Ike Turner.

Izear Luster Turner Jr. was born on November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His father Rev. Izear Luster Sr. Turner was a Baptist minister; his mother Beatrice Cushenberry was a seamstress. At age five, Turner lost his father to a white mob beating. Starting at age six, he endured sexual abuse from multiple older women. He quit school in the eighth grade, then worked as an elevator operator at the Alcazar Hotel in Clarksdale, later becoming a DJ at radio station WROX inside the hotel. Delta blues pianist Pinetop Perkins taught him to play piano. He performed as a roadie for Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williams, and as a teenager formed his own band the Kings of Rhythm.

In 1951, Turner and his band the Kings of Rhythm recorded Rocket 88 at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Studio, later known as Sun Studio. The single reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts but was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, causing friction that disbanded the group. Turner then worked as a session musician and talent scout for Phillips and the Bihari Brothers at Modern Records, recording with blues legends including Junior Parker, Willy Nix, Bobby Bland, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Albert King, and Johnny Ace. He switched from piano to guitar in the mid-1950s and moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, where he introduced rhythm and blues to the predominantly jazz town. In 1957, teenager Anna Mae Bullock joined his band as lead vocalist; he renamed her Tina Turner, and they debuted as Ike & Tina Turner in 1960 with A Fool In Love, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. The duo toured relentlessly through the 1960s with the Ikettes and performed high-energy revues featured in concerts like The Big T.N.T. Show 1965. Tina recorded River Deep – Mountain High with producer Phil Spector, and after touring with the Rolling Stones in 1969, the duo crossed over to mainstream success. They appeared in films Gimme Shelter 1970, It’s Your Thing 1970, Soul to Soul 1971, and Taking Off 1971. Their rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary won a Grammy Award in 1972. Turner’s drug use and volatile behavior strained their relationship, and they separated in 1976.

Ike Turner had six documented spouses: Bonnie Mae Wilson 1953–1955, Lorraine Taylor, Tina Turner 1962–1978, Margaret Ann Thomas 1981–?, Jeanette Bazzell 1995–2000, and Audrey Madison 2006–2007. He had children including Michael Turner and Ronnie Turner. After divorcing Tina, Turner served 18 months in prison for a drug conviction in the early 1990s. He later revived the Kings of Rhythm and returned to his blues roots, but relapsed on cocaine after being drug-free for over a decade. He died on December 12, 2007 at age 76 in San Marcos, California.

Turner’s 1951 recording Rocket 88 inspired Little Richard to play piano after hearing Turner’s piano intro. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him with Tina Turner in 1991, and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2015, he received a posthumous induction into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone editor David Fricke ranked him No. 61 on the list of 100 Greatest Guitarists. Turner’s work as a pianist, guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader remains central to rhythm and blues, soul, and rock. He is best remembered for his work with the Kings of Rhythm and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.