Ike Turner, the soul legend possibly better known as the allegedly abusive ex-husband of Tina Turner, has died aged 76. The cause of his death is not known, but Scott Hanover from his management company told reporters yesterday: "Ike Turner passed away this morning. He was at his home".
Turner's music career properly began in the forties, and by the end of the decade he had created the group The Kings Of Rhythm who proved influential in the then emerging rock n roll genre. His reputation grew throughout the fifties, both as a musician and as a talent scout and A&R exec, most notably for Sun Records. But it was through his recruitment of one Anna Mae Bullock to his band, who he quickly moved to the front of the stage and rechristened Tina Turner, that Ike really rose to fame, with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue releasing a number of big hits throughout the sixties and early seventies, including 'River Deep - Mountain High', 'I Want To Take You Higher' and, of course, 'Nutbush City Limits'.
The couple married in the early sixties, but it was a tumultuous relationship during which Ike allegedly regularly abused his wife and co-star. After one particularly violent row in 1976 Tina left her husband, formally divorcing him in 1978. The divorce favoured Ike in terms of assets, but media stories of how he had abused Tina meant Ike fell out of favour in some circles, and even more so after Tina gave her side of the story in her autobiography 'I, Tina' in 1986, which reached a mass audience through the film adaptation 'What's Love Got To Do With It'. Around about the same time Ike was convicted of drug related charges in California, and jailed. Ike later admitted to hitting Tina during their marriage, but always claimed the portrayal of him as a serial abuser was unfair.
Despite the bad press, his career picked up again in the latter part of his life. He enjoyed success with his solo work, including the Grammy nominated 'Here & Now' and the Grammy winning 'Risin With the Blues'. He also collaborated and toured with Gorillaz.