Tina Turner, a music legend, entered the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the duo Ike & Tina Turner. But one of the most famous voices of the end of the twentieth century, has bowed out at the age of 83, the victim of a long illness.  This music icon, whose career spanned more than five decades, was best known for her phenomenally powerful voice as well as the unforgettable performances she has performed on stages all over the world. Her life itself, and more specifically the journey that led her to become one of the greatest artists of her generation, are particularly inspiring examples of success. Lest we forget, here are 6 reminders of Tina Turner’s brilliance! 

Tina Turner: 6 Lesser Known Facts Only True Fans Would Know

The legendary Tina Turner passed away on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Tina Turner who was inducted in 2021 into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, has spent a lot of time in the limelight. And despite the fact that the star was so popular, there are some notable career facts that many people don’t know about. And although we think we know everything about the exceptional diva, there are certain highlights related to her career that we sometimes tend to forget. So in this article, we present these rarer facts that highlight Tina Turner’s career.

1. Tina Turner is a Guinness Book Record Holder:

In January 1988, Tina Turner set a Guinness Book of Records world record by performing to approximately 188,000 (“the largest attendance at a ticketed concert for a solo artist”), at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The interpreter of What’s Love Got To Do with It thus dethroned Frank Sinatra, previous record holder for having played in front of 170,000 people eight years earlier, at the same place. In 2000, Guinness World Records also announced that Tina Turner had sold more concert tickets than any solo artist in music history. Two great performances!

2. Before becoming Tina, her name was Anna:

One thing you may not have known about the great Tina is that long before becoming the iconic Tina Turner, the interpreter of Goldeneye was a little girl named Anna Mae Bullock. 

Born on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, she was far from imagining at the time that she would one day conquer concert halls and stadiums. Passionate about music, rocked by gospel, rhythm and blues, the young Anna Mae began to give voice within the choirs of local churches. 

It was at the age of 18, following her meeting with her future husband Ike Turner, that Anna Mae became Tina, within the group Kings of Rhythm, before forming with her husband the duo Ike and Tina Turner, then to embark on a successful solo career a few years later.

3. Tina Turner was an action movie star?

Although she only lent her voice to Angela Bassett in the biopic dedicated to her, Tina Turner has however maintained a very special relationship with the cinema. In addition to having signed the main theme of the soundtrack of the first James Bond with Pierce Brosnan, Goldeneye, she also proved that she had talents as an actress. 

In addition to an appearance in the Ally McBeal series, Tina Turner rubbed shoulders with two of the biggest stars of action cinema of the 1990s by playing alongside them in two feature films that have become cult. We thus saw her as the mayor of Los Angeles in Last Action Hero, standing up to an Arnold Schwarzenegger in top form, but also and above all facing Mel Gibsonin the extraordinary Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, where the singer played Entity, a fearsome survivor of a post-apocalyptic world who ruled a city filled with barbarians with an iron fist, organizing deadly duels there. Two unforgettable performances that are enough to make her one of the icons of action cinema of that time.

4. A highway in the name of Tina Turner actually exists: 

Did you know that “The Simply the Best” singer had a highway named after her? Indeed, since 2002, part of Highway 19 that passes near Nutbush, her hometown in Tennessee, has been renamed ” Tina Turner Highway “. The star had popularized the name of this small locality by quoting it in her song called Nutbush City Limits, and this initiative was therefore taken to thank her and pay tribute to her. 

On the other hand, the diva’s childhood home was destroyed. But the churches of Woodlawn and Spring Hill, in which she sang while participating in choirs, are still standing.

5. I, Tina: My Life Story led to a Golden Globe award: 

In 1986, the singer published her autobiography titled I, Tina: My Life Story. The book traces the story of Tina Turner, from her childhood in Nutbush to her rise to stardom in St. Louis alongside Ike Turner. 

She then shed light on the toxic relationship she had with him, detailing how the musician’s cocaine addiction and violence made their marriage a nightmare, until their divorce in the mid-1970s. 

She also spoke of her big comeback in the 1980s. In 1993, the feature film adapted from this autobiography, went to the cinema. For her performance in the title role, actress Angela Bassett received several prestigious awards, including a Golden Globe, and the “What’s Love Got To Do With It” biographical drama film was a real success with the public and the press. 

6. Actress Angela Bassett bids her goodbye: 

The actress who played Tina Turner on film in 1993 (a movie which notably depicted the domestic abuse she suffered), said she was bereaved. 

“By telling her story with the sacrifices she made, with courage, and above all, the determination with which she carved out a place for herself in the realm of rock and roll, Tina Turner gave hope to all those who live in fear. She showed them that the future can be filled with freedom, compassion and love,” Angela Bassett noted on Instagram.