© May 24, 2023
Anna Mae Bullock was born in Brownsville, Tennessee.
She began public singing in “Turner’s Kings of Rhythm” in
1957.
She went by “Little Anne” then.
In 1958, she belted out the hit song “Box Top.”
Ike & Tina Turner was born as both duet and
self-confession with the hit “A Fool in Love.”
More introspection with the lyrics of “It’s Gonna Work Out
Fine,”
“River Deep - Mountain High,”
“Proud Mary,”
And “Nutbush City Limits,”
She fled Ike across a Dallas freeway,
After another one of his cocaine binges,
Bloodied and beaten by him,
Blood-soaked clothes wrapped in a coat.
Shades to mask her eyes blacked by fists,
She endured sixteen years of this before running.
Anna Mae [had] had ENOUGH!
Running in the dark with pennies in her pocket,
In the bicentennial year of 1976,
Soon after that act of defiance,
“Ike & Tina Turner” disbanded,
As Anna Mae Bullock declared her independence!
Considering the times,
It was standard practice for any woman,
No matter how talented she was to diminish herself for her
husband or lover purposely, who, in this case, was also her abuser.
Leaving Ike stymied her career for a moment,
Periodicals labeling her as “washed-up,” a “has-been,” or more
diplomatic: “a novelty” whose time had passed,
Spousal Abuse wasn’t talked about,
And the idea of a woman taking agency over her career, life,
and body was nigh unthinkable then.
“Julia,” with Dianne Carroll, was [only] in reruns on TV.
And before the Mullahs on the Supreme Court nuked precedent,
Roe vs. Wade was three years old [then].
But Anna Mae Bullock did it!
Suddenly a single mother with four children,
She only had her inner strength and,
Her dreams and talents,
No one came to your rescue,
If you called 911, Dispatch or the Police might not save you.
They might have sided with Ike and politely left.
There was no hashtag “me too” movement,
Since there was no Internet,
Harvey Weinstein was “doing his thing.”
To every prospective starlet,
Jeffrey Epstein and Orange Satan were frolicking on his
underage prisoner island.
There were many “Access Hollywood” incidents before the
eventual recording,
And E. Jean Carroll’s day in court,
But Anna Mae/Tina Turner/“Proud Mary,” like Carolina Panthers,
“kept pounding!”
If you have never seen her perform “Proud Mary,”
After her split with her abuser,
Anna Mae Bullock was the grandmaster of twerking!
It was an expression of sensuality and freedom.
It was and will always be a dance of emancipation!
Angela Bassett mimicked her gyrations and gymnastics in her
biopic.
As a matter of fact,
Angela Bassett should have gotten an Oscar for that!
As a matter of fact,
She expertly did it because Tina Turner coached Angela Bassett
on how to do it!
From an interview posted by the singer Jody Whatley on
Facebook:
“When I started as a solo artist, I was a female Black singer
in my forties with no money and few prospects for gigs.
“Still, I kept a ‘never give up’ spirit.
“Part of my spiritual practice is to change poison into
medicine, to transform roadblocks through positivity.
“The force of my positivity pushed the discriminatory ‘isms’
standing in my way.
“We all have it within our power to make decisions and take
actions that elevate us.
“Every day, we express who we are and who we wish to become
through our thoughts, words, and deeds.
“Choose the positive path in everything you do.
“Spread positivity and kindness.
“That’s the way.
“My legacy is that I stayed on course, from beginning to the end.
Because I believed in something inside of me.”
Her legacy:
The previous holder of the Guinness Book of World Records for the
largest paying audience for a solo performer in the UK – 180,000,
12 Grammy Awards, including eight competitive Grammys,
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986,
A star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1991,
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (unfortunately,
as a duet),
Recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005,
President George W. Bush commented on her “natural skill,
energy, and sensuality,” saying she had “the most famous legs in show
business,”
In tribute:
Melissa Etheridge performed “River Deep – Mountain High,”
Queen Latifah performed “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”
Beyonce performed “Proud Mary,”
And Al Green performed “Let’s Stay Together.”
In 2021, her doppelganger, Angela Bassett, inducted her into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Solo Artist!
Tributes by Keith Urban and H.E.R. “It’s Only Love,” Mickey
Guyton performed “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” Christina Aguilera
performed “River Deep – Mountain High,”
Oprah Winfrey stated, “We don’t need another hero. We need
more heroines like you, Tina. You make me proud to spell my name w-o-m-a-n.”
Ms. Tina Turner. 1939-2023.
#TinaTurner
Rest In Power
“Simply the best.”
Ase’!
