Every artist needs to have a certain level of confidence before even thinking about walking onto the stage. While a few elements of one’s sound may take years to develop, there has to be at least some level of arrogance to take a song from being a good idea to one of the greatest anthems of all time. Although Tina Turner may have been able to radiate confidence from the moment she set foot onstage, she wasn’t that self-assured when she turned in a performance.
Then again, Tina didn’t exactly lack in showmanship when working with her soon-to-be husband, Ike, for the first time. Since Ike was already known as one of the most in-demand artists on the scene, a chance meeting at an open mic led to Tina discovering her voice, turning in sizzling covers of classic rock and roll tunes that brought the house down.
Knowing the potential of having a superstar frontwoman at the front, Ike would take complete creative control of Tina’s career, changing her stage name to insinuate that the two were married. Although Tina would become the star attraction when delivering songs like ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘River Deep Mountain High’, she was going through a living hell in the background.
Suffering from vicious abuse from Ike one night after another, Tina eventually broke free by walking out of her relationship, filing a separation agreement that ensured that she would never have to see her abuser again. While Tina would bounce back as one of the most in-demand artists of the 1980s off the strength of the album Private Dancer, those closest to her knew how unconfident she was trying to create her signature voice.
Years before Janis Joplin had opened the doors for female belters, Turner was always ready to sing whatever rock and roll song came her way, almost bringing a spiritual power to her songs. While Turner could reach into the depths of her soul to squeeze that emotion out of her system, she initially thought that her distinct tone was actively hurting the music.
When discussing her legacy with CBS News, Turner went into detail about her gravelly tone, saying, “I had the strange voice most girl singers didn’t have. You know, in the beginning, I didn’t. I thought it was kind of ugly because it didn’t sound like Diana Ross…But then afterwards, I thought, ‘Yeah, it sounds like the guys’”.
Then again, some of Turner’s best work could even put some of the greatest rock and roll belters to shame. Taking cues from old-school rockers like Little Richard, many of Turner’s finest moments involve her twisting her voice to sound crude, delivering a song like The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ with much more authority than John Lennon ever could.
Turner didn’t have to worry about the respect of her fellow musicians, either, with David Bowie singling her out as one of his all-time favourite musicians and Mick Jagger coming backstage during a handful of the early Rolling Stones gigs to see if he could learn a bit of her signature dance moves. Turner’s voice may have been a little bit rough around the edges, but as with all rock and roll, those subtle imperfections make things sound that much better.
