Music Pioneer Ike Turner Dies at 76

It's unfortunate to hear about the death of Ike Turner.His song "Proud Mary" was one of the first songs i ever worked up on guitar.And his ex-wife,Tina Turner,turned his songs into a "in your face show time" performance,which i am sure Ike had a lot to do with her entertaining abilities...

Turner, Ike - Rock-and-Roll Hall of Famer...
Like many rock 'n' roll pioneers, Ike Turner wasn't a saint. But his many musical accomplishments deserve to outlive the memory of his character flaws.
Turner, who died Wednesday at 76 at his home in San Marcos, Calif., of unknown causes, had a recording career of more than a half-century that reached back to the dawn of rock 'n' roll. In fact, a 1951 record by the guitarist and bandleader, Rocket 88 (sung by and credited to Turner's saxophonist Jackie Brenston), is often earmarked as the first fusion of R&B and blues that could be termed rock.

In the late '50s, Turner led a band, the Kings of Rhythm, in St. Louis and hired Anna Mae Bullock as a singer. She became Tina Turner in name and wedlock, and their records from 1960 through the mid-'70s include countless classics that demonstrate Tina's awe-inspiring lung power and Ike's dry wit. A Fool in Love, It's Gonna Work Out Fine, Bold Soul Sister and Nutbush City Limits endure in R&B history, while their recasting of John Fogerty's Proud Mary became the definitive version.

Ike wrote many of their records, produced the bulk of them, and led the legendary Ike & Tina Turner Revue (including a rotating cast of backing singers known as The Ikettes), one of the top R&B touring aggregations of the '60s. They crisscrossed the country and eventually opened for the Rolling Stones on the British band's 1969 tour.
Thanks to Brian Austin Whitney for the above article
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