Rock And Roll Legend Ike Turner Dies

Ike Turner, the ex-husband and musical partner of singer Tina Turner, has died at the age of 76.

Turner passed away Wednesday at his home near San Diego, California. The cause of death is unknown.

He and Tina Turner made several classic rhythm and blues and rock-and-roll songs, including Nutbush City Limits and Proud Mary. But Ike Turner’s career declined after the couple’s divorce in 1976, largely due to his drug addiction. He was arrested several times for drug offenses, and served a long prison sentence in the late 1980s.

He was described as a violent, drug-addicted spouse abuser in his ex-wife’s autobiography and the film version of the book.

But Ike Turner revived his musical career in recent years, and won a Grammy Award earlier this year for best traditional blues album.

Turner was born in the Delta region of the southern U.S. state of Mississippi, the heart of American blues music. He formed his first band as a young man, and recorded a song in 1951, Rocket 88, widely acclaimed as the first rock-and-roll record.

He and Tina Turner were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, while he was serving time in prison.

by VOA News

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