By Cynthia Akande
Legendary American pop singer, Tina Turner has died at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.
Turner had suffered a number of health issues in recent years including cancer, a stroke and kidney failure.
Turner was the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s.
She rose to fame alongside her husband in the 1960s with songs including Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High.
She survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
Her manager, Mick Jagger, in a tweet, said “I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer.
“She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”
Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, was an American-born and naturalized Swiss singer, dancer, actress, and author.
Dubbed the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner was famed for her raunchy and energetic stage performances and husky, powerful vocals.
In the 1980s, Turner launched “one of the greatest comebacks in music history”. Her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer contained the hit song “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became her first and only number one song on the Billboard Hot 100.
She won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a solo artist, having first been inducted alongside Ike Turner in 1991.
Upon her solo induction, the Hall of Fame noted how she had “expanded the once-limited idea of how a Black woman could conquer a stage and be both a powerhouse and a multidimensional being”.
Younger stars who have felt her influence include Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Rihanna.
