Ike Turner: An Obituary
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Artist:
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Track:River Deep And Mountain High
For anyone born in the last 30 years, or for whom vinyl is a quaint historical artefact, the passing of Ike Turner may be little more than a footnote. Almost certainly, the mainstream press headlines will be along the lines of "Tina Husband Dies", or some such dismissive phrase. Yes, Tina Turner became a huge star, her ascent to the top of the tree coinciding with the first rush of CD ubiquity, which put her in a late 1980s global sales bracket with the likes of Simply Red or Dire Straits - indeed, it was Mark Knopfler who wrote the title track of her multi-million-selling "comeback" album Private Dancer.
So, who was this guy called Ike, you may ask? Well, he provided the fuzz guitar on the down-n-dirty 1973 hit Nutbush City Limits, which many might remember, and he was also portrayed as a vicious bastard by Lawrence Fishburne in the Tina biopic What's Love Got To Do With It?. Tellingly, the fact that the Oscar-nominated movie took its title from one of Tina's latterday hits was in itself an unwitting example of how the male component of that tempestuous marriage and business partnership was overlooked, in terms of his musical contribution.Ike was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on November 5, 1931, and by the age of five was picking out tunes on a piano. Before he reached his teens he'd landed gigs accompanying such grown-up heavyweights as Sonny Boy Williamson, which led to a regular DJ spot on his hometown's R&B station WROX. He wasn't even 20 when he played piano on Jackie Brenston's Rocket 88, a 1951 record which is regarded in many circles as the first ever rock 'n' roll single - although devotees of Fats Domino's The Fat Man would beg to differ.Further session work followed with the likes of Elmore James, Otis Rush and Howlin' Wolf, throughout which time he consolidated a reputation as a mean guitar player of his own silk with The Rhythm Kings. He met Annie Mae Bullock in St Louis in 1959, an 18-year-old high school senior auditioning for a standard back-up chick singer role, but within a year, after Ike had re-named her Tina, her lead vocal on A Fool In Love had catapulted the song to Number Two in the R&B charts.A string of similar hits followed, and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue established itself as one of the most intense live experiences going, drawing on what Time magazine infamously described as the "negro shock" of Little Richard. In time, Turner's stagecraft and innate musical craftsmanship would inspire the most explosive black talents of the 1960s: Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Otis Redding.Ike was a bastard, though. He treated Tina like shit, controlling every aspect of her life and career with an iron fist which he was, alllegedy, not averse to using against his wife's cheekbones or stomach. There is more than a smidgen of irony, therefore, that the most famous record that carries his name, River Deep And Mountain High, was the sonic and symphonic creation of one Phil Spector, a man also renowned for an aggressive and intimidating control over his spouse. Ike was a guitar player, but one of only half a dozen featured on the Spector track (and even then barely audible), while Tina's voice was the overwhelming powerhouse of the record. Tina was the "mountain", while Ike languished unnoticed at base camp.Tina left him in 1975, and Ike pretty much fell back into a life of trouble and woe. Spells in prison on drugs or weapon charges was the only way he made the news, until 1993 when, on the back of the Tina biopic, he attempted to reclaim the good parts of his own past. The 2001 album Here & Now earned him a Grammy nomination, and he also had a surprising return to the spotlight courtesy of Damon Albarn's Gorillaz, playing piano on Every Planet We Reach Is Dead, from their 2005 album Demon Days.The passing of many musicians can be regarded as either a shock or a shame. Ike Turner never made enough friends to qualify for either, he was a rogue, and then some. He slapped his woman around, and that's unforgivable, but it would be harsh on anyone if such unspeakable behaviour was to eclipse the intermittent goodness of one man's life. He was 76, it was his time. The big shame is that not enough was made, or will be remembered, of that time.
So, who was this guy called Ike, you may ask? Well, he provided the fuzz guitar on the down-n-dirty 1973 hit Nutbush City Limits, which many might remember, and he was also portrayed as a vicious bastard by Lawrence Fishburne in the Tina biopic What's Love Got To Do With It?. Tellingly, the fact that the Oscar-nominated movie took its title from one of Tina's latterday hits was in itself an unwitting example of how the male component of that tempestuous marriage and business partnership was overlooked, in terms of his musical contribution.Ike was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on November 5, 1931, and by the age of five was picking out tunes on a piano. Before he reached his teens he'd landed gigs accompanying such grown-up heavyweights as Sonny Boy Williamson, which led to a regular DJ spot on his hometown's R&B station WROX. He wasn't even 20 when he played piano on Jackie Brenston's Rocket 88, a 1951 record which is regarded in many circles as the first ever rock 'n' roll single - although devotees of Fats Domino's The Fat Man would beg to differ.Further session work followed with the likes of Elmore James, Otis Rush and Howlin' Wolf, throughout which time he consolidated a reputation as a mean guitar player of his own silk with The Rhythm Kings. He met Annie Mae Bullock in St Louis in 1959, an 18-year-old high school senior auditioning for a standard back-up chick singer role, but within a year, after Ike had re-named her Tina, her lead vocal on A Fool In Love had catapulted the song to Number Two in the R&B charts.A string of similar hits followed, and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue established itself as one of the most intense live experiences going, drawing on what Time magazine infamously described as the "negro shock" of Little Richard. In time, Turner's stagecraft and innate musical craftsmanship would inspire the most explosive black talents of the 1960s: Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Otis Redding.Ike was a bastard, though. He treated Tina like shit, controlling every aspect of her life and career with an iron fist which he was, alllegedy, not averse to using against his wife's cheekbones or stomach. There is more than a smidgen of irony, therefore, that the most famous record that carries his name, River Deep And Mountain High, was the sonic and symphonic creation of one Phil Spector, a man also renowned for an aggressive and intimidating control over his spouse. Ike was a guitar player, but one of only half a dozen featured on the Spector track (and even then barely audible), while Tina's voice was the overwhelming powerhouse of the record. Tina was the "mountain", while Ike languished unnoticed at base camp.Tina left him in 1975, and Ike pretty much fell back into a life of trouble and woe. Spells in prison on drugs or weapon charges was the only way he made the news, until 1993 when, on the back of the Tina biopic, he attempted to reclaim the good parts of his own past. The 2001 album Here & Now earned him a Grammy nomination, and he also had a surprising return to the spotlight courtesy of Damon Albarn's Gorillaz, playing piano on Every Planet We Reach Is Dead, from their 2005 album Demon Days.The passing of many musicians can be regarded as either a shock or a shame. Ike Turner never made enough friends to qualify for either, he was a rogue, and then some. He slapped his woman around, and that's unforgivable, but it would be harsh on anyone if such unspeakable behaviour was to eclipse the intermittent goodness of one man's life. He was 76, it was his time. The big shame is that not enough was made, or will be remembered, of that time.
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