Entertainment, Music - Army Times

Tina Turner rocks again

When you’re keeping up a mansion on the French Riviera and traveling worldwide by private Learjet, perhaps it’s not the best idea to retire at age 60.

That’s what Tina Turner tried to do eight years ago, and she kept relatively out of the spotlight until February’s Grammy Awards, when she performed with Beyonce Knowles and Cher.

Now, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is back with a worldwide tour.

Here is a look at the phases of Turner’s career:

• The Ike Era: Born Anna Mae Bullock, the future singer moved to St. Louis at age 16 and met Mississippi-born musician Ike Turner. After bugging him, she was allowed to sing occasionally at his shows. She filled in at age 18 for Ike’s recording of “A Fool In Love,” and the song became an R&B hit in 1960. She changed her first name to Tina and was married to Ike in 1962. The pair launched the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

• High times: With a high-energy stage show mixing R&B and rock, the pair rose to fame. Early hits included the breakthrough tune “River Deep, Mountain High.” The pair then tapped into rock with successful covers of the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.”

• Struggling wife: Behind the scenes, as Tina has related in her autobiography, “I, Tina”, her husband exercised highly controlling behavior. His refusal to bring in outside management caused his act’s popularity to slip. Ike developed a massive drug habit and started physically abusing Tina. Ike did, however, help his wife record her first two solo albums, the second called “Acid Queen,” which tied in with Tina’s scene-stealing appearance in the film version of The Who’s rock opera, “Tommy.”

• Flying solo: After more abuse, Tina left her husband in 1976 and divorced him in 1978. She released two more slow-selling solo albums but caught a break when she recorded a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which became a big hit in Europe and later, America. Things really got rolling in 1984 with the release of the single “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which hit No. 1. She was named Comeback of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards.

• Diva time: Turner went on in the second half of the ’80s to record duets with David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams. She snared a well-received role in the film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” and performed for a global audience in 1985 at Live Aid with Jagger. She appeared with Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Elton John at the Prince’s Trust Concert, performing for British royalty.

• ’90s fame: As she embarked on a huge North American tour in 1993, the biographical film “What’s Love Go to Do With It?” was released, starring Angela Bassett. Turner was hired to sing the title track of the James Bond film “GoldenEye.”

• Hiatus and return: In 2000, Turner announced that her upcoming tour would be her last. She later performed occasionally on TV and for charity but largely remained retired until announcing this year’s tour.