Rock legend Tina Turner died Wednesday at her home in Switzerland. Our appreciation comes from music journalist and longtime “Sunday Morning” contributor Bill Flanagan:
It’s hard to call the death of an 83-year-old performer startling – but the passing of Tina Turner was a shock.
We grew up with Tina always being there, and I guess we figured she was immortal.
Tina Turner has been called the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” and I cannot think of anyone who would challenge her for that title.
She came up at a time when rock ‘n’ roll was defined as a mix of Black and white American music, the cross-pollination that gave us Little Richard and Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Motown. In the early ’70s that union began to split; radio divided “rock” from “R&B.” Tina Turner defied that re-segregation, having hits with songs written by The Beatles:
And Creedence Clearwater Revival:
The Ike & Tina Turner Revue toured with the Rolling Stones:
In The Who’s “Tommy,” Tina was the Acid Queen.
She went to London to stage her comeback, with contributions from Dire Straits, Heaven 17, and other British stars of the 1980s. She dueted with David Bowie:
She stole the show at Live Aid with Mick Jagger:
U2 wrote a James Bond theme for her:
So, yes, Tina Turner was the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but that’s not ALL she was. She defied stereotypes. She was a proud African American woman whose audience, after the 1970s, was mostly white. She was a symbol of the USA who lived for decades in Europe. She was a feminist icon who wore the shortest mini-skirts we ever saw.
She never did anything “nice and easy.” Every attempt to categorize Tina Turner fails. She could not be put in a box. She did not fit any mold. She was the one and only Tina Turner.
Simply the best.
Story produced by Robbyn McFadden. Editor: Chad Cardin.
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