What's Love Got to Do With It.......R.I.P Ike Turner

R.I.P...... Ike Wister Turner
As most of you might (or might not have heard), Ike Turner has passed away. He was 76 years old.
If you are like me (born into the 80's), you might only know Ike Turner as the Man who Slapped the Hell out of Tina Turner. As Big said

"Beating Motherf&%ckers like Ike beat Tina
What's Love Got to Do, Got to Do"

The movie, that was an adaptation from Tina Turner's (Anna Mae Bullock, wtf...her name is not Tina) autobiography (I, Tina), What's Love Got To Do With It? (1993) depicted Ike as a drunk, drug addicted, obsessed and abusive spouse. Ike took Tina in the ambulance after Tina tries to commit suicide;

"If you don't make it I'll kill you, you hear me b***h, I'll kill you"

The movie was a hit (Angela Basset did her thang), Ike's reputation was thrown under the bus and women had a story of struggle and triumph to relate to.

The man not depicted in the movie was a musical genius (a pianist, guitarist and showman who created songs that carried blues into a new era) and one of a very few men who is debated as the Creator of Rock n Roll. His hit "Rocket 88", in 1951 by his band, is argued as the first "Rock n Roll" record.

Later his life saw triumph, failure, jail time, drug addiction, redemption and recognition. He is inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (1991) and earlier this year (2007) he won his first Solo Grammy.

The man has many synonyms that can be used, however he will forever go down as the ultimate in Spousal Abuse (O.J. comes close, but Ike admitted it and did it repeatedly).

R.I.P. Ike


Mr. Talented
picture courtesy of www.theybf.com