The early life of Anna Mae Bullock sounds like the story of a potential country music star – she was raised in rural Tennessee, she worked in the fields, she only listened to country and western on the radio, she spent her childhood singing in church, her parents abandoned her and she raised herself the hard way. However instead of taking the path to the Grand Ole Opry she joined Ike Turner’s rhythm and blues band in St Louis, became Tina Turner and the rest is music history.

In the sixties and early seventies everything about her life was under Ike’s megalomaniacal control – it was his name, his songs, his style, his fist, his way. When Tina released her debut solo album, Tina Turns the Country On! in 1974 this signalled the beginning of her attempt to break with Ike both personally and professionally. While ultimately a commercial failure, the album is a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of one of music’s most successful female performers. Continue reading “When Tina Turned the Country On!” →