KUSNACHT, SWITZERLAND: Singer Tina Turner, whose various soul classics made her a legend, died at the age of 83 at her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday, May 24. Turner rose to fame alongside her husband Ike Turner in the 1960s. She divorced him and came out of the abusive marriage in 1978, eventually finding greater sucess.
Turner first met Ike when she was just 17. She joined his band, 'Kings of Rhythm,' and soon fell in love with him. However, their relationship was unhappy because of Ike's greed. "My relationship with Ike was doomed the day he figured out I was going to be his money-maker," Turner wrote in her memoir My Love Story. Ike and Turner married in Tijuana in 1962. She said that the marriage was "defined by abuse and fear, not love, or even affection."
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When Tina Turner fled on foot
Turner fled Ike with no money to her name in 1976, and crossed I-30 on foot. She waited until Ike fell asleep at the Statler Hilton Hotel on Commerce Street in Dallas. Ike had allegedly beaten her until she bled on the way from the airport into Dallas, from where they were supposed to kick off a tour. Ike had been binging on cocaine for five consecutive days.
“I looked at [Ike] and thought, ‘You just beat me for the last time, you sucker,’” Turner said, as per The Dallas Morning Post. She was still wearing a bloodstained suit when she fled, as well as sunglasses to hide her wounds. She began running, just managed to avoid being run over by a truck, and rushed into Ramada Inn. “I’ve had a fight with my husband. Will you give me a room?” she told the desk clerk.
The clerk agreed. Ramada is now the Lorenzo Hotel. Al DeBerry, managing director of the Lorenzo, now says he does not remember the man who checked Turner in. “We’ve lost his name to history, unfortunately,” he said. “This was her cultural, iconic moment to escape from a life of abuse and torment, under Ike Turner’s hand,” he added.
'She enchanted millions of fans around the world'
The news of Turner's death was announced on her Facebook page. "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly," a post read.
