Simply the best: Cherishing times spent with Queen of rock ‘n’ roll Tina Turner | Norment
When I first met Tina Turner in 1982, she was 42, living in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and had been performing for 25 years.
I had followed her career since I was in high school, so I knew about her dynamic dance moves, raspy voice and finally leaving that abusive marriage to Ike Turner with just coins in her pocket. I was especially curious about this talented woman because she grew up in Nutbush, Tennessee, not far from my childhood home in Bolivar.
When I heard that Tina Turner had died at age 83 on May 24, I was saddened along with millions around the world. Reflections on the legendary queen of rock swept my mind and heart for she was the most intriguing, genuine and kindest entertainer I had encountered during my 30-year career with Ebony magazine.
More: How Tina Turner's interrupted country legacy could have changed the genre
Our rural Tennessee roots connected us
During the interview that sunny California day, she told me she had picked cotton on her family’s share-cropping farm, though she hated farm work. In the fields, she dreamed of being in movies and sometimes sang as she worked, as she did in the choir on Sundays.
While showing me around her tastefully decorated home, modest by celebrity standards, Tina pointed out her Buddhist shrine. “I meditate mornings and evenings,” she told me. “I grew up Baptist, but now I’m a Buddhist. I still believe in God.”
I recall my surprise when she said, “I love to clean house . . . and keep everything shining, sparkling and bright.” Cleaning was an “outlet,” as was gardening and decorating. “That’s the maid in me coming out.” We laughed.
Yet, she didn’t like to cook, though she had much experience in the kitchen, having reared four sons. Neither lived with her at the time. “When I come home from work, I like for things to be quiet,” she said, adding that she wanted her “sons to be independent.”
By then, Tina had toured with the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, made numerous television appearances, and performed in Las Vegas and many solo club dates. She was in a transition phase, trying to determine exactly where she, her gravelly voice, her sassy outfits and her dancing legs fit into the music industry, what she wanted to do with her life. She was searching for the right material and right avenue to truly express herself. “Acting is still a goal,” she said.
During our interview, Turner pondered if African American audiences liked her rock music and moves. “R&B is moody, rock and roll is physical. I’m a physical person,” she said. “I like to move my feet. . . Whites like that energy. Blacks like a groove. They like to be cool. But it’s hard for me to be cool.”
After the interview, Turner starting spending much of her time in England. In 1984 she released the multiplatinum "Private Dancer" album, which earned Record of the Year Grammy and offered the hit single, “What’s Love Got to do With it.”
Tina Turner’s life and career were forever changed.
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Tina Turner, international star
In 1986, Break Every Rule became an international hit that sold 5 million copies and won another Grammy. Tina then made history with the largest and highest-grossing concerts and tours headlined by a female artist.
Over the years, I stayed in touch with Tina and interviewed her several times. One story focused on her fabulous home in France. During another interview, she excitedly told me about Erwin Bach, the German record executive she met in London in 1985. (They finally married in 2013 and were together 37 years.)
Another memorable encounter took place in 1996 at Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany. Before the concert, Tina greeted me warmly. “Of course, I remember you, Lynn,” she said with a bright smile. “We have that Tennessee connection.” That made me feel good. She knew I had arrived in Germany without my luggage and assured me I looked “great” despite my travel-weary clothes and body.
From my spot on the soccer field packed with 50,000-plus fans, I did a 360-degree turn. Then Tina suddenly bounced onto the stage and screamed repeatedly at the crowd, “Tell me what you want!” “You, Tina! You Tina!” they yelled back. Then Tina broke into her hit song, “Whatever You Want,” from her new Wildest Dreams album, which had been pumping in Europe for several months.
I was amazed and mesmerized as the 57-year-old swirl of energy worked the stage for two solid hours with 20-plus songs, multiple costume changes, and astounding dance moves. I was invigorated by the performance.
The next day, during our interview in her Copenhagen, Denmark, hotel suite, I asked the secret to her incredible stamina. “At my age, to be able to perform and feel great and enjoy it, I’m eating healthy. . . I had to change my diet. No salt. . . What I’m eating now gives me more power. I don’t enjoy it as much as the junk. . .”
She spoke lovingly of Erwin Bach, her 16-years-younger boyfriend. The couple, then living in Switzerland, had been dating for 10 years. “Erwin is a good companion, extremely secure,” she told me. “There is no stress because we are both independent. He works, he has his money. I work, I have my money,” she said, adding that, of course, “I make more money that he makes. . . He makes me happy. It’s a good healthy relationship.”
She admitted she moved to Europe in the mid-80s “partly” because of Bach, but also because she could not secure a music producer in the U.S., while producers in Europe were “jumping up and down to work with me.”
Turner’s legs were greatly admired; she even had a million-dollar deal with Hanes hosiery. But she didn’t initially value her legs, or even like them, because while growing up, her legs were “thin and long, and that wasn’t very stylist in our race. It was a different culture.” She said “big legs” were preferred then. She was in her 40s before she appreciated them. “Now they are paying the bills.”
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A life well lived
When asked about her “wildest dream,” initially Tina said she didn’t have one, but then conceded she was living it. “I’ve lived it. My wildest dream was, after I got my divorce from Ike, was for all of this to happen. To pack a stadium. To walk out on stage to that many people who have come to see you, what that feels like. That’s a dream. THAT’S A DREAM!” she proclaimed with emphasis. “I’ve had my wildest dream. I just want to leave the business when I decide to. To retire on the top would be beautiful.”
Tina continued to live her wildest dreams. There were the movies, the books, the musical, the 12 Grammy Awards and two Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductions (one with Ike, one as a solo artist).
She retired from performing in 2009, after headlining a very successful 50th Anniversary World Tour.
The little girl born in Brownsville, Tenn., in 1939 endured a rough childhood and even rougher marriage as she forged a career through her personal pain. While others might have settled for a mediocre, has-been, after-40 career, Turner remade herself and staged an incredible comeback in her career and personal life.
Angela Bassett said of Tina Turner, whom she portrayed in the biopic "What’s Love Got To Do with It": “She owned her pain and trauma and used it to change the world.”
Yes, Tina Turner was “Simply the Best” in so many ways.
Lynn Norment, a columnist for The Commercial Appeal, is a former editor for Ebony Magazine.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Cherishing my time spent with Queen of rock ‘n’ roll Tina Turner
