Turner was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on November 5, 1931, to Beatrice Cushenberry, a seamstress, and Izear Luster Turner, a Baptist minister. Ike got his first taste the music business at the age of eight, helping the DJ at a local Clarksdale radio station, WROX.
Turner was soon carrying amplifiers for blues singer Robert Nighthawk, who often played live on WROX. Growing up, Turner's idol Pinetop Perkins helped teach the young Ike to play boogie-woogie on the piano. Ike soon was enamored of other blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), Charley Booker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Little Walter.
Ike Turner's actual music career began in earnest in the late-1940s where he formed a group he christened Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm. In 1951, the band recorded what some historians have called "the first rock and roll record" with "Rocket 88", credited to Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (this band did not actually exist). Brenston was both the band's saxophonist and the lead vocalist of the song, and on the original Chess release was listed as the song's writer. "Rocket 88" was produced at Sun Studio in Memphis by Sam Phillips. The record was one of the first examples of guitar distortion, which happened by accident when one of the amplifiers was dropped before the recording.
Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm settled into local fame in St. Louis where the band locally recorded for a St. Louis label and even appeared on local television shows. Throughout this early period, Turner became a recording scout and A&R man for independent record companies including Sun Records, helping the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James and Otis Rush get signed. He also became a sideman playing guitar for these blues acts and more. Musically, Turner was known for his hard-hitting guitar style. He was known to put the whammy bar of his Fender Stratocaster to frequent use.
Turner's music career changed drastically after meeting a teenage singer from Nutbush, Tennessee, named Anna Mae Bullock, who demandingly grabbed a microphone during a singing session at one of St. Louis' nightspots and sang a B.B. King song in her now-trademark throated raspy vocals. Bullock's performance impressed Ike so much he allowed Anna to join his band as a background singer. However within a year, Ike's plans for Bullock changed after Anna recorded what he originally stated was a demo for a song that was to be sung by a male vocalist. After hearing her vocals, he let it be released under an independent label and in the process changed the name of the singer from Anna Mae Bullock to Tina Turner - naming her after Sheena - and the name of the band to the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. It is believed that this singular act is what propelled Tina Turner into the spotlight. "A Fool in Love" became a national hit in early 1960, reaching the top three in the R&B charts and becoming a top thirty pop hit in the process. From then until 1976, Ike & Tina Turner became one of the most explosive duos in rock & soul music.
After Tina abruptly left Ike after a violent altercation in 1976, Ike lost ground in the national music market. As a solo artist, he struggled to find success after Tina and after releasing two failed solo albums, had found himself facing drug and weapons charges, of which he was convicted in 1989.
When Ike was released from prison in 1993, he was met at the prison gate by Jeanette Bazzell who later became his wife. Jeanette was instrumental in helping Ike rebuild his career. She replaced Tina as Ike's lead singer and eventually they toured the world playing many blues festivals. After the intense negative publicity generated against him as a wife abuser by Tina's movie, "What's Love Got to Do with It", Ike's acceptance in the USA as a legendary blues artist and composer was limited, though better in other countries. During this time he recorded two solo albums in his own studio, and he wrote his autobiography called Taking Back My Name. He also re-recorded "I'm Blue" in a duet style with Billy Rogers. The remake received strong reviews from Billboard Magazine.
Ike was back on the road and back into recording music, which continued until his death. In 2001, Ike released the Grammy-nominated Here & Now album. In 2005, he appeared on the Gorillaz' album, Demon Days, playing piano on the track, "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead". In 2007, Ike won his first solo Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category for the album, Risin' With the Blues. Shortly before his death, a collaboration between Turner and The Black Keys was planned, but the project would never be completed, .
Turner died on December 12, 2007 at 76 years of age at his home in San Marcos, California, near San Diego. Little Richard was asked by the family to speak at the funeral. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office reported that Turner died from a cocaine overdose complicated by "[...] other significant conditions, such as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema."
Living For The City
Ike Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty
His parents give him love and affection
To keep him strong moving in the right direction
Living just enough
Just enough for the city
And you can believe he barely makes a dollar
His mother goes to scrub the floors for many
And you'd best believe she hardly gets a penny
Living just enough
Just enough for the city
His sister's black but she is sho' 'nuff pretty
Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy
To walk to school she's got to get up early
Her clothes are old but never dirty
Living just enough
Just enough for the city
Her brother's smart he's got more sense than many
His patience's long but soon he won't have any
To find a job is like a haystack needle
'Cause where he lives they don't use colored people
Living just enough
Just enough for the city
Living just enough
For the city, ooh, ooh
The song "Livin for the City" tells the story of a woman who is faced with a difficult decision: choosing between love and money. In the beginning of the song, she acknowledges that she should have been learning instead of living a life of luxury with her pockets full of money. She had someone to call her honey, but she knew deep down that it was love that truly made her feel complete. She had a feeling that her situation wouldn't last, and after experiencing heartache, she realized that she needed to admit to herself that love was what she truly needed.
As the song progresses, the woman notes that she has had enough of diamonds and pearls - material possessions that once brought her happiness. Instead, she feels much better dressed in love. The repeated message of the song is that it is love that truly makes a woman whole. No amount of money or material possessions can replace the feeling of being loved and loving someone in return.
Line by Line Meaning
In the fire
Amidst the struggle and hardship
It was burning
The intensity of the struggle was high
Sweetheart, I know
As a term of endearment, acknowledging the presence of someone
I should have been learning
I ought to have taken the opportunity to learn from the struggles
But my pockets
My possession of wealth
Full of money, yes they were
Holding a vast amount of money
I had someone, yes I did
Being in a relationship
To call my honey
The term of endearment for my partner
But it's love (ooh, sweet love)
Love is what truly matters
That makes a woman (ooh, that makes a woman)
Love is the essence of a woman
Something told me that this wouldn't last
I had an intuition that the relationship would end
Now my heartache is in the past
The emotional pain has subsided as time has passed
I had to swallow all of my pride
I had to let go of my ego
And admit to myself deep down inside
I had to acknowledge my true feelings
Diamonds and pearls
Material possessions
Don't you know that I've had enough
I have reached the point where I no longer desire material possessions
But I feel so much better, yes I do
However, I feel much happier now
Dressed in love
Living my life with love as my guiding principle
What she is, yeah
Defining the essence of a woman
Oh and it's love (ooh, sweet love)
Reiterating the importance of love
That makes a woman yes it is (ooh, that makes a woman)
Affirming that love is indeed the essence of a woman
And it's love (ooh, sweet love)
Once again, emphasizing the importance of love
That makes a woman yeah (ooh, that makes a woman)
Underscoring the centrality of love to womanhood
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Cloud9, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ruralrooster172
2:38 Tina's additional lyrics:
Oh, they're livin' just enough
'Cause they ain't got enough
Before they start
Ain't got no start
Livin' in a little one-room country shack
But it's the home
The only home they'll ever know
One day, somebody's gonna come along
Gonna take them children straight on home
Oh, yeah!
All they got
Is just enough
Sometimes they don't eat enough
They can't live enough
They ain't hardly got no pulls on their back
Ain't no covers on their bed
Hardly a roof over their head
11 seconds longer: https://youtu.be/I9yfkGRlE_c
@CHIOSSO1
It was remixed for the album Golden Empire and released as a single in 1985. The original recording can be found on the 1974 album Sweet Rhode Island Red. The German maxi single was made of transparent yellow vinyl.
@tyana5836
Tina sang the hell outta this song! 🔥
@itsnoahonfire
I just discovered this version today and she sure did!
@JerjerB
1973... ahead of its time.... this was released basically at the same time as the original...
@applecake122
Ike liked this song because it is about a boy in hard time Mississippi.
@primadonna4535
I heard this in 1986 on 5FM - it was called radio 5 then ❤️
@edmundsishange3608
Really? Had no idea they ever played this ln South African radio but I was a kid in 1985
@Outverb
I think 1986. It's on CD I bought in France. If you search "Ike & Tina Turner Livin' in the City album" you'll find several different albums - one with 10 tracks, one with 11, and one with 18... released in 86, 93, 95, and 06!
@quidahurt2223
Raw Soul! Pure Power!
@dinorockwell7670
Wow! This lady whoops it out!!!