Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock) was an American singer known as the ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and died on Wednesday at the age of 83.

Tina made her debut with the single ‘A Fool in Love’ in 1960 and set up the ‘Ike and Tina Turner Revue’, which included Ike’s band, the ‘Kings of Rhythm’, and a girl group, ‘The Ikettes’, as backing vocalists and dancers. The ‘Ike and Tina Turner Revue’ built a reputation as “one of the most hottest, most durable and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles”. Due to their profitatble performances, they were able to perform in front of desegregated audiences in southern clubs and hotels.

Tina and Ike signed with the producer, Phil Spector in 1966, and released ‘River Deep – Mountain High’. The impact of the record made Tina the first female artist and the first black artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

In early 1971, Ike and Tina did a cover of Creedance Clearwater Revival’s ‘Proud Mary’, which became their biggest hit. The single reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies, winning them a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.

After her separation from Ike, Tina’s career suffered for a while due to multiple cancellations, however, her stardom had a resurgence in the early 80s with the success of her cover of ‘Let’s Stay Together’. In 1984, Tina achieved her first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’. After this success, Tina went on to release several albums and worked with many great names. She went on to win 12 Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Maki Gajic Murata, Composer-in-Residence