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Ike Turner

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ike Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, producer and talent scout. He was born in 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. As a boy he learned boogie-woogie at the piano from the blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, and as a teenager he started the Kings of Rhythm, a band that played blues and boogie-woogie. He got his knowledge of music from listening: he could not read notes.

Music and breakthrough

In March 1951 the band recorded Rocket 88 in Memphis, in Sam Phillips's studio. The saxophonist Jackie Brenston sang and Turner played piano, while the distorted guitar of Willie Kizart stood out. The record was released under Brenston's name and became a big R&B hit. Turner himself later said that it was really R&B, but that it was nevertheless the cause of rock 'n' roll. After that he worked as a producer and talent scout for Sun and Modern, and played a part in the early careers of B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and Bobby Bland. He also taught himself to play guitar. In 1960 he started the Ike & Tina Turner Revue with his wife Tina, with hits such as A Fool in Love, River Deep Mountain High, Proud Mary and Nutbush City Limits.

Influence

Turner is seen as one of the innovators of early rock 'n' roll, who brought the intensity of the blues into commercial music. His life was overshadowed by his cocaine addiction and the domestic violence that Tina Turner later described. At the end of his life he returned to the blues. He died in 2007.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Rocket 88 (1951). Notice Turner's rolling piano, the saxophones and above all the distorted, raw sound of the guitar.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists