- Original name:
- Izear Luster Turner, Jr.
- Born:
- November 5, 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.
- Died:
- December 12, 2007, San Marcos, California (aged 76)
- Awards And Honors:
- Grammy Award (2006)
- Notable Family Members:
- spouse Tina Turner
- On the Web:
- All About Jazz - Ike Turner (Oct. 24, 2026)
Ike Turner
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Who was Ike Turner?
Ike Turner (1931–2007) was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer, most known for his work with Tina Turner. In high school, he formed the band Kings of Rhythm; their 1951 hit "Rocket 88" was a No. 1 rhythm-and-blues hit.
Turner relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1956, and expanded the Kings of Rhythm to include Anna Mae Bullock, who later became Tina Turner. As the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, they thrived as a live act, achieving recording success with singles like "A Fool in Love." Later, they gained further recognition with their rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Proud Mary".
Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
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What kind of music did Ike Turner make?
Ike Turner was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer, recognized for his work with Tina Turner. In his early career, Turner played with blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta region and formed the Kings of Rhythm. Their first recording, "Rocket 88," was a number-one rhythm-and-blues hit in 1951.
Later, Turner expanded the Kings of Rhythm, including Anna Mae Bullock (later known as Tina Turner). As the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, the group achieved success with singles like "A Fool in Love," "I Idolize You," and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine". In the late 1960s, they appealed to the rock market, reworking songs like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary”.
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What was Ike Turner’s most famous band or group?
Ike Turner was best known for his work with Tina Turner. In high school, he formed a band called the Kings of Rhythm. Their first recording, "Rocket 88," was a number-one rhythm-and-blues hit in 1951, credited to Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats. In 1956, Ike relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, and expanded a new lineup of the Kings of Rhythm to include Anna Mae Bullock, who later became known as Tina Turner. As the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, the ensemble thrived as a live act, with Tina's fiery stage presence and Ike's guitar-playing antics. They achieved recording success with singles like "A Fool in Love" (1960), "I Idolize You" (1960), and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (1961).
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How did Ike Turner influence rock and roll or rhythm and blues?
Ike Turner significantly influenced rhythm and blues and rock and roll through his innovative musicianship and production. In the late 1940s, Turner played with leading blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta region. His band, the Kings of Rhythm, produced "Rocket 88," a number-one rhythm-and-blues hit in 1951, credited to Jackie Brenston.
Relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1956, Ike expanded the Kings of Rhythm, adding Anna Mae Bullock, who later became Tina Turner. The Ike and Tina Turner Revue gained prominence as a live act, distinguished by Tina's stage presence and Ike's guitar playing. They achieved recording success with singles like "A Fool in Love" and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." In the late 1960s, they appealed to the rock market with energetic versions of songs like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Proud Mary". Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
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Who was Ike Turner’s famous musical partner?
Ike Turner's famous musical partner was Tina Turner, who began performing with Ike's band, the Kings of Rhythm, in 1956. As the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, their electric live performances gained renown, though recording success initially eluded them. A string of hits began in 1960 with "A Fool in Love." The duo continued to sell records, most notably their energetic reworkings of other people’s songs, including Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” (1971), and “Nutbush City Limits” (1973).
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What challenges or controversies did Ike Turner face during his career?
Ike Turner's career faced significant challenges and controversies, most notably stemming from his personal life and treatment of his then-wife, Tina Turner. Tina divorced Ike in 1978, alleging years of physical abuse, infidelity, and cocaine addiction on his part, which severely hurt his career.
Ike's struggles with substance abuse led to imprisonment for cocaine possession from 1989 to 1991. Despite these challenges, Ike Turner undertook a career comeback, releasing Here and Now in 2001 and winning a Grammy Award in 2007 for his album Risin’ with the Blues. Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Ike Turner (born November 5, 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.—died December 12, 2007, San Marcos, California) was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer who was best known for his work with Tina Turner.
Ike Turner began playing piano as a child and by the late 1940s had played with a number of the leading blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta region. While in high school he formed a band, the Kings of Rhythm. Their first recording, “Rocket 88”—made at Sam Phillips’s Memphis (Tennessee) Recording Service but released on the Chess label—was a number one rhythm-and-blues hit in 1951, though it was credited to saxophonist Jackie Brenston (who provided the lead vocal) and the Delta Cats. After Brenston’s departure, Ike served as a talent scout in the Memphis region for Los Angeles-based Modern Records and played as a session musician on early recordings by Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, and others.
In St. Louis, Missouri, where Ike had relocated in 1956, he expanded a new lineup of the Kings of Rhythm to include Anna Mae Bullock, a vocalist who had begged to sing with the band. She changed her name to Tina Turner (even before marrying Ike in 1962), and, as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, the ensemble, which included a trio of female backing vocalists known as the Ikettes, thrived as a live act—largely because of Tina’s fiery stage presence and Ike’s rubber-faced guitar-playing antics. Recording success eluded them, however, until the New York-based Sue label released a series of singles—“A Fool in Love” (1960), “I Idolize You” (1960), and “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (1961)—that won them a national following. In 1966 Phil Spector made “River Deep—Mountain High” with Tina (he paid Ike to stay out of the studio). Easily the most complex and nuanced of Spector’s famous “wall of sound” productions, it was a hit in Britain, but it attracted little American attention and is usually cited as the end of Spector’s early career.
Repositioning themselves to appeal to the growing rock market in the late 1960s, Ike and Tina Turner began to sell records again with their energetic reworkings of other people’s songs, most notably Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” (1971), which, along with “Nutbush City Limits” (1973), written by Tina, proved to be their last major success. Tina began to realize that she, not Ike, was the attraction, and she divorced him—alleging beatings, cocaine addiction, and infidelity on his part. Ike’s career was hurt by Tina’s revelations, and, after imprisonment for cocaine possession (1989–91), he undertook a comeback. He released Here and Now in 2001, and in 2007 he received a Grammy Award for his album Risin’ with the Blues (2006). Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.