RIP: In Memoriam Thread

[Cat]

Tina Turner almost single-handedly (along with Joan Collins perhaps) represented 1980s femininity. The elegance of the smart 40+ or 50+ lady, in a spandex mini-dress, elegant high heels, gigantic geometric earrings and big hair.

Definitely Tina Turner's life story made women (and especially black women) believe that a second chance was possible and attainable for them, even after all else was lost. Tina Turner left her abusive husband after one particularly horrific beating in Dallas in 1976. She ran for her life to the Ramada Inn across the street with only the clothes on her back. The receptionist there called the police to help her, and also gave her a few bucks for a taxi ride to the airport. She didn't know it yet but she was already penniless as Ike had spent her earnings. She started again with absolutely nothing. Within 4 years, she had written her autobiography and re-invented herself as a solo artist -- as well as reinvented her music. She took a gamble on the electropop route, and her sound became the sound of that era.

With brains and hard work, Ms. Turner built a life of independence, security and new artistic achievements. Her songs electrify the listener to this day. Who doesn't get goose bumps when hearing the opening to Simply The Best, knowing what vocals will follow? Her story is incredibly uplifting and inspirational.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Cat

[Khan]

I agree that the key lesson from Tina's life is that it's never too late to reinvent oneself.  You just have to find the strength within yourself to do it.

[BetterForgotten]

I always admired how despite being open about her troubled childhood and abusive marriage to Ike, she never played the victim. She wanted people to know she found her own strength and persevered and that her life was infinitely better because of it. She wasn't interested in passing blame to anyone, she was just happy to be able to live her life on her own terms.   

Gayle and Oprah on CBS This Morning:

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Beyonce on her website:

https://www.beyonce.com/

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Edited May 25, 2023 by BetterForgotten

[DramatistDreamer]

IMO, it wasn’t about “playing” victim or not playing the victim, she was a victim of Ike’s abuse and an industry’s willful disregard, it was about Tina shedding any labels that were put on her. She was indeed victimized, but she didn’t want to stay there. Paraphrasing what Angela Bassett said, she showed other women and people who were victims of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse that they didn’t have to stay victims, it would be hard but they could indeed free themselves from their abuse.

As well as go on to (re)create the kind of life that they wanted.

[BetterForgotten]

Tina often credited her Buddhist practice for helping her overcome so much of that trauma. Whatever it was, the world was a much better place for the example she set. 

Tina's musical impact will be studied for decades to come as well. She was the first female performer to sell out entire stadiums on par with her male counterparts. She also put on shows that were true spectacles for their time - again, not something many female artists were able to do because record companies and promoters didn't believe women could sell tickets. As I said before, every female pop/rock artist to come after her owes this woman a HUGE debt for paving the way. 

[kalbir]

Every female pop star from Madonna/Whitney/Janet in the 1980s to Mariah in the 1990s to Beyoncé/Rihanna in the 21st century owes everything to Ms. Tina Turner. She paved the way for them.

Private Dancer-era Tina was also the GOAT of late-career comebacks. I'd say the only other late-career comeback to rival that was Believe-era Cher.

From What's Love Got to Do With It to The Best to When the Heartache is Over, her songs were such a big part of my life. RIP Ms. Turner and thank you for all your contributions to music.

[BetterForgotten]

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[DramatistDreamer]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Everyone talks about the movie, but I hope people will give her book I, Tina a read.

[DRW50]

My mother loves listening to "What's Love Got to Do with It?" and has for many years, the song that was my introduction to Tina. As time passed I realized I was more drawn to her '60s and '70s work, but I will always have a soft spot for that period of Tina that brought millions into her effortless coolness and vitality.

Tina was such a life force onstage, always putting on a show, that the more guarded woman of her interviews was one I did not expect. Yet I respect that woman, both women, more and more as I get older and I see just how much society and the media ridicules and fetishizes the abuse women face, especially black women. She talked about what Ike did to her, but she never expected sympathy, likely because she knew America well enough to realize how uncommon that sympathy would be.

Tina was as American as you can get, which is probably one of the reasons she left and didn't look back. She took all of the pain and fought hard for every opportunity, and somehow, she triumphed. Her story is the ultimate American story, yet also unique to her. When you look back at Tina of any era, there's no one like her. She changed her style to fit decades, but she never changed the essence of her. Even decked out in Conan cosplay for Mad Max, she was still Tina. She wore the clothes, and she looked damn good. Even now, when some artists talk about what an inspiration she was, they don't try to imitate her, because you can't. 

Tina was also so cool and sexy without putting on a big desperate effort. You think of how so many female artists today have to mutilate themselves, have to crawl on all fours, grind against men, women, and whatever nearby object in order to get some notice, and you look back on Tina who always had more class and a distance, even in moments of sexuality. Confidence was key. And Tina never let us forget that the show was just a show that people were lucky to be able to see. She wasn't begging and pleading. She demanded respect, and she got it.

I was watching a clip earlier today with Janis Joplin lavishing praise on Tina to Dick Cavett (who seemingly had no idea who Tina was), and I think of how lucky we were to have Tina for as long as we did. It's hard to believe she is gone, but what she gave us will never leave.

Edited May 25, 2023 by DRW50

[Faulkner]

Tina Turner is such a unique case study, a true rock icon. Her showmanship certainly influenced artists like Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart, but her lasting influence today is mostly on pop and R&B ladies. It's unfortunate that being a rock "performer" largely lost its appeal in the ‘90s, ultimately contributing to rock's decline as a mainstream genre. (Basically if more rock artists were influenced by Tina Turner than Kurt Cobain, the genre might have had a fighting chance.)

Edited May 25, 2023 by Faulkner

[DRW50]

Something else I don't know if Tina gets enough credit for is what a natural bridge she was away from the very carefully trained etiquette the ladies of Motown were forced to be. She was still classy, in that Tina Turner way, but she was also wild and free and fun, less interested in respectability politics.

I do wonder how different her US career would have been if River Deep Mountain High, such a beautiful emotional ballad, had been popular Stateside. The Tina who first connected with the public here was the showstopper, and it's a credit to her that she managed to blend that woman in with the sleeker presence she was in her '80s comeback.

[DRW50]

 

[BetterForgotten]

Tina often talked about how she didn’t like her voice at first and how she didn’t have Diana Ross’s more polished vocals. She came to like what she had and realized that it was an asset that was better suited for edgier/rock-based material than straight pop/r&b. Her live persona also set her apart - Little Richard even once said that the difference between Tina and other women was that “Tina actually performs and can put on a show!”

Tina also spoke about her preference of being classified as more of a rock artist than r&b/soul artist. She said that after everything she had been through, the “f.uck you” and the “bitch is back!” attitude of rock was better suited to who she was as a person. 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by BetterForgotten

[Soapsuds]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/entertainment/cher-tina-turner-friendship/index.html

[Khan]

I read somewhere that record companies wanted Tina to be more like the Pointer Sisters, who were a pretty big act around the time of Tina's comeback, but who had faded from the charts by the end of the '80's.  I love the Pointer Sisters, too, but even I know their hits don't have the shelf life that Tina's songs from the "Private Dancer" album have.