Ike turner biography

1931-2007

Songwriter, musician, music producer

Often vilified for the widely reported physical abuse of his partner, vocalist Tina Turner—who outstripped him in renown—producer, pianist, guitarist, and songwriter Ike Turner nevertheless exerted major influence in several forms of contemporary popular music.

Ike Turner gave Tina Turner her name and helped make her a star. His compositions and hard-edged electric blues style provided the underpinnings of several of her most famous recordings. Ike Turner's band performed on the 1951 single "Rocket 88," often reckoned as the first true rock and roll recording.

In his later years, recovering from a cocaine addiction that had landed him in prison, Turner returned to music and became a living link to the blues of the Mississippi Delta, the land where blues music began.

Ike Turner's full name has been given as Izear Luster Turner, and also as Izear Wister Turner, the latter appearing in his 1999 autobiography, Takin' B