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Ike Turner dies in his San Marcos home
By: JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer
Rock 'n' roll pioneer shadowed by spousal abuse allegations | ∞
Bandmates and friends of legendary musician Ike Turner gather out front of his home on Wednesday afternoon after Turner death earlier in the day.
DON BOOMER Staff Photographer
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SAN MARCOS -- Ike Turner died Wednesday at his North County home. A groundbreaking guitarist, pianist and bandleader who helped pioneer both early rock 'n' roll and modern rhythm and blues, Turner's reputation was tarnished by his drug addiction, stint in prison and allegations on film and in print that he abused Tina Turner, his famous former wife. He was 76.
An investigator with the county Medical Examiner's Office said Turner died at 11:38 a.m. The cause of death had not been determined, but foul play was not suspected, the investigator said.
Members of Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm, had gathered at his house Wednesday morning.
"We all came just to surprise Ike and make him feel better," said bass player and band leader Kevin Cooper of San Diego. "Instead we got our own surprise."
Cooper said Turner's ex-wife and manager, Ann Thomas, was the last to see him alive in his bedroom just after 8 a.m. Wednesday. With the band members in the house and ready to play some music to cheer him up, she delivered the news that he wasn't breathing. Band members tried unsuccessfully to revive him before paramedics arrived, he said.
The band members stood somberly in a straight line outside his front door as Turner's body, wrapped in a maroon bag, was led out of the house and into a waiting white van at about 3:15 p.m.
A 1991 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee with his ex-wife Tina, Turner's significant impact on popular American music will probably be forever overshadowed by Tina's allegations that he savagely beat and otherwise abused her during their marriage.
While he disputed the severity of those allegations, a 1993 film, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" ---- based on Tina's 1986 autobiography ---- portrayed Ike as a violent thug. The movie's popularity and salacious details became a pivotal moment in American culture, spurring public interest in solving the often-hidden problem of domestic violence.
Tina Turner declined comment on her ex-husband's passing through a spokesperson.
In an interview with the North County Times in February after winning his second Grammy award ---- for his 2006 CD "Risin' With the Blues" ---- Turner bemoaned his public persona.
"I'm not the person that they made me in the movie," he told Times reporter Noelle Ibrahim.
Musically, while Turner achieved his greatest popularity in the 1960s and early '70s with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, his most influential period was in the early 1950s when he was a house musician, arranger and band leader at Sam Phillips' legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn.
There he not only mingled with the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis, but he also played on numerous blues and early rhythm and blues records by such emerging stars as Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and B.B. King.
The most famous session was in 1951, when his own band recorded a song he had written titled "Rocket 88," which is widely cited as the first rock 'n' roll record because of its driving beat and heavily distorted electric guitar. However, Chess Records issued the song under the name of the young singer in Turner's band, Jackie Brenston, robbing him of credit for many years until music historians began citing his role.
"If ever there was a first rock 'n' roll song, that was it," said Dan Del Fiorentino, historian for the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad on Wednesday. "That's pre-Elvis, that's pre-everybody. It's important to look back and say he was there at the beginning, and he should get props for that."
Turner was born Izear Luster Turner Jr. in Clarksdale, Miss., on Nov. 5, 1931. In interviews about his childhood, he said he first fell in love with music while hanging out at a local Clarksdale radio station from the age of 8, helping the disc jockeys. The "Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues" credits blues pianist Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins with giving Turner his first music lessons at around the same time.
While still in high school, he formed his first edition of the Kings of Rhythm band, eventually playing from bases in St. Louis and as far east as Memphis.
By the late 1950s, Turner had left Sun Studios, which had increasingly turned from recording black blues musicians to the more lucrative, white rockabilly bands of the time.
In 1959, he hired a young singer named Anna Mae Bullock. He gave her the stage name of Tina, and changed the name of the band to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, which quickly scored a Top 10 hit in 1960 with "A Fool in Love." The Revue was a popular draw throughout the 1960s and early '70s, releasing a string of hits and winning a Grammy in 1971 for the band's high-energy cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Proud Mary."
In the mid-'70s, the Turners split both professionally and personally, with their divorce finalized in 1978. While Tina returned to the charts in the 1980s as a popular solo act, Ike never again achieved the fame he'd known with the Revue.
Turner had lived in San Marcos since 1991, and had reformed his legendary Kings of Rhythm band, filling it out with both longtime musical cohorts and young musicians from around town. Musically, he returned to the blues and R&B of his youth, releasing the Grammy-nominated "Here and Now" in 2001 and the Grammy-winning "Risin' With the Blues" last year.
Encinitas' Leo Dombecki, who played saxophone in Turner's band for the past four years, praised Turner as a kind and patient teacher and boss, and said he hoped Turner's legacy will include his musical contributions as well as his personal failings.
"All he ever really cared about was the music, so hopefully people pick it up from there and move on," Dombecki said.
-- North County Times staff writers Noelle Ibrahim and Dan Simmons, The Associated Press and TMZ reports contributed to this article. Contact staff writer Jim Trageser at jtrageser@nctimes.com or (760) 631-6628.
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JSten wrote on Dec 12, 2007 8:10 PM:Few people are completely good or bad. I am sure that from his point of view the portrayal of him in the movie "Whats Love Got to Do With It" movie wasnt accurate. I am equally sure from Tina's point of view, it was. There was also the issue of drugs in their life, and that can lead to a lot of self deception. However there is no mistaking the the man's talent and contributions to R&B, Rock and Roll, and the Blues. I am just mad that I didn't know he was so near to here. We all have to go. Well, YOU all have to go. Anyway, good bye Ike. Hopefully you are in a better place.
Greg in Oceanside wrote on Dec 12, 2007 9:15 PM:I'm just wondering what's going through Tina's mind. I saw Ike on southbound I-5 one morning. And I thought I saw him at Costco in Carlsbad selling musical instruments. Nonetheless, the whole sage between him and Tina is a distant nightmare that has two sides to the story, so we probably shouldn't pass any judgement. Their music will still live in our memories, good or bad.
Good bye friend wrote on Dec 12, 2007 9:19 PM:I was lucky enough to have known Ike in his better years. Ike was a kind hearted man that just had an Ora of life about him. I want people to know that people change. He was a good man and thats how I will remember him. I'll miss you man! God bless you, see on the other side someday.
Wife beater wrote on Dec 13, 2007 12:21 AM:Come on, he was a wife beater. No denial just because he's dead. Rock and Roll is one thing, but he abused Tina, and that does not make him a good guy!
THE ONE wrote on Dec 13, 2007 7:26 AM:Regarding the comment from "wife beater", your comment shows what an ... So when it's your turn to meet your maker and lay to rest what will they remember or say about you? ...Ike Turner was a great american artist,traveled the world with his music, met the Rolling Stones,Phil Spector and was at the birth of rock n' roll.What have you done with your life?...
Fred H wrote on Dec 13, 2007 7:30 AM:History has never done this man justice. He was an incredibly innovative guitarist, years ahead of his time. Unfortunately, as John Lennon used to say: 'Most people want to focus on the warts & pimples'.
umm... wrote on Dec 13, 2007 7:39 AM:Since when do we sympathize for those guilty of domestic abuse and drug problems?
Cre Tre wrote on Dec 13, 2007 7:50 AM:Say what you want, an Ike sighting was always something cool to break up the day in San Marcos. At least 5 times a year I would get calls from various friends reporting Ike sightings around town. Whenever I saw him I always had to make a few calls. He always seemed cool and always said hi to everyone around. Last time I saw him he was in the Hallmark next to Vons shaking hands with everyone.
Randy wrote on Dec 13, 2007 8:17 AM:Y'all know that movies based on real-life incidents take great liberties to juice up the stories. That enhances ticket sales!
Mike wrote on Dec 13, 2007 8:39 AM:Do hate to be a heretic, and question the accuracy of a Hollywood movie, but even Tina Turner has said Ike wasn't anything like as bad as he's portrayed in "What's Love Got To Do With It". If you feel a need to judge Ike, at least base it on something you know to be true.
battery wrote on Dec 13, 2007 9:03 AM:I never heard his present wife or companions complain of being beat up. Obviously people can change with maturity and sobriety.
Larry wrote on Dec 13, 2007 9:49 AM:To ummm, have some, at least an ounce, of respect for the dead....
Chuck wrote on Dec 13, 2007 10:07 AM:This is a great story. I never knew he wrote Rocket 88. I didn't ebven know he lived in San Marcos. He may not have been a saint, he may not have been nice to Tina, but his music is something I'll never forget.
Ike Fan wrote on Dec 13, 2007 10:53 AM:I had the pleasure of dealing with Ike since 1999 as a valued customer. He was a celebrity who never tried to get discounts or freebies because of who he was, event though he spend a lot with my company. He always had a smile on his face and always had time to sign photos and take pictures with customers. Tina made a name by bad mouthing him, but he always took the high road when someone said something negative about him. A true rock and roll legend that many will never know the truth about. R.I.P IKE...
Ike Fan wrote on Dec 13, 2007 11:01 AM:For those who want to bad mouth him, read his book which he was so kind of enough to sign and give me a copy of. I believe that the truth is in that book. He never denies what happened between him and Tina, he just tells his side of it that "whats love got to do with it" doesn't mention. For those who used think they saw Ike around town, you probably did. In his Mercedes with a license plate that read IKEREVU.
JUST ME wrote on Dec 13, 2007 11:11 AM:r.i.p. Ike. Nice guy if you ever met him in person. Everyone is judgeing him from that movie. He was no saint but he wasnt a bad person. I knew him for the last 5 years and he was a plesure to deal with.
Me wrote on Dec 13, 2007 11:21 AM:I saw Ike on San Marcos blvd a few months ago, I was with my teenage daughter and I said to her "look there is one of the greats of music", she didn't know who he was but went home to read up on him on-line. I'm glad she got to see him up close as we were in the car next to him. RIP
Jovie From Cambria wrote on Dec 13, 2007 11:26 AM:I'm not gonna say that i'm sorry that he's gone, But i'm am sorry about how rudely people might have thought of him. I have no opinions of him, and really i couldn't care less, but when someone dies have some courtesy and respect for the dead. Even if he didn't deserve it when he was living, it doesn't mean you can't give him atleast THAT now that he's dead. You people seriously need to chill.
See ya Ike wrote on Dec 13, 2007 4:09 PM:regardless of how Ike was portrayed - I had the pleasure of dealing with Ike at work about once a month between 2002-2005. He always remembered my name - was upbeat and a very nice guy to deal with. He was funny too! We'll miss you Ike!
Say What!! wrote on Dec 13, 2007 6:41 PM:I never knew that Ike lived in Saint Mark! I guess you never know what famous person lives right in under yer nose. What other celebrities are in north county?
To "The One" from "Wife Beater" wrote on Dec 13, 2007 10:28 PM:What have I done with my life? I too have traveled the world. I too am a great American. Does it really matter "who" I have met, I have met many of great people, good Americans, family people. But unlike Ike, I have never hit a woman, nor have the great American's I have as friends. I do not idolize wife beaters, nor should anyone else. No excuses, not even in death.
To "Wife Beater" wrote on Dec 14, 2007 9:52 AM:No, you're not a "great American' - your angry, bitter comments betray you. Ike was a flawed human being. Guess what? We all are. And to try to dismiss all the good he did in this life by arguing that only his failings are worthy of remembrance is to betray your own pettiness. Hopefully, though, when it is your time, those who knew you and your work will remember the good as well as the petty.
Alf wrote on Dec 14, 2007 10:42 AM:This person, "Wife Beater" has a problem with the past, they will not become unstuck from the bad part of it. What a sad and distorted view of the world that person has if all they do is look at the bad. I'm with "To "Wife Beater"" at 9:52AM, "Hopefully, though, when it is your time, those who knew you and your work will remember the good as well as the petty." Merry Christmas! Alf.
Wife Beater wrote on Dec 14, 2007 5:08 PM:Yeah right. To all the women that have been killed by wife beaters, please understand there are those of us that understand this is not just a "petty flaw". OJ is "flawed" too, neither of these men should be idols. Those that idolize these types are not normal. Those that think wife beating is "petty" are sick. There are "great American" men that are good men, even when troubled do not beat women. No excuses. Merry Christmas to the survivers of these non-great American's. Alf and others that find excuses for such, are probably violent themselves.
Wife Beater has issues wrote on Dec 15, 2007 9:08 PM:I didn't see anyone here idolizing Ike Turner - just pointing out that, like all human beings, he was flawed. Deeply so, in his case, perhaps - although he denied the abuse allegations, giving us a "he said / she said" dispute. But whatever his flaws, he helped create rock 'n' roll, and history demands we note that and honor it.
Nurse Janice wrote on Dec 15, 2007 9:54 PM:Wifebeater is right. I have seen the victims of these men who deny allegations. Ike denied until he finally admitted in his autobiography in 2002, but then said he only "slapped her down to the ground...but didn't beat her". Do you blame the cocaine and alcohol? Do you blame his jail? Rock and Roll? What excuse do you give this non-excuse for a man. He never took responsibility for his "flaws", denial until death. If he were anything of a man he could have done some good by fundraising money for women's shelters, help victims of similar abuses...anything. But no, most people didn't even know he even lived in San Marcos. He gambled and bought his close friends a few things, but never did any community service around here! Other cities with famous people have benefited by a little community service. Just because he wrote music, does not mean we have to honor him.
My Oh My (England) wrote on Dec 18, 2007 9:41 AM:Listen to you guys, who is anyone to judge anyone!!! We are all not perfect!! People make mistakes and some people CAN change!! If you read both Ikes and Tina's book, they were apparently as bad as each other and whether you support Ike or not no one is ever gonna no the real story! No wonder why people lose any will to change there life if they are going to be judged by people like you. GET A GRIP!!!
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