In 1966, record producer Phil Spector, after hearing Ike and Tina Turner Revue at the Galaxy Club in Los Angeles, offered $20,000 to produce their next song, on the condition that Mr. Turner not come to the studio. Result, “River of high mountains,” often referred to as the high-pitched signature of Mr. Spector’s patented “wall of sound”. It failed in the United States, only reaching the Top 100, but it was a huge hit in the UK, where it marked the start of Mrs Turner’s second career.
“I loved that song,” she wrote in her 1986 memoir. “Because for the first time in my life, it’s not just R&B — it’s structured, melodic.” She added: “I’m a singer, and I know I can do other things; I just never got the chance. ‘River Deep’ showed everyone what I was inside of me.
After walking out of her marriage, heavily in debt, Ms. Turner struggled to build a solo career, appearing in mindless variety shows, before signing with Roger Davies, manager of Olivia Newton-Johnin 1979. Guided by Mr. Davies, she returned to the hard rock style that catapulted her into a crossover star and would carry her for decades to come as one of the artists. the most enduring performer on the concert stage.
Her fellow artists took notice. In 1982, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, of a band and production company called the British Electric Foundation, recruited her to record the 1970 hit Temptations. “Ball of Chaos” for an album that included soul and rock covers supported by the synthesizer. Its success led to a second collaboration, a remake of Al Green’s . “Let’s Stay Together.” A surprise hit in the US and UK, it was the turning point that led to “Private Dancer”.
Ms. Turner followed the huge success of “Private Dancer” with two other hit albums: “Break Every Rule” (1986) and “Foreign Affair” (1989), which featured a hit single. “The best.”
She also made an impact on the screen. Ten years after she cemented her image as a rock ‘n’ roller with a compelling performance in the role acid queen In the film version of Ken Russell’s “Tommy,” the rock opera Who’s, she received critical acclaim for her role as Entity Aunt, iron-fisted ruler of post-apocalyptic Bartertown, in “Mad Max” Beyond Thunderdome” in 1985.
