critters, co-produced with 20th Century Fox Television.
• Jetsons: The Movie, The Flintstones, its sequel The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas and the ride film footage of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera are owned and controlled by NBCUniversal whereas the characters, original TV series and merchandising rights rest with Warner Bros. via Turner Broadcasting's ownership of Hanna-Barbera.
• Although WB/Turner holds US rights to The Wind and the Lion, international rights remain with Columbia Pictures (via Sony Pictures Entertainment).
• In 1976, MGM and United Artists co-produced Network, with both companies sharing the copyright. In 1981, MGM purchased UA, and for five years, owned complete control of the film. MGM now owns part of the copyright (as they retained the rights to UA's releases), sharing it with Turner (as a result of the aforementioned purchase of MGM's library).^[1]
• Although Turner co-produced The Wizard of Oz cartoon series produced by DiC Entertainment, the rights to the show are owned by Cookie Jar Entertainment.
• Out of the many Warner films Turner owns, the exceptions are They Made Me a Criminal, Santa Fe Trail, This Is the Army, Life with Father, Rope, and The Inspector General. Rope was acquired by director Alfred Hitchcock and his estate from United Artists Television, and the remaining films are in the public domain.
• The MGM films Vengeance Valley, Cause for Alarm!, The Painted Hills, Father's Little Dividend, Till the Clouds Roll By, Royal Wedding, The Last Time I Saw Paris and Parlor, Bedroom and Bath are in the public domain.
• The Abbott and Costello version of Jack and the Beanstalk is also in the public domain as RKO General, successor to RKO Radio Pictures, did not renew its copyright on time.
• Another Hitchcock film, Notorious, started out as a David O. Selznick production until the producer sold the rights to RKO before production began. RKO originally owned the copyright, but the film was sold years later to American Broadcasting Company, which owns the rights to some of Selznick's other films.^[2]
• Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears cartoons that are based on Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy are owned by CBS Television Distribution, along with The Little Rascals cartoons co-produced with King World and Harlem Globetrotters (although WB/Turner owns The Super Globetrotters, though both Globetrotters series have been less frequently seen in recent years due to intellectual property issues).
• CBS Storybreak, produced at Hanna-Barbera's Australian division, is also owned by CBS Television Distribution, as the series was co-produced by CBS.
• Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone is owned by Classic Media.
• Jeannie and Partridge Family 2200 A.D. are owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
• Hanna-Barbera's Popeye cartoons from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as Popeye and Son and the TV special Hägar the Horrible: Hägar Knows Best, are owned by King Features Syndicate. However, KFS has licensed DVD rights for the Popeye cartoons to WB as part of the deal allowing them to release the Paramount Popeye cartoons on DVD.
• Gravedale High, co-produced with NBC, is owned by NBCUniversal.
• Pink Panther and Sons, andBill & Ted's Excellent Adventures are owned by MGM Television - the very studio where the Hanna-Barbera team got its start

(MGM acquired the Bill and Ted series after it bought Orion Pictures; MGM also owns the DiC produced episodes of said show). MGM also owns the Hanna-Barbera produced episodes of Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt and the movie C.H.O.M.P.S (as both were co-produced with American International Pictures, AIP became Filmways Pictures and was acquired by Orion, and Orion was bought by MGM).

• The Godzilla segments from The Godzilla Power Hour, produced by Hanna-Barbera, are now owned by Toho Company Ltd. with Classic Media handling U.S. distribution rights (the Godzilla segments were originally included when Turner bought Hanna-Barbera and when Time-Warner bought Turner until 2003 when WB/Turner sold the Godzilla segments to Toho, while WB/Turner still owns the Jana of the Jungle segments). Coincidentally, WB is producing a reboot of the Godzilla film series set for release in 2012.
• Although WB owns the Super Friends cartoons and spin-offs produced by Hanna-Barbera as well as The Dukes, Turner never owned them - instead, these were always under WB control (unlike the other H-B series now part of the WB library).

Turner Entertainment self-distributed much of its library for the first decade of its existence. After the Time Warner merger, its distribution functions were largely absorbed into WB. As a result, Turner now largely serves merely as a copyright holder for a portion of the WB library (similar to how EMKA's sole purpose is to be the copyright holder for the pre-1950 Paramount sound features, with other NBCUniversal divisions handling distribution). Hanna-Barbera's current purpose as the in-name only unit of Warner Bros. Animation is to serve as the copyright holder for its creations such as The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Top Cat and Yogi Bear while Time-Warner's divisions handle sales and merchandising.

As a production and distribution company[link]

Turner Entertainment, as a production company, also creates original in-house programming, such as documentaries about the films it owns, new animated material based on Tom & Jerry and other related cartoon properties, and once produced made-for-TV movies, miniseries, and theatrical films such as Gettysburg, Fallen, The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance under the Turner Pictures banner. Turner also had an international distribution sales unit, Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution. Turner Pictures folded into Warner Bros. after the Turner-Time Warner merger, and currently holds the distribution rights to the films made by the production division.

The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance were produced under Turner Feature Animation, Turner's animation unit headed by David Kirschner and Paul Gertz, which was folded into Warner Bros. Feature Animation. Which was then merged into Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment.

Turner also had a television unit called Turner Program Services which had run until 1996 when it was rebranded as Telepictures Distribution which distributed Mama's Family and all TPS shows after 1996. In 2003 Telepictures Distribution was folded into Warner Bros. Television Distribution which meant Telepictures took over all series that were first run and distributed by TD.

The a.a.p. library was technically under the TPS unit of Turner (aside from the copyrights themselves), as a.a.p. was originally a television syndication company. Upon being sold to UA, a.a.p.'s library was made part of the UA television unit. The a.a.p. library continues to be part of Turner/Warner's television unit today.

Home video[link]

• As previously mentioned, Turner Home Entertainment (THE) released most of the Turner catalog on video;
• THE also released World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events, wrestler profiles, and "Best Of" packages on video until the demise of WCW in 2001; the WCW video library, along with WCW itself, were sold to the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) in March 2001.
• THE distributed home video releases from New Line Home Entertainment, as well as PBS programs in the mid-1990s. NLHE distributed New Line films on video by itself from 1996 until the Warner Bros./New Line merger in 2008. PBS shows are now distributed on video by Paramount;
• THE also distributed films produced by Turner Pictures on video;
• THE distributed the initial video release of an animated film The Swan Princess, which is merely distributed by New Line Cinema;
• Some films released on VHS by Turner Home Entertainment are distributed in the UK by First Independent Films
• Contractually, the MGM and Warner film libraries which Turner owned had been distributed by MGM/UA Home Video until their rights expired in 1999 at which point they were reassigned to Warner Home Video. This transaction also completed WB's re-acquiring of distribution rights to their pre-1950 library;
• In 1994, THE entered a distribution deal with Columbia TriStar Home Video in the UK. The deal expired in 1997;
• It was absorbed into Warner Home Video as an in-name-only unit after Time Warner bought Turner;
• Turner Classic Movies releases special edition DVD boxsets of films from both the Turner and Warner catalogs under the TCM label. They are also a former affiliate of Movies Unlimited, a Philadelphia based mail order DVD and video company.
• THE also released some Hanna-Barbera tapes in the mid-1990's.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
• Turner Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database

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Tina Turner
Tina Turner performing in the GelreDome, 1985
Background information
Birth name	Anna Mae Bullock
Also known as	Tina Turner, Ann Bullock, Little Ann
Born	(1939-11-26) November 26, 1939 (age 72) Nutbush, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Origin	Brownsville, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Genres	Rock, soul, R&B, pop
Occupations	Singer, dancer, author, actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1958–present
Labels	EMI, United Artists, Capitol, Parlophone, Virgin
Associated acts	The Ike & Tina Turner Revue

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards.^[1][2] Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.^[3] Success followed with a string of hits including "River Deep, Mountain High" and the 1971 hit "Proud Mary". With the publication of her autobiography I, Tina (1986), Turner revealed severe instances of spousal abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. After virtually disappearing from the music scene for several years following her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career, launching a string of hits beginning in 1983 with the single "Let's Stay Together" and the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer.

Her musical career led to film roles, beginning with a prominent role as The Acid Queen in the 1975 film Tommy, and an appearance in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. She starred opposite Mel Gibson as Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, and her version of the film's theme, "We Don't Need Another Hero", was a hit single. She appeared in the 1993 film Last Action Hero.

One of the world's most popular entertainers, Turner has been called the most successful female rock artist^[4] and was named "one of the greatest singers of all time" by Rolling Stone.^[5] Her combined album and single sales total approximately 180 million copies worldwide.^[6][7][8][9] She is known for her energetic stage presence,^[2] powerful vocals, career longevity,^[8] and widespread appeal.^[10] In 2008, Turner left semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.^[11][12] Turner's tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–2009.^[7] Turner was raised a Baptist, but converted to Buddhism and credits the spiritual chants with giving her the strength that she needed to get through the rough times.^[13] Rolling Stone ranked her at 63 on their 100 greatest artists of all time and considers her the "Queen of Rock and Roll".^[14]

Early life[link]

Anna Mae Bullock was born in Nutbush, an unincorporated area in Haywood County, Tennessee, on November 26, 1939, the daughter of Zelma Bullock (née Currie), a factory worker, and Floyd Richard Bullock, a Baptist deacon, farm overseer, and factory worker.^[15][16] She long believed her mother had significant Native American ancestry,^[17] specifically Navajo and Cherokee; however, a DNA test showed her to be 66% African American, 33% European and 1% Native American.^{[18][19][20][21]} She attended Flag Grove School in Haywood County, Tennessee (the land for the school was sold below market value to the school trustees by her great great-uncle in 1889).^[21] Ann's older sister was named (Ruby) Aillene. For a time during World War II, their parents relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee to do factory work. By the time of their return to Nutbush, they separated and later divorced following an abusive marriage. Zelma Bullock later relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. Floyd Bullock moved to Detroit and later settled in California.

Ann and her sister relocated to Brownsville where they were raised by their grandmother. She recalled in her early years working with her parents at a farm as sharecroppers. She performed on several talent shows as a child and sang at her church choir. She was raised Baptist and lived most of her childhood as a tomboy participating in her high school's basketball team. When she was 14, she began work as a domestic for a family in Ripley. This continued until she was sixteen when her half-sister Evelyn was killed in a car crash followed by the death of her grandmother around the same time. After her mother returned from St. Louis to attend her funeral, she invited her daughter to move with her in St. Louis, where Anna and her sister reunited. In St. Louis, she attended Sumner High School.^[22] She eventually graduated from the school in 1958 and, following graduation, took work as a nurse aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Ike & Tina Turner[link]

Tina performing with Ike Turner in 1972.

Origins[link]

Ann became enthralled by St. Louis's thriving nightlife, and her sister often took her out to clubs, much to their mother's chagrin. Anna was introduced to Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm band at Club Manhattan in East St. Louis, where Aillene served as a barmaid and was then dating a Kings of Rhythm member. It was there that Ann also began dating one of the Kings of Rhythm band mates. Ann pursued Ike Turner for months asking him to let her sing with his band but Turner was reluctant to have her in his band. When she was seventeen, she sang during an intermission in the Kings of Rhythm show at Club Manhattan after she was giving a microphone by the band's drummer. Impressed by her vocals, Ike allowed her to join the band as an occasional lead and background vocalist.^[23] Ike gave Ann her first stage name, Little Ann, during this time and included her in his record, "Box Top", which was a local hit in St. Louis after its 1958 release on a St. Louis label titled Tune Town, Ann sung with a male vocalist named Carlson Oliver, that was a member of the Kings of Rhythm. In November 1959, when vocalist Art Lassiter failed to show up for a recording session for Ike's composition, "A Fool in Love", Anna was told to lay down a guide vocal. Ike intended to eventually have Lassiter record over Anna's take, for the final production.

Ike Turner met with Sue Records president Juggy Murray in New York, and played the demo for him. Upon hearing it, Murray insisted Turner keep Ann's vocals, and gave Ike a $25,000 advance, convinced the song would become a hit single.^[24] In response to this, Ike Turner decided to form a duo around him and Ann. In the process, he changed her name from Little Ann to Tina Turner, stating he got the name because he felt it "sounded good". Despite the early romanticized version of their story in the biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It, Ike Turner and Ann Bullock were not romantically involved until around the release of "A Fool in Love", which by then had been released under the billing Ike & Tina Turner,^[25] effectively starting the duo and launching Ann into show business. Ike Turner claimed later that he helped mold and shape Tina Turner's style and image.^[26]

Early success[link]

"A Fool in Love" was released in the spring of 1960 and by late summer the song had reached number two on the R&B chart and crossed over to number twenty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 later going on to sell a million copies. After Ike and Tina Turner made their national television debut performing the song on American Bandstand in October 1960, she gave birth to Ike's child, Ronald Renelle. Ike and Tina's relationship started around 1959 shortly after Raymond Hill, a member of Ike's Kings of Rhythm, childhood friend of Ike's, and father of Tina's first-born son, left the band due to monetary complaints. Tina had moved into Ike's home after she had been kicked out of her mother's house following news of her pregnancy. The relationship started while Ike was still married to his wife, Lorraine, who was mother of two of his children. Both Ike and Tina felt strange about the relationship with Tina later saying she felt forced into a sexual relationship. Ike had felt the affair was incestuous, later telling an interviewer that "it felt like I was strewing (sic) my sister."^[27] Neither Ike nor Tina felt a strong attraction: Tina didn't think Ike was physically handsome while Ike felt Tina was "too skinny" to be his girlfriend since, according to Tina, he favored curvaceous women. Lorraine Taylor eventually left Ike with his children after a confrontation with Tina.

Sue Records followed the success of "A Fool in Love" with "I'm Jealous" but the record bombed. The couple quickly recovered with the release of the top 5 R&B single, "I Idolize You". Their second top 40 pop hit, "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", surpassed "A Fool in Love" on the pop charts reaching #14 and winning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock & Roll Performance. In 1962, this was followed by "Tra La La" and "Poor Fool" while "You Shoulda Treated Me Right" had milder success. With the arrival of Tina Turner, Ike Turner changed his band's name from The Kings of Rhythm to the Ike & Tina Turner Revue and featured a backing girl group he named The Ikettes. A strenuous touring schedule built up the band's reputation as one of the hottest R&B acts in the chitlin' circuit. By 1963, Ike Turner had upgraded their shows to include raunchy choreography for Tina and the Ikettes, with their energized shows only matched by James Brown and The Famous Flames. Ike Turner himself hated to be in front of the spotlight and chose to perform with his back mainly turned to the crowd though he occasionally would come out in front during skits with Tina. The success of their revue led to numerous other revue-led package shows from crossover R&B labels such as Motown and Stax. At a time when racially mixed audiences were still a controversy, Ike and Tina Turner were one of the few acts to perform openly for mixed audiences due to the money that they could bring to its venues, especially in the American South.^[28]

In 1962, Ann Bullock married Turner in Tijuana, Mexico.^[29] Following this, she began raising Turner's previous sons, Ike Turner, Jr. and Michael, while her eldest son Craig Bullock (born from her earlier relationship with Raymond Hill, a saxophone player in Ike's band), adopted Turner's last name after Ike adopted him as his own. Tina raised them and her only child with Ike, Ronald.^[30] The Turners' relationship with Sue Records ended in 1964. Between that year and 1969, Ike and Tina Turner recorded for a various number of labels, in part due to Ike Turner's demands for money and lucrative deals. They recorded over a dozen albums including several live recordings during that period and kept themselves in the public eye during the mid-1960s by appearing on shows such as American Bandstand, Hollywood A Go-Go, Shindig!, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Andy Williams Show where their brand of entertainment was given both critical and artistic raves. Their performing success kept the Turners in the public eye while their records plummeted.

Mainstream success[link]

After several years touring the chitlin' circuit and other major rock and roll venues, Ike and Tina Turner began reaching the pinnacle of their success after the release of the pop-oriented ballad, "River Deep - Mountain High". While the song's initial release flopped at the time of its release in 1966, it led to modest international success in Europe. Upon hearing the track and another UK hit the group recorded, which was a cover of the Motown ballad, "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)"; Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones asked the couple to open for them on their 1966 UK tour, which they obliged. The single became a bigger success in the UK, reaching #3 there. After their successful opening spot on the Stones' tour, Ike Turner renegotiated contracts for Tina and The Ikettes and Ike & Tina on several successive labels. In 1968, Ike produced the number, "You Got What You Wanted (Now You Don't Want What You Got)" under the billing "Tina Turner with Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm", while recording the album, So Fine. That year, Ike and Tina signed with Blue Thumb where much of the musical focus was mainly on blues and blues rock material. The albums, Outta Season and The Hunter produced their best charted success in years with the releases of the songs, "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "The Hunter" and "Bold Soul Sister" respectively, with "Bold Soul Sister" later winning Tina Turner a solo Grammy nomination.

During performances of "I've Been Loving You Too Long", Ike choreographed Tina to perform suggestively to the microphone, a practice Tina later said she hated doing but did it because she felt she had no say in it as it was Ike Turner's band. Due to this success, the Turners were invited to perform in Las Vegas and their shows would be attended by the likes of David Bowie, Sly Stone, Janis Joplin, Cher, James Brown, Ray Charles, Elton John and Elvis Presley.^[31] This exposure also led to Tina Turner and Ike Turner being on the cover of the rock magazine, Rolling Stone three times between 1967 and 1971. In 1970, the group signed with Liberty Records and scored their first top 40 US hit in years with their cover of Sly & The Family Stone's "I Want to Take You Higher" and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Dick Cavett Show and the Mike Douglas Show. This success led to an extended run in Vegas and also more opportunities to perform for bigger venues though the couple still frequented predominantly black venues including The Apollo Theater. In 1971, they released the Workin' Together album, which led to their biggest successes with the former album producing a hit version of "I Want to Take You Higher" and the latter producing their biggest hit single, a frenzied cover of "Proud Mary", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1971, two months after it was released.^[32] The song later won the duo a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.^[33]

By 1972, the group had even made headlines by performing at Carnegie Hall, which was documented for a double live album. That year, they switched to United Artists Records and released ten albums between 1971 and 1978 (two albums were released posthumously following the duo's infamous 1976 split). In 1973, the group released their final hit with "Nutbush City Limits", culminating in the duo's full embrace of funk rock rhythms. Though the song was musically composed by Ike, Tina was solely credited to the song as its lyricist. The song peaked at number twenty-two on the Hot 100 and number four in the UK.^[34] In 1974, the Turners released several albums including The Gospel According to Ike & Tina, which later won the duo another Grammy Award nomination for Best Soul Gospel Performance, and Tina's first solo album, Tina Turns the Country On, which won Tina Turner another Grammy nod for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance.

Decline in popularity[link]

By the mid-1970s, Tina's personal life and marriage had fallen apart. Ike's growing cocaine use led to increasingly erratic and physically abusive behavior. Ike Turner also played a hand in their professional career hitting the doldrums for refusing to accept any outside management and using all the money he earned to maintain his cocaine habit. This led to low ticket sales and lower record sales. By 1975, Ike Turner was so addicted to cocaine that he couldn't make it to rehearsals for scheduled TV appearances leading Tina Turner to be onstage without her partner. That year, Tina accepted an offer to appear in The Who's rock opera, Tommy. Tina's role in the film as the Acid Queen proved to be successful as critics raved of her appearance on the film.

Ike Turner responded by releasing Tina's second solo album, Acid Queen, which in turn became the last Ike & Tina associated album to be released and featured the duo's last charted single, "Baby Get It On". A non-album single, "Delilah's Power", was also released during the same time. Tina's increasing independence led to increasing fights between the couple. In July 1976, Tina and Ike had a violent fight before an appearance at the Dallas Statler Hilton, where Tina alleged that this is when she hit Ike back "for the first time". After arriving at the hotel, Tina left Ike, fleeing with nothing more than thirty-six cents and a Mobil gas station credit card in her possession. She spent the next few months hiding from Ike while staying with various friends.^[35][36] Following this, Tina filed for divorce on July 27 after fourteen years of marriage, ending the Ike & Tina Turner Revue for good.

Tina would later credit her new-found Nichiren Buddhist^[37] faith with giving her the courage to strike out on her own. By walking out on Ike in the middle of a tour, she learned she was legally responsible to tour promoters for the canceled tour. Needing to earn a living, she became a solo performer, supplementing her income with TV appearances on shows such as The Hollywood Squares, Donny and Marie, The Sonny & Cher Show and The Brady Bunch Hour.^[38] After a year in court, their divorce was made final on March 29, 1978. In the divorce, she completely parted ways with him retaining only her stage name and assuming responsibility for the debts incurred by the canceled tour as well as a significant IRS lien.^[39]

Life after the Revue[link]

After lying low for a year following her separation from Ike Turner, Tina Turner went back on the road in 1977 supporting herself with a cabaret act in Las Vegas. In 1978, Tina released her third solo album (and her first album since her separation from Ike) entitled Rough on EMI Records. The album was considered a departure from the blues rock sound of Ike & Tina. Choosing to focus on "happier music" and strong readings of hard rock songs, the album would yield four singles, none of which charted. In 1979, Turner released the disco-infused Love Explosion album, but it also failed to chart.^[40]

Due to the albums' performances, United Artists and EMI Records dropped Turner from her contract after her obligations ended with the companies. Turner supported herself by touring constantly, starting her first solo tour with The Wild Lady of Rock 'n' Roll in 1978. Following the end of the tour in 1979, she was invited to perform on Olivia Newton-John's musical variety show in Australia, where she met Newton-John's manager Roger Davies and pursued him to manage her career. Davies accepted Turner's offer after seeing her perform in San Francisco in 1980 and advised Turner to revamp her stage act. Despite her career downturn, Turner remained popular as a stage performer.^[41]

Return to prominence[link]

In 1981, Turner made headlines when she performed at the Ritz Theater in New York, leading to Turner performing with Rod Stewart, first on Saturday Night Live and then on his televised Los Angeles concert tour. That same year, Turner appeared onstage with her old 1960s acquaintances The Rolling Stones. In 1982, Turner teamed up with B.E.F. for a remake of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion".^[42] The song became a hit in European dance clubs. Following this success, the producers asked her to incorporate a cover of Al Green's classic, "Let's Stay Together". Released in November 1983, just days before Turner's 44th birthday, the song became a hit single in the UK reaching number six on their charts and also became a hit in several other European countries.^[43][44] The success of "Let's Stay Together" in Europe convinced Turner's new company Capitol Records to release the song in the US in early 1984, with the song reaching number twenty six on the Billboard Hot 100^[45] while also peaking at the top five of the R&B and dance charts.^[46][47]

Following its success, Capitol quickly gave Turner a new three-album contract and had them do an album, with Turner later staging what Ebony magazine called an "amazing comeback".^[48] Done in two months, the album Private Dancer, was released in June 1984. That same month, Turner issued the album's second single, "What's Love Got to Do with It". It quickly reached the top ten within a month and in September had reached number one on the Hot 100 in the US, making it the first time in Turner's career that she had reached that position. Private Dancer peaked at the top five of the Billboard album charts later selling five million copies in the US and a total of eleven million copies worldwide,^[49][50][51] though some sources stated the album has sold over twenty million^[4] making it her most successful album. Private Dancer also featured two more top ten singles, the rock-oriented "Better Be Good to Me" and the seductive title track while another US single, "Show Some Respect", became a modest top forty hit. Turner's comeback was culminated in early 1985 when she won four Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for "What's Love Got to Do with It". In February of that year, she embarked on her second world tour supporting the Private Dancer album, where she toured to huge crowds. One show, filmed at Birmingham, England's NEC Arena, was later released on home video. During this time she also contributed on vocals to the USA for Africa benefit song, "We Are the World".

Turner's success continued in 1985 when she appeared in her first acting role in ten years in the film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, playing Aunty Entity, the ruler of Bartertown.^[52] Upon its release, the film grossed $36 million.^[53] Turner later received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress for her role in the film and also contributed songs to the film's soundtrack, two of which, "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "One of the Living", became hits, with "One of the Living" later winning Turner a Grammy for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. In July, Turner performed at Live Aid alongside Mick Jagger.^[54] Encouraged by a performance together during Tina's filmed solo concert in England, singer Bryan Adams released their duet single together, "It's Only Love", later resulting in a Grammy nod for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Subsequent releases[link]

Turner on tour with special guest Eric Clapton, June 17, 1987 in Wembley Arena, England

Turner returned with her next solo album, Break Every Rule, in 1986. The album quickly became platinum launching several hit singles including "Typical Male", "Two People" and "What You Get Is What You See" going on to sell two million copies in the United States and four million together worldwide. That same year, Turner published her autobiography, I, Tina, which she talked about her early life and volatile marriage to Ike Turner. She later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that summer. Turner's European Break Every Rule Tour, which culminated in March 1987 in Munich, contributed to record breaking sales and concert attendances. In January 1988, Turner made history alongside Paul McCartney when she performed in front of the largest paying audience (approximately 184,000) to see a solo performer in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil earning her a Guinness World Record.^[55] The success of Turner's two live tours led to the recording of Tina Live in Europe, which was released that April. Turner lay low following the end of her Break Every Rule Tour emerging once again with Foreign Affair, which included one of Turner's signature singles, "The Best". She later embarked on an European-only tour to promote the album. While Foreign Affair would go gold in the United States, with its singles "The Best" and "Steamy Windows" becoming top forty hits there, it wasn't as successful as Turner's previous offerings, though it was hugely successful in Europe, where Turner had personally relocated.

In 1991, Ike and Tina Turner were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Phil Spector later accepted on their behalf. That same year, the ex-couple signed away their rights to have their lives dramatized in the semi-autobiographical film, What's Love Got to Do with It, later released in 1993 and starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike, with the actors later winning Best Actress and Best Actor Academy Award nominations for their portrayals of the former husband-and-wife team. Turner contributed to the soundtrack for What's Love Got to Do with It, re-recording songs from her Ike and Tina days and recording several newer songs including what turned out to be her last top ten US hit, "I Don't Wanna Fight". Other than helping Bassett with her wardrobe and teaching her dance steps as well as providing songs for the soundtrack, she refused to be involved fully in the film, telling an interviewer "Why would I want to see Ike Turner beat me up again? I haven't dwelled on it; it's all in the past where it belongs." Following the film's and soundtrack's release, Turner embarked on her first US tour in seven years. Following the tour's end, Turner moved to Switzerland and took a year off from the road at the end of the tour.

Turner returned in 1995 with the U2 composition, "GoldenEye" for the James Bond film of the same name. Its huge success in Europe and modest success in her formerly native United States led Turner to record a new album, releasing the Wildest Dreams album in 1996. Though the album itself was not as hugely successful in the United States, thanks to a world tour and a much played Hanes hosiery commercial, the album went gold in the United States. The album reached platinum success in Europe where Turner had hits with "Whatever You Want", "Missing You", which briefly charted in the US, "Something Beautiful Remains", and the sensual Barry White duet "In Your Wildest Dreams". Following the tour's end in 1997, Turner took another break before re-emerging again in 1999 appearing on the VH-1 special Divas Live '99. In 1998 the duet with Italian superstar Eros Ramazzotti in "Cose della Vita" that became a European hit. Before celebrating her 60th birthday, Turner released the dance-infused song, "When the Heartache Is Over" and its parent album, Twenty Four Seven the following month in Europe, releasing both the song and the album in North America in early 2000. The success of "When the Heartache is Over" and Turner's tour supporting the album once again helped in the album going gold in the U.S. The Twenty Four Seven Tour became her most successful concert tour to date and became the highest-grossing tour of 2000 according to Pollstar grossing over $100 million. Later, Guinness World Records announced that Turner had sold more concert tickets than any other solo concert performer in music history.^[8][56] Afterwards Turner announced a semi-retirement.

Recent years[link]

In 2002, Tennessee State Route 19 between Brownsville and Nutbush was named "Tina Turner Highway".^[57][58][59] In 2003, she teamed up with Phil Collins to record the song "Great Spirits" for the Disney film Brother Bear.

In 2004, Turner released a new compilation, All the Best, and released the single "Open Arms". The song became a modestly successful European hit and a modest R&B hit in America. In 2005, Turner briefly performed on shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and The View. All the Best became Turner's first album to go platinum in the U.S. in over eleven years.

U.S. President George W. Bush congratulates Turner during a reception for the Kennedy Center Honors in the East Room of the White House on December 4, 2005. From left, the honorees are singer Tony Bennett, dancer Suzanne Farrell, actress Julie Harris, and actor Robert Redford.

At the end of the year, Turner was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and was elected to join an elite group of entertainers.^[60] President Bush commented on Turner's "natural skill, the energy and sensuality",^[61] and referred to her legs as "the most famous in show business".^[62] Several artists paid tribute to her that night including Oprah Winfrey, Melissa Etheridge (who performed "River Deep - Mountain High", Queen Latifah (who performed "What's Love Got to Do with It"), Beyoncé (who performed "Proud Mary"), and the Reverend Al Green (who performed "Let's Stay Together"). Winfrey stated, "We don't need another hero. We need more heroines like you, Tina. You make me proud to spell my name w-o-m-a-n,"^[63] and "Tina Turner didn't just survive, she triumphed." In November, Turner released All the Best - Live Collection and it was certified platinum by the RIAA.

In early 2006, the All the Invisible Children soundtrack was released. Turner sang "Teach Me Again" from the All the Invisible Children soundtrack with Elisa charted at No. 1 in Italy. In May 2007, Turner returned to the stage to headline a benefit concert for the Cauldwell Children's Charity at London's Natural History Museum. This was her first full show in seven years. Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock released an album paying tribute to singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, entitled River: The Joni Letters on September 25, 2007, on which Turner contributed her vocals to a version of "Edith and The Kingpin". On October 16, 2007, Carlos Santana released an album entitled Ultimate Santana which featured Turner singing "The Game of Love", a song originally intended for her to sing, but which was instead released by Santana with Michelle Branch due to demands from the recording label.

On December 12, 2007, Turner issued a brief statement through a spokesperson regarding the death of her former husband Ike Turner:^[64] "Tina hasn't had any contact with Ike in more than 30 years. No further comment will be made."^[65]

Turner performed with Beyoncé at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2008. It was Turner's first major public performance since her record-breaking Twenty-Four Seven Tour.^[66][67] In addition, she picked up a Grammy as a featured artist on River: The Joni Letters. On May 5, 2008, she performed in a televised concert and interview for the Oprah show at Caesar's Place in Las Vegas with long time friend Cher.

Turner embarked on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour on October 1, 2008,^[68] which began on in Kansas City, Missouri at the Sprint Center. The album, Tina!: Her Greatest Hits, was released in support of the tour.

In 2009, Turner participated in the Beyond singing project with fellow musicians Regula Curti, Seda Bagcan and Dechen Shak Dagsay. This CD combined Buddhist chants and Christian choral music along with a spiritual message read by Turner.^[69] The album was released only in Germany and a handful of other countries. It peaked at No. 7 in Switzerland. In 2011, Children Beyond followed and charted again in Switzerland.

A new live album was released by Parlophone in September 2009 entitled Tina Live. The double disc set included the full concert recorded in the Netherlands as part of her 50th Anniversary Tour on DVD and selected tracks on CD. It is only Turner's second live album with the first, Tina Live in Europe, being released twenty years previously in 1988.

In April 2010, Turner once again had a hit with her 1989 single The Best. It peaked at No.9 in the UK Singles Chart after an internet campaign by supporters of Glasgow Rangers Football Club.^[70]

Personal life[link]

Born in a farm in Nutbush, a town in Haywood County, Tennessee, Tina's parents subsequently abandoned her at a young age before reaching her teen years. She moved to Brownsville to stay with her close grandmother. After her grandmother died when she was sixteen, her mother moved her to St. Louis. Tina Turner had two sisters, Alline Selico and Evelyn Currie, both of whom are deceased. She was close to both sisters growing up and later credited Alline with introducing her to Ike Turner after taking her to Club Manhattan which Turner frequented. After Tina graduated from St. Louis' Sumner High School at 18, she became pregnant with musician Raymond Hill's child. Hill was a childhood friend of Ike Turner's and an original member of Ike's Kings of Rhythm band. After her mother kicked her out of her house after finding out about the pregnancy, Tina moved in Ike Turner's home in East St. Louis, where she remained until she and Ike relocated to Los Angeles in 1964.

Tina's accounts of her life with Ike Turner differ from his accounts: whereas Turner alleged in her memoirs, I, Tina that Ike Turner was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive towards her, Ike Turner alleged that he never beat her but did admit to "slapping her a few times" and "punching her to the ground without thinking" in his own memoirs, Taking Back My Name. In 1976, after years of alleged abuse, Tina left him after suffering a beating by Ike's hands while in Dallas.^[26] Ike Turner pursued her for half a year stopping his pursuits in 1977. Tina filed for divorce and left most of the monetary assets in Ike Turner's care while retaining the use of her stage name as a means to perform.^[39] Ike Turner later alleged that their marriage was illegal,^[26] and that Tina took his last name to discourage a former lover's attempt to reconcile with her, resulting in her full stage name of Tina Turner.^[71]

Turner was introduced to Buddhism by a friend of hers and Ike's in 1972. Turner wrote in her autobiography that she first used Buddhist chants (mainly nam myoho renge kyo) before performing at a recording session at Ike's Bolic Sounds studio and it resulted in Ike sending her money to go shopping, showing Buddhism as both a source of strength and a means of getting what she wanted. Two years later, she converted to Nichiren Buddhism and later credited the religion for getting her through the rough times especially during her post-Ike/Revue life and career.^[72] In 1985, she met her current companion, German-based music executive Erwin Bach, while at a record label party in London. They began dating a year later and have remained together since. Turner has been living in a lakehouse called Chateau Algonquin in Zurich^[73] since moving there in 1994.^[74][75] She also has had residences in London, Cologne and on the French Riviera.^[76]

Tina is a mother to four sons. His first son, Raymond Craig, was from her brief affair with Kings of Rhythm band mate Raymond Hill, born weeks before Tina's 19th birthday, in 1958. She had one more biological child, Ronald Renelle, with Ike Turner, born in October 1960. Following Tina's subsequent marriage to Ike, she raised two of Ike's eldest sons, Ike Turner, Jr. and Michael, from Ike Turner's marriage to Lorraine Taylor.

Awards and accolades[link]

Turner was listed on Rolling Stone's list "The Immortals — The Greatest Artists of All Time".^[5] Turner is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee,^[77] and three of her recordings, "River Deep - Mountain High" (1999), "Proud Mary" (2003) and "What's Love Got To Do With It" (2012) are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[78] Turner has won 8 Grammy Awards.^[8]

Bryan Adams, who toured with her on the Private Dancer Tour, praised Turner's live performances, saying, "I never saw Tina walk through a performance, she always put on a great show, and was gracious and grateful to her audience."

Her legs were noted specifically as she was honored by President George W. Bush.^[79]

Discography[link]

Tours[link]

	Book: Tina Turner
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• 1978–1979: Wild Lady of Rock Tour
• 1982–1984: Nice 'n' Rough Tour
• 1985: Private Dancer Tour
• 1987–1988: Break Every Rule Tour
• 1990: Foreign Affair Tour
• 1993: What's Love? Tour
• 1996–1997: Wildest Dreams Tour
• 2000: Twenty Four Seven Tour
• 2008–2009: Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tina Turner

• Tina Turner at the Internet Movie Database
• Tina Turner at AllRovi
• Tina Turner at Allmusic
• Tina Turner's Entry on the St. Louis Walk of Fame