 Before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and selling more than a hundred million records worldwide, only to then pass away following a string of illnesses, singer Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee. Tina's family lived in a rural and unincorporated part of Haywood County known as Nutbush, a community that would live on in infamy after she penned her song Nutbush City Limits later in life, but back in these early days, Tina would describe her family as well to do farmers who lived modestly off the businesses of sharecropping. Unfortunately, Tina's parents didn't exactly set a sterling example of two people in love, and they were constantly at one another's throats. Eventually, her mother left to live in St. Louis when Tina was 10. Three years later, her father left as well so Tina was sent to live with her grandmother in Brownsville, Tennessee. Following high school, she picked up work as a nurse's aide in the hopes of entering the medical profession. At night, Tina and her sister would head to nightclubs in St. Louis, which is where she saw a man named Ike Turner perform for the first time as the band leader of Kings of Rhythm. Only 18 years old, Tina became enamored with their music coming back and time and time again to watch the band perform. One night, the drummer handed Tina the microphone and she took to the stage. The rest is history. Ike was so impressed by her ability that he invited her to be the group's guest vocalist and began teaching her lessons on voice control as well as performance. Originally performing as little Anne, she sang alongside Carlson Oliver on Ike's Box Top, which became her first studio recording. That song dropped in 1958. That very same year, Turner gave birth to her first son, Craig, following a relationship with the band's saxophonist Raymond Hill. But Raymond wasn't the one Tina would end up with. Soon after, she moved in with Ike to help him raise his two sons on his own after he had broken up with their mother. A love affair ensued and inspired by the movie serial Sheena Queen of the Jungle, she changed her stage name to Tina Turner at Ike's request. So he then changed the name to Ike and changed my name to Tina because if I ran away, Tina was his name. Two years later, Ike and Tina Turner released their debut single A Fool in Love. It became an immediate success reaching the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. They then took off on a tour of the country that became noted for its incredible spectacle and the diversity of its crowds. But there was trouble in paradise. Following their monumental success, Ike became possessive and fearful that he might lose Tina, who he considered to be his meal ticket. Not that that ever stopped him from sleeping with other women and writing songs about these relationships, only to have Tina perform them. Eventually she refused to sing those songs anymore, which is when Ike got physical beating her with a shoe stretcher. Rather than leave him, Tina ended up marrying Ike in his ceremony in Tijuana in 1962. Four years later, the couple took part in the TNT show, which is where Phil Spector discovered them. After signing them to his label, he produced the song that he considered to be his masterpiece. River deep, mountain high, Tina was forced to sit through countless vocal takes to pull this baby off and the song wasn't the hit that Phil was expecting it to be. But it still led to further opportunities for Ike and Tina. Soon they were opening for the Rolling Stones and producing a crossover hit, with a cover of Credence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary that won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a group. Her marriage finally began to unravel as Ike grew more abusive while being fueled by cocaine. Tina had attempted to leave him many times and in 1968, she was so desperate she attempted overdosing on sleeping pills. Finally while performing in Dallas, she fled to a friend's place, actress Anne Margaret, who provided her with shelter in Los Angeles. Ike would come looking for her, but to no avail and the couple would divorce in 1978. Tina came away with just two cars and the right-stair stage name. Turns out that's all she needed to turn herself into a full-fledged superstar. Tina Turner's legacy to the music industry was largely shaped by her incredible, uninhibited one-of-a-kind stage presence that influenced everyone from Mick Jagger to Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Beyonce. But somewhat surprisingly at first, Tina struggled to establish herself as a solo performer. Her first record starting with 1974's Pre-Breakup album, Tina Turner the Country On, failed to generate any hit songs and she spent the next eight years touring to help pay off the debts she had from a canceled tour with Ike. She supplemented that income by also appearing on variety and game shows like Hollywood Squares. Her rebirth began in 1982 when the British synth pop band Heaven 17 recruited her for a remake of the Temptation's Ball of Confusion. This would lead to a new record deal for Tina with Capital, which in turn led to a top 30 hit in the US titled Let's Stay Together. In 1984, Tina released her masterpiece, Private Dancer, which instantly turned her into a superstar thanks to a little song titled What's Love Got to Do With It, written by British songwriter Terry Britton. By the end of that stretch, she finally had enough money to pay off all her debts. The following year she met German music executive Erwin Bach and for Tina it was love at first sight, kicking off a relationship that would last the rest of her life. The 90s would then become an ongoing validation of her entire career when her autobiography I, Tina, was turned into a 1993 movie titled What's Love Got to Do With It, starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Lawrence Fishburne as Ike. I Don't Want to Fight, a new song included on the film's soundtrack, would become Tina's last ever top 10 hit. Then in 1999, Tina released her final album 24-7. Between 2008 and 2009, Tina embarked on a 50th anniversary tour and four years later, she and Erwin finally married after 27 years together. Tina might not have been touring or performing any longer by this time, but she was still constantly being flooded with interview requests, asking her to relive some of her most painful memories. For instance, during the HBO 2021 documentary Tina, the performer would reveal that she had been dealing with a string of physical and mental ailments for years. Three years later, she was battling intestinal cancer, followed shortly thereafter by kidney failure in 2017. At that point, Erwin stepped in to heroically donate his kidney to his partner, but it would only buy her so much time. Just two months before her passing, Tina would take to Instagram to let her fans know that she was in great danger due to her battle with kidney disease. My kidneys are victims of my not realizing that my high blood pressure should have been treated with conventional medicine. I've put myself in great danger of refusing to face the reality that I need daily lifelong therapy with medication. For far too long, I believe that my body was an untouchable and indestructible bastion. A few short weeks later on May 24th of 2023, Tina would pass away at her mansion in Switzerland. Her upsided a battle with lifelong illness and natural causes were ultimately declared for the reason for her passing. With as important a place as she held in the industry, it didn't take long for tributes to come pouring in, including from Angela Bassett, the actress who portrayed Tina in the movie of her life, writing on social media through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life no matter the sacrifice and her determination to carve out a space in a rock and roll for herself. And for others who look like her, Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion and freedom should look like. Others like Mick Jagger, Elton John, Diana Ross, Beth Middler and Georgia Armani would also share their emotions and tributes with the rest of the world as well. But as for what Tina herself would like her legacy to be, we have the answer to that question. This leads to what was quite possibly the last interview of her life with the Guardian in April 2023. When asked how she would like to be remembered, she told the media outlet, as the Queen of Rock and Roll, as a woman who showed other women that it is okay to strive for success on their own terms. There's no denying that that's exactly what Tina Turner accomplished in the span of her life and none of us are going to forget her legendary accomplishments anytime soon. Everyone, that's going to bring this latest edition of Before They Were Gone to a close. Thanks so much for watching and before you head out, what's the one memory of Tina Turner that comes to mind when you reflect on her incredible career? Let me know in the comments down below, otherwise like, subscribe and turn on your notifications to make sure you never miss an episode. My name's Kara and I'll see you all next time. Bye!