Ike Turner

2.1. Birth and Childhood

Izear Luster Turner Jr. was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on November 5, 1931. His parents were Beatrice Cushenberry, a seamstress, and Izear Luster Turner, a Baptist minister. Both of his parents were of Creole descent. He was the younger of their two children, with a sister, Lee Ethel Knight, who was approximately ten years his senior. In the 1960s, when applying for his first passport, Turner discovered his name was registered as Ike Wister Turner, but with both parents deceased, he could not verify the discrepancy.

Turner's father died when Ike was about five years old. While blues historian Ted Drozdowski claimed his father died in an industrial accident, Turner himself recounted witnessing his father being beaten and left for dead by a white man. Another account from Turner alleged that "a couple of pickup-truck loads of whites in khaki pants and khaki shirts" dragged his father away, returning him after having "kicked holes in his stomach." He claimed he was later told this assault was retaliation over an affair his father had been having. His father reportedly lived for two or three years as an invalid in a tent set up by the Health Department in the family's yard before succumbing to his injuries. Author Donald Brackett noted that Turner "often related" this story, but cautioned that "like most Ike stories, it might need to be taken with a pound of salt."

After his father's death, his mother remarried an artist named Philip Reese, whom Turner described as a violent alcoholic. On one occasion, after Reese whipped him, Turner knocked him out with a piece of lumber and ran away to Memphis, Tennessee, for a few days before returning home. Despite their troubled relationship, Turner later moved his stepfather into one of his homes in St. Louis after his mother's death in 1959 and cared for him until Reese's death in 1961.

Turner also recounted being sexually assaulted at the age of six by a woman named Miss Boozie, who would invite him to feed her chickens and then take him to bed, a daily occurrence for some time. He was also sexually assaulted by another middle-aged woman, Miss Reedy, before he was twelve. Reflecting on these traumatic experiences, Turner stated, "That's probably why every relationship I was in was surrounded by sex. Sex was power to me."

2.2. Education and Early Influences

Turner attended Booker T. Washington Elementary School and then Myrtle Hall in the sixth grade. He quit school in the eighth grade and began working as an elevator operator at the Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale. During his breaks, he would observe DJ John Friskillo playing records at the hotel's radio station, WROX. WROX was notable as the first radio station in Mississippi to employ a black DJ, Early Wright. Friskillo eventually noticed Turner's interest and taught him about the control room, leading to Turner being left to play records during Friskillo's coffee breaks. This eventually led to Turner being offered a job as a DJ on the late-afternoon shift, where his show, "Jive Till Five," featured a diverse range of music, including Roy Milton and Louis Jordan, alongside early rockabilly records.

His musical journey began when he was inspired to learn piano after hearing blues pianist Pinetop Perkins play at his friend Ernest Lane's house. Turner convinced his mother to pay for piano lessons, but he disliked the formal approach. Instead, he spent the money at a pool hall and learned boogie-woogie directly from Perkins. In the 1940s, Turner moved into Clarksdale's Riverside Hotel, a popular stop for touring musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson II and Duke Ellington. He associated with many of these artists, and at just 13 years old, he began backing Sonny Boy Williamson II on piano.

3.1. Formation of the Kings of Rhythm

As a teenager, Turner joined a local rhythm ensemble in Clarksdale called the Tophatters. This band, composed of Clarksdale musicians including Turner's school friends Raymond Hill, Eugene Fox, and Clayton Love, played big band arrangements from sheet music. Turner, who learned by ear and could not sight read, would memorize the pieces by listening to records at home and then pretend to read the music during rehearsals.

After six months to a year, the Tophatters, which had over 30 members, split into two groups. One faction, interested in jazz music, formed the Dukes of Swing. The other group, led by Turner, became the Kings of Rhythm. Turner stated that his group wanted to play "blues, boogie-woogie and Roy Brown, Jimmy Liggins, Roy Milton." He maintained the Kings of Rhythm name throughout his career, despite numerous lineup changes. Their early live performances primarily consisted of covers of popular jukebox hits. B.B. King helped them secure a steady weekend gig and recommended them to Sam Phillips at Memphis Recording Service. In the 1950s, Turner's group received regular airplay from live radio sessions on WROX in Clarksdale and KFFA in Helena, Arkansas.

Around the time he was starting with the Kings of Rhythm, Turner and Ernest Lane became unofficial roadies for blues musician Robert Nighthawk, who often performed live on WROX. The pair played drums and piano on radio sessions, and Turner gained performance experience by supporting Nighthawk at gigs around Clarksdale. He also played in juke joints alongside other local blues artists such as Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter. These performances typically lasted about twelve hours, from early evening until dawn, with no intermissions; band members would simply switch instruments when someone needed a break.

3.2. "Rocket 88"

In March 1951, Turner and his band recorded the song "Rocket 88" at Memphis Recording Service. Their previous vocalist, Johnny O'Neal, had departed for a solo contract, so Jackie Brenston, a saxophonist in the Kings of Rhythm, took on lead vocals, with Turner on piano. "Rocket 88" is particularly notable for Willie Kizart's pioneering use of distorted guitar sound, achieved by a broken amplifier.

Sam Phillips licensed the recording to Chess Records in Chicago. However, Chess released it under the name "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats" rather than "Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm Featuring Jackie Brenston," a misrepresentation Turner attributed to Phillips. The single quickly became a sensation, and Turner performed with his band at the W.C. Handy Theatre in Memphis. "Rocket 88" reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts in June 1951, holding the top spot for five weeks and selling approximately half a million copies. Turner and the band members were paid 20 USD each, with the exception of Brenston, who sold his rights to Phillips for 910 USD. Phillips later used the profits from this success to launch Sun Records in February 1952.

The song is frequently cited as the first rock and roll record. However, Turner himself offered a nuanced perspective, stating, "I don't think that 'Rocket 88' is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the cause of rock and roll existing." The success of "Rocket 88" also generated internal tensions and ego clashes within the band, leading to Brenston's departure for a solo career and the temporary disbandment of the Kings of Rhythm.

3.3. Session Musician and Talent Scout

Following the release of "Rocket 88," Turner moved to West Memphis, Arkansas, where he played with various local bands. He then transitioned into a role as a freelance talent scout, session musician, and production assistant for Sam Phillips at Sun Studio, commuting to Memphis. Recognizing his connections within the Mississippi Delta music scene, the Bihari brothers at Modern Records also hired Turner as a talent scout, paying him to discover southern musicians for their label.

Turner facilitated recording sessions for B.B. King and the Beale Streeters at the YMCA in Memphis, playing piano on King's early hits "You Know I Love You" and "3 O'Clock Blues", both of which became King's first two number-one records. According to Joe Bihari and B.B. King himself, Turner was instrumental in introducing King to the Bihari brothers. Unaware of songwriter's royalties, Turner also wrote new material that the Biharis copyrighted under their own names, often using pseudonyms. Turner estimated he wrote seventy-eight hit records for the Biharis.

Artists Turner discovered for Modern and Sun included Bobby "Blue" Bland, Howlin' Wolf, Rosco Gordon, Boyd Gilmore, Houston Boines, Charley Booker, and Little Milton. He played piano in sessions with these artists, as well as with lesser-known musicians like the Prisonaires, Driftin' Slim, Ben Burton, Matt Cockrell, Dennis Binder, Sunny Blair, and Baby Face Turner.

Despite being contracted to the Bihari brothers, Turner continued to work for Phillips as an in-house producer, which sometimes led to conflicts of interest. In 1951, Turner recorded two Howlin' Wolf tracks for Phillips, playing piano on "How Many More Years" and "Moanin' at Midnight", which Phillips sent to Chess. Turner and Howlin' Wolf then secretly recorded another version of "Moanin' at Midnight" at radio station KWEM in West Memphis, sending the results to the Biharis, who released it on their subsidiary label RPM Records. Turner also attempted to recruit Elmore James from Trumpet Records to record for Modern, but the deal was canceled when Trumpet discovered the plan. James eventually signed with Modern, and Turner played on his recordings released on Modern's subsidiary label Flair Records.

While in Helena, Arkansas, Turner tried to recruit Little Walter to record for Modern in January 1952. In 1952, Turner discovered Little Junior Parker in West Memphis, forming a band with him and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Turner recorded Parker's first single, "You're My Angel" / "Bad Women, Bad Whiskey," credited to Little Junior Parker and the Blue Flames. That summer, Turner recorded with a new vocalist and pianist in his band, Marion Louis Lee, resulting in "My Heart Belongs to You" / "Looking for My Baby," released on RPM as Bonnie and Ike Turner. They performed together at the Hippodrome in Memphis. Turner married Lee in September 1952.

Unbeknownst to Turner, during his time in West Memphis, he encountered Elvis Presley, who was then a truck driver. Turner later recalled, "[Presley] was just a white boy that would come over to black clubs. He would come in and stand behind the piano and watch me play. I never knew he was no musician." Turner only discovered Presley's identity many years later when Presley approached him at the International Hotel where they were both performing.

To accommodate his then-wife Bonnie, who also played piano, Turner taught himself to play guitar by ear, with Willie Kizart teaching him blues guitar techniques. He began playing guitar in sessions in 1953, and by 1954, with Joe Bihari's assistance, he built a makeshift recording studio at a defunct Greyhound bus station in Clarksdale. Turner used his Kings of Rhythm as session musicians, playing on many recordings for Bihari's Modern, RPM, and Flair labels, backing artists like Elmore James, Johnny Ace, and the Flairs. Around this time, Turner discovered Billy "The Kid" Emerson in Greenville, bringing him to record at Sun Records and backing him on guitar in 1954.

3.4. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue

The Ike & Tina Turner Revue was a pivotal chapter in Ike Turner's career, marking his rise to international fame and mainstream success alongside his future wife, Tina Turner.

3.4.2. Major Hits and International Impact

In 1961, Turner played piano on Albert King's first hit record, "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong," which reached number 14 on the Billboard R&B chart. He also wrote and produced the Ikettes' hit "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)". The Ike & Tina Turner Revue performed relentlessly on the Chitlin' Circuit, building a formidable reputation as "one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles." To ensure a consistent flow of new records while on tour, Turner established multiple independent labels, including Sputnik, Teena, Prann, Innis, Sony, and Sonja. He produced singles for the Ikettes, Jimmy Thomas, Fontella Bass, George Jackson, and other artists on these labels. In 1963, the duo moved to Turner's Sonja label. Over the next six years, they recorded for various labels, including Warner Bros./Loma, Modern/Kent, Cenco, Philles, Tangerine, Pompeii, Blue Thumb, Minit, and A&M. Between 1964 and 1965, they achieved fourteen top 40 R&B hits with songs like "You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had", "Tell Her I'm Not Home", "Good Bye, So Long", and "Two Is a Couple". During this period, Jimi Hendrix briefly played backing guitar in their band.

3.4.3. Phil Spector and "River Deep - Mountain High"

In 1965, producer Phil Spector witnessed Ike and Tina Turner perform at a club on the Sunset Strip and invited them to film The Big T.N.T. Show. Deeply impressed by their performance, Spector negotiated a deal with their manager, Bob Krasnow, head of Loma Records, offering 20.00 K USD to produce Tina and release them from their Loma contract. After Tina and Spector recorded "River Deep - Mountain High", the duo signed to Spector's Philles label in 1966.

Although the single's failure in America prompted Spector's retreat from the music industry, it became a massive hit in Europe, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart and number one on Los 40 Principales in Spain. Following the song's success in the UK, Mick Jagger invited Ike and Tina Turner to open for the Rolling Stones on their 1966 British Tour. This exposure significantly broadened their audience beyond R&B circles. Soon, they were booking larger venues, and by 1969, they were headlining shows in Las Vegas.

In April 1969, Turner and the Kings of Rhythm released the album A Black Man's Soul on Pompeii Records, which earned Turner his first solo Grammy nomination for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Later that year, the duo released the blues-oriented albums Outta Season and The Hunter on Blue Thumb Records. Turner and Bob Krasnow also co-produced Earl Hooker's 1969 album Sweet Black Angel. In November, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1969 American Tour.

In January 1970, they performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and released their rendition of "Come Together", which reached number 21 on the R&B chart. Their cover of "I Want to Take You Higher" by Sly and the Family Stone was also a chart success in 1970. Turner, who was a friend of Sly Stone, played guitar on Sly and the Family Stone's album There's a Riot Goin' On (1971). The release of "Proud Mary" in 1971 became Ike & Tina Turner's biggest hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the R&B chart. It sold over a million copies and earned the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards.

3.5. Studio Operations and Collaborations

The mainstream success of Ike & Tina Turner provided Turner with the financial means to open his own state-of-the-art recording studio, Bolic Sound, in Inglewood, California, in 1972. He had two sixteen-track studios built, a larger one for rental and a smaller one for his personal recordings, equipping them with cutting-edge technology. Notable artists who recorded at Bolic Sound included Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Duane Allman, Little Richard, Gayle McCormick, and Frank Zappa.

3.6. Solo Career and Later Years

Turner released two solo albums for United Artists Records, Blues Roots (1972) and Bad Dreams (1973). In 1973, the duo released "Nutbush City Limits", a song penned by Tina Turner. The single peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the R&B chart, achieving even greater success in Europe. The Turners received the Golden European Record Award, the first ever given, for selling over one million records of "Nutbush City Limits" in Europe.

During this period, Turner produced singer Judy Cheeks' debut album Judy Cheeks (1973), and the last album by the Ikettes, (G)Old & New (1974). In 1974, Ike and Tina released the album The Gospel According to Ike & Tina Turner, which was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Turner also earned a solo Grammy nomination for his single "Father Alone." Between 1974 and 1975, the duo released the singles "Sweet Rhode Island Red", "Sexy Ida", and "Baby, Get It On".

The Ike & Tina Turner Revue ended abruptly in 1976. That year, they headlined at the Waldorf Astoria New York and secured a television deal with CBS-TV. Turner had plans to leave United Artists Records for a five-year, 150.00 K USD per year deal with Cream Records, scheduled to be signed on July 6. However, on July 1, the Turners had a violent altercation en route to their gig at the Dallas Statler Hilton. Turner later claimed that Tina initiated the conflict to create a reason to break up with him before signing the new contract. Tina fled from the hotel shortly after their arrival and filed for divorce on July 27, 1976. She would later describe a relationship marked by frequent violence and abuse, where Turner sometimes beat her with objects like a shoe-stretcher or hanger. The night she left, his beating left her face bruised, swollen, and bleeding.

United Artists responded to the Turners' separation by releasing compiled recordings from their last sessions together, Delilah's Power (1977) and Airwaves (1978). Two years after their divorce was finalized, Turner released the single "Party Vibes" / "Shame, Shame, Shame" from the album The Edge (1980), which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Disco Top 100 chart.

After his breakup with Tina, singer Holly Maxwell sang with Turner periodically from 1977 to 1985 and again for eight months in 1992. She reported a positive working relationship with Turner and later released a memoir, Freebase Ain't Free, about their close friendship. In 1979, Turner spent time in the studio with Chaka Khan following her separation from her manager-husband, with Khan noting his inspirational and catalytic influence and their plans to record together. However, Turner struggled to find consistent success due to his cocaine addiction and frequent legal troubles. In 1988, Turner attempted a return to the stage with Marcy Thomas, Bonnie Johnson, and Jeanette Bazzell as his Ikettes, though this attempt was ill-fated.

While Turner was in prison following a drug conviction, Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Tina Turner did not attend the ceremony, opting to take a year off from public appearances, so Phil Spector delivered a speech on their behalf. After his release from prison, Turner expressed nervousness about returning to live performance but planned to return to the studio. He sold 20 unreleased Ike & Tina Turner masters to the independent label Esquire Records. In 1992, Turner performed as a special guest at Oliver Sain's Soul Reunion concert at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis.

The hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa sampled Turner's composition "I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song)," originally released by the Ikettes in 1961, for their 1993 single "Shoop." The song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, earning Turner approximately 500.00 K USD in royalties. He re-recorded "I'm Blue" as a duet with singer Billy Rogers in 1995, a remake that received favorable reviews. Turner later appeared on the song "Love Gravy" with Rick James for the soundtrack album Chef Aid: The South Park Album (1998).

Turner reformed the Ikettes in the mid-1990s, including his then-wife Jeanette Bazzell Turner, Nina Hill, and Michelle Love (Randi Love), with Vera Clyburn, a former Ikette from the 1970s, as the lead singer. They performed as the Ike Turner Revue to positive reviews. In August 1997, Turner returned to his hometown of Clarksdale to headline the 10th Annual Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival. Turner credited Joe Louis Walker with encouraging his return to blues music. Turner played guitar and assisted in the production of Walker's 1997 album Great Guitars, for which Walker paid him 5.00 K USD a night for six songs. Walker also invited Turner to perform with him at the San Francisco Blues Festival and to tour in Europe. The positive reception to the tour encouraged Turner to reform the Kings of Rhythm. They toured the US in 2001 and headlined a showcase at South by Southwest, where they were hailed as a conference highlight. Turner's work on the tour led to the recording and release of his Grammy-nominated album Here & Now (2001). In 2002, Turner's performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival was released as a live album and DVD.

In 2002, Turner was filmed for Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary series The Blues, which aired in September 2003. He was featured in the documentaries The Road to Memphis and Godfathers and Sons, both part of the series. Turner appeared on the Gorillaz's album Demon Days (2005), playing piano on "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead." He performed the song with Gorillaz at the Manchester Opera House in November 2005, a performance featured in the live concert DVD Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House.

In 2006, Turner released his final album, Risin' With the Blues, on the independent label Zoho Roots. The album received positive critical reception and was nominated for Best Blues Album at the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. Turner won his first solo Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 for this album.

In early 2007, Turner began working on a collaboration album with Gorillaz's producer Danger Mouse and the Black Keys. The Black Keys sent demos to Turner, but the project was temporarily shelved. After Turner's death, the songs were used for their 2008 album Attack & Release. Although Turner does not appear on the album, Pitchfork noted his influence in the production.

4.1. Musical Style

In his early career, Turner primarily worked within the styles of 1950s R&B and post-jump blues. His early influences included Amos Milburn and Louis Jordan, as well as country music artists such as Hank Williams Sr. and Merle Travis. Although he is predominantly known as a guitarist, Turner began his career playing piano and personally considered it his main instrument. In 1951, journalist Mike McGee compared his piano playing to jazz pianist Fats Waller, writing that "Ike Turner is the hottest piano player in many a day."

Turner grew up playing boogie woogie piano, a style he learned directly from blues pianist Pinetop Perkins. He decided he was not meant to be a frontman after a terrifying impromptu piano recital at school when he was twelve. From then on, he preferred to be in the background, controlling the show, viewing himself more as an organizer than a performer. Musician Donald Fagen observed, "[T]alented as he was, there wasn't anything really supernatural about Ike's skills as a musician... What Ike excelled at was leadership: conceptualization, organization, and execution."

Turner's distinctive guitar style is marked by his heavy use of the whammy bar to achieve a strong, reverb-soaked vibrato, along with string bending, hammer-ons, and triplets in his blues phrasing. He was an early adopter of the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, purchasing one in 1954, the year of its release, from O.K. Houk's Piano Co. store in Memphis. Unaware that the guitar's tremolo arm could be used for subtle effects, Turner employed it to create screaming, swooping, and diving solos that predated similar techniques by artists like Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck by a decade. In The Stratocaster Chronicles, Tom Wheeler noted that Turner's "inventive style is a classic example of an artist discovering the Stratocaster, adapting to its features and fashioning something remarkable." Turner himself explained his tremolo technique: "I thought it was to make the guitar scream-people got so excited when I used that thing." Dave Rubin, writing in Premier Guitar magazine, commented, "All those years of playing piano and arranging taught him a considerable amount about harmony, as he could certainly navigate I-IV-V chord changes. Ike modestly terms what he does on the guitar as 'tricks', but make no mistake, he attacked his axe with the conviction of a man who knew precisely what he wanted to hear come out of it."

Reviewing Turner's 1973 album Bad Dreams, Robert Christgau wrote: "After twenty years of raking it in from the shadows, he's finally figured out a way of applying his basically comic bass/baritone to rock and roll. Studio-psychedelic New Orleans, echoes of the Band and Dr. John, some brilliant minor r&b mixed in with the dumb stuff. My God-at the moment he's more interesting than Tina."

4.2. Innovation and Influence

Turner was widely praised by his contemporaries for his significant influence on music. Johnny Otis described him as "a very important man in American music," stating that "The texture and flavor of R&B owe a lot to him. He defined how to put the Fender bass into that music. He was a great innovator." B.B. King was a profound admirer, calling Turner "The best bandleader I've ever seen" and asserting, "When they talk about rock 'n roll, I see Ike as one of the founding fathers."

Little Richard was heavily influenced by Turner, even writing the introduction to Turner's autobiography. Little Richard was inspired to play the piano after hearing Turner's piano intro on "Rocket 88" and later incorporated it, note for note, into his own hit "Good Golly, Miss Molly". Prince also cited Turner as his first musical influence.

Phil Alexander, editor-in-chief of Mojo magazine, referred to Turner as the "cornerstone of modern day rock 'n' roll" and credited his arrangements of blues standards as a key influence on 1960s British Invasion groups. Alexander stated, "He proceeded to influence British rockers from the mid-1960s onwards. Without Ike you wouldn't have had the Stones and Zeppelin. People like that wouldn't have had the source material on which they drew."

Regarding "Rocket 88" as a contender for the first rock 'n' roll record, broadcaster Paul Gambaccini noted its musical importance: "Rocket 88 has a couple of elements which 'The Fat Man' [by Fats Domino]] did not. The wailing saxophone and that distorted electric guitar. It was number one in the rhythm and blues chart for five weeks, it is in the Grammy Hall of Fame and it was an indisputable claim to fame for Ike Turner....To critics he will be known as a great founder, unfortunately to the general public he will always be known as a brutal man." Nigel Cawthorne, co-author of Turner's autobiography, highlighted Turner's social impact, stating that while black rock 'n' rollers had achieved mainstream success before, "Ike and Tina played to a mixed audience and he deliberately desegregated audiences in the southern states and he wouldn't play to any segregated audiences at all. Because he had such a big band and entourage he desegregated a lot of the hotels because the hotel chains wouldn't want to miss out on the money they would make from him touring the southern states."

Turner's songs have been extensively sampled by hip hop artists. Most notably, Salt-N-Pepa used "I'm Blue" for their 1994 hit "Shoop." Jurassic 5 sampled "Getting Nasty" from A Black Man's Soul on their 1997 track "Concrete Schoolyard." Main Source also sampled "Getting Nasty" on "Snake Eyes" and Ike & Tina Turner's "Bold Soul Sister" on "Just Hanging Out," both from their 1991 album Breaking Atoms. The track "Funky Mule," also from A Black Man's Soul, has been widely sampled by jungle DJs, with its drum introduction becoming a popular break. It was sampled by producer Goldie for his 1994 hit "Inner City Life", by Krome & Time on "The License" in the same year, and by Paradox in 2002 on his track "Funky Mule." In 2009, a Nashville-based band, Mr. Groove Band, recorded a tribute album titled Rocket 88: Tribute to Ike Turner, featuring Turner's last wife Audrey Madison Turner and former Ikette Bonnie Bramlett as vocalists.

5.1. Marriages and Relationships

Turner was married fourteen times, often entering into new marriages before legally divorcing his existing wife. He explained his early approach to marriage, stating, "You gave a preacher two dollars, the (marriage) papers cost three dollars, that was it. In those days, African Americans did not bother with divorces."

5.2. Children

Turner had six children. He had two sons, Ike Turner Jr. (born 1958) and Michael Turner (born 1960), with Lorraine Taylor. He had a son, Ronald "Ronnie" Turner (1960-2022), with Tina Turner. Tina's son, Craig Turner (1958-2018), from her relationship with Raymond Hill, was adopted by Turner and thus carried his surname. Craig died in an apparent suicide.

Turner had a daughter, Mia Turner (born 1969), with Ann Thomas. He later discovered he had another daughter, Twanna Melby Turner (born 1959), with Pat Richard. Turner's second wife, Velma Davis (née Dishman), claimed that Turner was the father of her daughter, Linda Turner Bullock (born 1949), but Turner denied this assertion in his autobiography, stating that Velma was pregnant by another man when they met. In 1988, Turner discovered his daughter Twanna Melby, and he was later paroled into her custody in 1991. Twanna's mother, Pat Richard, attended Sumner High School in St. Louis with Tina Turner.

Ike Turner Jr. released an album, Hard Labor, in 1987. He won a Grammy Award for his involvement with Turner's 2006 album Risin' with the Blues. He has toured with former Ikette Randi Love as Sweet Randi Love and The Love Thang Band. Ronnie Turner was in a band called Manufactured Funk with songwriter and musician Patrick Moten. He played bass guitar in his mother's band after his parents divorced and later played in his father's band. He married French singer Afida Turner in 2007. After his father's death, Ronnie told Jet magazine: "I loved my father very much... You can talk 5 or 10 minutes about the bad he's done. You can talk all night about the achievements he's had. He was successful with my mom and after my mom. He won a Grammy before he died. That's a lifetime achievement." Ronnie died from complications of colon cancer in 2022.

5.3. Legal Problems and Drug Addiction

Turner's life was significantly impacted by numerous legal issues and a severe struggle with drug addiction.

In 1960, Turner and two others were charged with "interstate transportation of forged checks and conspiracy." Turner pleaded not guilty and was tried in St. Louis. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, but he was found not guilty at the retrial in 1961. In 1974, Turner and three others were arrested for using illegal blue boxes at Bolic Sound studio to make long-distance phone calls, though he was later cleared of these charges.

Before the age of thirty, Turner did not use drugs or drink alcohol, and he would fire any band member who used substances. He was first introduced to cocaine by "two very famous people" he had been working with at the International Hotel in Las Vegas; producer D'Angela Proctor later alleged these individuals were Elvis Presley and Redd Foxx. Turner took the cocaine home and tried it one night while writing songs at the piano. He enjoyed the reduced need for sleep that the drug provided, which allowed him to write more music. By the early 1970s, he was heavily addicted to cocaine, purchasing it in large quantities and sharing it with friends. Turner later estimated that he had spent 11.00 M USD on cocaine. His addiction caused a hole through his nasal septum, the pain of which he attempted to relieve by using more cocaine. He eventually began freebasing crack cocaine.

By the 1980s, Turner's finances were in disarray, and he owed the state of California 12.80 K USD in back taxes, which he later settled. He attempted to sell his studio, Bolic Sound, to raise funds and avoid foreclosure, but the studio burned down in January 1981 on the very day a potential buyer was scheduled to view it.

During the 1980s, Turner was arrested multiple times for drug and firearm offenses, resulting in two convictions:

• In 1980, a SWAT team raided his Bolic Sound studio, finding a live hand grenade and seven grams of cocaine. Turner received his first conviction for cocaine possession and was sentenced to thirty days in the L.A. county jail with three years of probation.
• In April 1981, Turner was arrested for shooting a 49-year-old newspaper delivery man. He accused the man of assaulting his wife Ann Thomas and kicking his dog. Turner claimed he only fired a shot to scare him off and that the man had injured himself while climbing over a fence to escape. A jury acquitted Turner of assault in 1982.
• In June 1985, Turner was arrested and charged with conspiracy to sell 16.00 K USD worth of cocaine, possession, and maintaining a residence for selling or using a controlled substance. Police seized 1.00 K USD worth of rock cocaine from his North Hollywood apartment. Record producer Eddie Coleman Jr. and music company writer Richard Lee Griffin were also arrested and charged. Turner was released on a 5.00 K USD bond.
• In 1986, Turner was arrested for cocaine possession, concealed carry of a handgun, and traffic violations; he was released on bail.
• In January 1987, Turner was arrested for trying to sell 10 ounces of cocaine to an undercover police officer; he pleaded not guilty.
• In May 1989, Turner was arrested on drug charges in West Hollywood. He was convicted of cocaine intoxication and driving under the influence of cocaine in January 1990. The following month, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released on parole in September 1991 after completing 18 months of his sentence at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. Larry Kamien, associate warden of the California Men's Colony, stated that Turner was a model inmate. In prison, he became a trustee, working in the library, and saved 13.00 K USD by selling cigarettes, candy bars, and coffee to other inmates.

Turner managed to break his dependency on cocaine while in prison and remained clean for over ten years. He visited high schools during Black History Month to speak against drug use. However, he relapsed in 2004 while attempting to help an acquaintance struggling with crack addiction at a crack house.

5.4. Health Problems

In 2005, Turner revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema, a condition that required him to use an oxygen tank. His daughter Mia Turner noted, "He was too weak from the emphysema to do anything. He'd go in the studio for a couple of minutes and play a couple of bars and say he had to go lay down." Despite his deteriorating health, he collaborated with Gorillaz on their album Demon Days and performed the track with them at the Manchester Opera House in November 2005.

After his death in 2007, Turner's autopsy and toxicology report revealed he was taking Seroquel at the time of his death. This medication is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia. His ex-wife Audrey Madison claimed Turner was bipolar, a claim supported by Turner's personal assistant and caretaker, Falina Rasool. Rasool stated she discussed his bipolar disorder with Turner and witnessed its effects: "I would come in the room and see him change like a lightbulb, switch on and switch off. I did ask him about it. He said he made a song about it and we started laughing," referring to "Bi Polar" from his Grammy-winning album Risin' with the Blues. Turner reportedly told her, "I know I'm bipolar....And I've been bipolar, but a lot of people is bipolar." However, Turner's daughter, Mia Turner, disagreed with this diagnosis, believing he was being overmedicated.

5.5. Religious Affiliation

Turner was raised as a Baptist and reportedly converted to Judaism in 1994, although he never publicly discussed his conversion.

8.1. Studio albums

• 1962: Ike & Tina Turner's Kings of Rhythm Dance, Sue 2003
• 1963: Rocks The Blues, Crown CLP-5367/CST-367
• 1969: A Black Man's Soul, Pompeii SD-6003
• 1972: Blues Roots, United Artists UAS-5576
• 1973: Bad Dreams, United Artists UA-LA087-F
• 1980: The Edge (featuring Tina Turner and Home Grown Funk), Fantasy F-9597
• 2001: Here and Now, Ikon IKOCD-8850
• 2006: Risin' with the Blues, Zoho Roots ZM-200611

8.2. Live albums

• 2002: The Resurrection: Live Montreux Jazz Festival, Isabel IS 640202
• 2006: Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm: Live In Concert, Charly Films CHF-F1014LF [DVD/2CD]

8.3. Compilations

• 1976: Sun: The Roots Of Rock: Volume 3: Delta Rhythm Kings, Charly CR 30103
• 1976: I'm Tore Up, Red Lightnin' RL0016
• 1984: Hey Hey, Red Lightin' RL-0047 [2LP]
• 1994: I Like Ike! The Best of Ike Turner, Rhino R2-71819
• 2001: The Sun Sessions, Varèse Sarabande 302 066 232 2
• 2004: His Woman, Her Man: The Ike Turner Diaries- Unreleased Funk/Rock 1970-1973
• 2004: The Bad Man: Rare & Unreissued Ike Turner Produced Recordings 1962-1965, Night Train International NTICD-7139
• 2004: King Cobra: The Chicago Sessions, Fuel 2000 302 061 390 2
• 2006: The Chronological: Ike Turner 1951-1954, Classics Blues & Rhythm Series 5176
• 2008: Classic Early Sides 1952-1957, JSP 4203 [2CD]
• 2011: Rocket 88: The Original 1951-1960 R&B and Rock & Roll Sides, Soul Jam 600803
• 2011: That Kat Sure Could Play! (The Singles 1951 To 1957), Secret SECBX-025 [4CD]
• 2011: Jack Rabbit Blues: The Singles of 1958-1960, Secret SECSP-041
• 2012: Ike Turner Studio Productions: New Orleans and Los Angeles 1963-1965, Ace CDCHD-1329
• 2017: She Made My Blood Run Cold, Southern Routes SR-CD-3502

8.4. Recordings as a sideman

• Howlin' Wolf
  • 1962: Wolf Sings the Blues
• Albert King
  • 1962: The Big Blues
• Earl Hooker
  • 1969: Sweet Black Angel
• Gorillaz
  • 2005: Demon Days

8.5. Ike and Tina Turner

The discography for Ike and Tina Turner is extensive and includes many studio, live, and compilation albums, as well as numerous singles. Their key albums include The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner (1961), River Deep - Mountain High (1966), Come Together (1970), and Workin' Together (1970). Notable singles include "A Fool in Love" (1960), "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (1961), "River Deep - Mountain High" (1966), "Proud Mary" (1971), and "Nutbush City Limits" (1973). They also appeared in films such as Gimme Shelter (1970) and Soul To Soul (1971).