Ike Turner's first recording, "Rocket 88", is considered a contender for the distinction of first rock and roll song.
149 Facts About Ike Turner
2.
In 1954, Ike Turner relocated to East St Louis where his Kings of Rhythm became one of the most renowned acts in Greater St Louis.
3.
Ike Turner released two award-winning albums, Here and Now and Risin' with the Blues.
4.
Ike Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Tina Turner in 1991.
5.
Ike Turner was the younger of their two children; his sister, Lee Ethel Knight, was "some ten years" his senior.
6.
Ike Turner was later told it was an act of retaliation over a woman with whom his father was having an affair.
7.
Ike Turner's father lived for two or three years as an invalid in a tent in the family's yard before succumbing to his injuries when Turner was about five years old.
8.
Ike Turner's mother remarried an artist named Philip Reese, who Turner described as a violent alcoholic.
9.
One day after Reese gave him a whipping, Ike Turner knocked him out with a length of lumber and ran away to Memphis for a few days before returning home.
10.
Ike Turner quit school in the eighth grade and began working as an elevator operator at the Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale.
11.
One day Friskillo spotted Ike Turner watching and put him to work, teaching him the ins and outs of the control room.
12.
Ike Turner was inspired to learn the piano after he heard Pinetop Perkins play at his friend Ernest Lane's house.
13.
Ike Turner persuaded his mother to pay for piano lessons, but he did not take to the formal style of playing.
14.
At some point in the 1940s, Ike Turner moved into Clarksdale's Riverside Hotel.
15.
Ike Turner associated with many of these musicians, and at 13 years old he backed Sonny Boy Williamson II on piano.
16.
Ike Turner, who was trained by ear and could not sight read, would learn the pieces by listening to a version on record at home, pretending to be reading the music during rehearsals.
17.
The other band led by Ike Turner became the Kings of Rhythm.
18.
Ike Turner gained experience performing by supporting Nighthawk at gigs around Clarksdale.
19.
Ike Turner played juke joints alongside other local blues artists such as Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter.
20.
Ike Turner then became a freelance talent scout, session musician, and production assistant for Sam Phillips at Sun Studio, commuting to Memphis, Tennessee.
21.
Ike Turner played piano on King's early records "You Know I Love You" and "3 O'Clock Blues", which became King's first two number-ones.
22.
Ike Turner would send dubs of things he cut to us, and if we'd like them we'd make a seal or sign the artist.
23.
Unaware of songwriter's royalties, Ike Turner wrote new material which the Biharis copyrighted under their own names.
24.
Ike Turner estimated he wrote seventy-eight hit records for the Biharis.
25.
Artists Ike Turner discovered for Modern and Sun include Bobby Bland, Howlin' Wolf, Rosco Gordon, Boyd Gilmore, Houston Boines, Charley Booker, and Little Milton.
26.
Ike Turner played piano in sessions with them and lesser-known artists such as the Prisonaires, Driftin' Slim, Ben Burton, Matt Cockrell, Dennis Binder, Sunny Blair, and Baby Face Turner.
27.
Ike Turner was contracted to the Bihari brothers, but he continued to work for Phillips, where he was effectively the in-house producer.
28.
In 1951, Ike Turner recorded two Howlin' Wolf tracks for Phillips, playing piano on "How Many More Years" and "Moanin' at Midnight", which Phillips sent to Chess.
29.
Ike Turner sent the results to the Biharis at Modern and they released it on their subsidiary label RPM Records.
30.
Ike Turner attempted to poach Elmore James from Trumpet Records and record him for Modern.
31.
However, James did eventually sign with Modern, and Ike Turner played on his recordings that were released on Modern's subsidiary label Flair Records.
32.
In 1952, Ike Turner discovered Little Junior Parker in West Memphis, and they formed a band with Matt "Guitar" Murphy.
33.
Unbeknownst to Ike Turner, during his time in West Memphis, he met Elvis Presley, who was a truck driver.
34.
Ike Turner would come in and stand behind the piano and watch me play.
35.
Ike Turner began playing guitar in sessions in 1953, and by 1954 with the assistance of Joe Bihari he built a makeshift recording studio at a defunct Greyhound bus station in Clarksdale.
36.
Some artist Ike Turner backed on piano and guitar during this period include Elmore James, Johnny Ace and the Flairs.
37.
Around this time Ike Turner discovered Billy "The Kid" Emerson in Greenville.
38.
Ike Turner brought Emerson to record at Sun Records and backed him on guitar in 1954.
39.
In 1954, Ike Turner visited his sister Lee Ethel Knight in St Louis, Missouri.
40.
Ike Turner maintained strict discipline and the band lived at his home on Virginia Place in East St Louis which doubled as a studio.
41.
Ike Turner established his group as one of the most highly rated on the St Louis club circuit, vying for popularity with their main competition, Sir John's Trio featuring Chuck Berry.
42.
Ike Turner played at Johnny's Lounge and the Club Imperial which was popular with white teenagers.
43.
Ike Turner had live music broadcast on the St Louis radio station KATZ.
44.
In between live dates, Ike Turner took the band to Cincinnati to record for Federal Records in 1956.
45.
Ike Turner released two singles on the Stevens label under the anagram "Icky Renrut" because he was still under contract with Sun for several more months, and he didn't want to cause friction with Phillips.
46.
Ike Turner's sister was a barmaid at the club and was dating Turner's drummer Eugene Washington.
47.
Ike Turner said he'd call her onstage, but he never did.
48.
Ike Turner made her recording debut on Turner's song "Boxtop", released on Tune Town Records in 1958.
49.
In March 1960, Ike Turner allowed her to record a demo of his self-penned song "A Fool in Love".
50.
Ike Turner intended to use the demo as guide track for Art Lassiter, who did not attend the scheduled recording session at Technisonic Studios.
51.
Murray offered a $20,000 advance for the song and suggested Ike Turner "make her the star" of his show.
52.
Ike Turner then renamed her "Tina" because it rhymed with Sheena; however, family and friends still called her Ann.
53.
Ike Turner was inspired by Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and Nyoka the Jungle Girl to create her stage persona.
54.
Ike Turner had the name "Tina Turner" trademarked, so that in case she left, another singer could perform under the same name.
55.
In 1961, Ike Turner played piano on Albert King's first hit record, "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong".
56.
Ike Turner wrote and produced the Ikettes hit "I'm Blue ".
57.
Ike Turner produced singles by the Ikettes, Jimmy Thomas, Fontella Bass, George Jackson, and other artists on his labels.
58.
Ike Turner, who was a friend of Sly Stone, played guitar on Sly and the Family Stone's album There's a Riot Goin' On.
59.
Ike Turner had two sixteen track studios built, a large one to rent out and a smaller one for his personal recordings.
60.
Ike Turner released two solo albums for United Artists Records, Blues Roots and Bad Dreams.
61.
Ike Turner claimed that Tina initiated the conflict by purposely irritating him so that she would have a reason to break up with him before they signed the new contract.
62.
Ike Turner reported a positive working relationship with Turner, and later released the memoir Freebase Ain't Free about their close friendship.
63.
In 1979, Ike Turner spent time in the studio with Chaka Khan following her separation from her manager-husband.
64.
In 1988, Turner attempted an ill-fated return to the stage with Marcy Thomas, Bonnie Johnson, and Jeanette Bazzell as his Ikettes.
65.
The song reached No 4 in the Billboard Hot 100 and Ike Turner earned around half a million dollars in royalties.
66.
Ike Turner re-recorded "I'm Blue" as a duet with singer Billy Rogers in 1995.
67.
Ike Turner later appeared on the song "Love Gravy" with Rick James for the soundtrack album Chef Aid: The South Park Album.
68.
Ike Turner credited Joe Louis Walker with encouraging him to return to his roots in blues music.
69.
Ike Turner played guitar and assisted in production on Walker's 1997 album Great Guitars; Walker paid him $5,000 a night for six songs.
70.
Walker invited Ike Turner to perform with him at the San Francisco Blues Festival and to tour in Europe.
71.
In 2002, Ike Turner filmed Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary series The Blues, which aired in September 2003.
72.
Ike Turner is featured in the documentaries The Road to Memphis and Godfathers and Sons, as part of the series.
73.
Ike Turner appeared on the Gorillaz's album Demon Days, playing piano on "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead".
74.
Ike Turner performed the song with Gorillaz at the Manchester Opera House in November 2005.
75.
Ike Turner's performance is featured in the live concert DVD Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House.
76.
In 2006, Ike Turner released his last album, Risin' With the Blues, on the independent label Zoho Roots.
77.
Ike Turner won his first solo Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007.
78.
Ike Turner began working on a collaboration album with Gorillaz's producer Danger Mouse and the Black Keys in early 2007.
79.
Ike Turner grew up playing boogie woogie piano, which he learned from Pinetop Perkins.
80.
Ike Turner decided he was not meant to be a frontman when at twelve he was coerced into giving an impromptu piano recital in school.
81.
Ike Turner found the experience terrifying and from then on preferred not to be the focus of attention, but rather to be in the background controlling the show.
82.
Ike Turner considered himself an organizer rather than a performer.
83.
Ike Turner was an early adopter of the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, buying one from OK.
84.
Unaware that the guitar's tremolo arm could be used to subtle effect, Ike Turner used it to play screaming, swooping and diving solos that predated artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck by a decade.
85.
Ike Turner was the innovator, for rhythm and blues and for rock 'n' roll.
86.
Ike Turner defined how to put the Fender bass into that music.
87.
Ike Turner's songs have been sampled by hip hop artists; most notably, Salt-N-Pepa used "I'm Blue" for their 1994 hit "Shoop".
88.
In 2007, Ike Turner won Best Traditional Blues Album for Risin' with the Blues.
89.
Ike Turner is inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.
90.
Ike Turner is inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.
91.
Ike Turner was honored with a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame in 2001.
92.
Ike Turner was a recipient of the Legend Award at the 2007 Mojo Awards.
93.
In 1986, Tina Ike Turner released her autobiography, I, Tina, in which she recounted Ike Turner's volatile behavior.
94.
Ike Turner received negative publicity that was exacerbated in 1993 by the release of the film adaptation What's Love Got to Do with It.
95.
Ike Turner received $45,000 for the film, but he had unknowingly signed papers waiving the right to sue Disney's Touchstone Pictures for his depiction.
96.
Ike Turner was portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, whose performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor at the 66th Academy Awards.
97.
Ike Turner was portrayed on Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update by Tim Meadows in a pageboy wig.
98.
In 2015, TV One's Unsung offered some redemption with "The Story of Ike Turner", which documented his career along with his trials and tribulations.
99.
Ike Turner often married another woman before divorcing his existing wife.
100.
Ike Turner was first married at 16 years old to Edna Dean Stewart of Ruleville, Mississippi.
101.
Records show that Ike Turner added four years to his age.
102.
Edna did not want to stay in Clarksdale, so she left Ike Turner and returned to Ruleville.
103.
Ike Turner met her at the Cotton Club on Camplin Avenue in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1948.
104.
Velma claimed that Ike Turner is the father of her daughter Linda Ike Turner Bullock, born in 1949.
105.
However, Ike Turner asserted in his book that he is not the biological father.
106.
Ike Turner then married Rosa Lee Sane in West Memphis, Arkansas.
107.
Ike Turner tried to get Rosa out, but he never saw her again.
108.
Ike Turner married Marion Louis Lee in Clarksdale on September 24,1952.
109.
Alice was dating his vocalist Johnny O'Neal, but Turner liked her so he married her to avoid locking heads with O'Neal.
110.
Ike Turner was a pianist in his band, and they married in the mid-1950s.
111.
Ike Turner's parents owned the Taylor Sausage Factory in St Louis.
112.
Ike Turner came from an abusive relationship and went straight to the top.
113.
In 1957, Ike Turner met Anna Bullock at the Manhattan Club in East St Louis.
114.
Ike Turner used a detective agency to locate Bell in Chicago and they divorced in 1974.
115.
On multiple occasions, Ike Turner said that he was never officially married to Tina.
116.
Ike Turner revealed on The Howard Stern Show in 1993 and on Fresh Air in 1996, that Tina's birth name is Martha Nell Bullock.
117.
Tina retained songwriter royalties from songs she had written, but Ike Turner got the publishing royalties for his compositions and hers.
118.
Ike Turner kept her two Jaguar cars, furs and jewelry along with her stage name.
119.
In 2007, Ike Turner told Jet that he had written Tina an apology letter, but had never sent it.
120.
Ike Turner asked for one more tour with me, and I said, 'No, absolutely not.
121.
Ike Turner married Margaret Ann Thomas in Las Vegas on April 11,1981; they divorced in 1990.
122.
Ike Turner met San Francisco native singer Audrey Madison through a mutual friend in 1993.
123.
Ike Turner started as an Ikette before becoming his lead singer.
124.
Ike Turner filed for divorce two months later on December 22, but after the divorce was granted they reconciled in 2007.
125.
Also, I wanted the general public to have a better outlook and perspective on where Ike Turner was mentally and emotionally, because so often, as a nation, we turn on people who have mental health issues and define them by their behaviors rather than their condition.
126.
Ike Turner had a son Ronald "Ronnie" Turner with Tina Turner.
127.
In 1988, Ike Turner discovered he had a daughter named Twanna Melby.
128.
Ike Turner won a Grammy Award for his involvement with Turner's 2006 album Risin' with the Blues.
129.
Ike Turner toured with former Ikette Randi Love as Sweet Randi Love and The Love Thang Band.
130.
Ronnie Ike Turner was in a band called Manufactured Funk with songwriter and musician Patrick Moten.
131.
Ike Turner played bass guitar in his mother's band after his parents divorced and he later played in his father's band.
132.
Ike Turner was successful with my mom and after my mom.
133.
In 1959, Ike Turner was charged with what he described as "interstate transportation of forged checks and conspiracy" and was forced to stand trial in St Louis.
134.
In 1974, Ike Turner was arrested for using illegal blue boxes at Bolic Sound studio to make long-distance phone calls.
135.
Ike Turner was first introduced to cocaine by "two very famous people" he had been working with at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.
136.
Ike Turner took the cocaine home and tried it one night while writing songs at the piano.
137.
Ike Turner's addiction caused a hole through his nasal septum, the pain of which he relieved by using more cocaine.
138.
Ike Turner had tried to sell his studio Bolic Sound in 1980 to raise funds to avoid foreclosure, but the studio burned down on the day a potential buyer was scheduled to view it in January 1981.
139.
Ike Turner managed to break his dependency on cocaine while in prison and remained clean for more than ten years.
140.
Ike Turner visited high schools during Black History Month to speak against drug use.
141.
In 2005, Ike Turner revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema, which required him to use an oxygen tank.
142.
Ike Turner was raised a Baptist and reportedly converted to Judaism in 1994, but never spoke about it.
143.
Ike Turner was found dead by his former wife Ann Thomas.
144.
Ike Turner's funeral was held on December 21,2007, at the City of Refuge Church in Gardena, California.
145.
On January 16,2008, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office reported that Ike Turner had died from a cocaine overdose.
146.
Ike Turner's daughter Mia was said to be surprised at the coroner's assessment, believing his advanced stage emphysema was a larger factor.
147.
Less than a week after his death, his former wife Audrey Madison Ike Turner filed a petition stating that he had penned a handwritten will naming her as a beneficiary.
148.
In 2009, a judge ruled that the handwritten will was invalid and that Ike Turner's children were legally the direct heirs of his estate.
149.
Ike Turner has received various awards in recognition for his significant role as a pioneer of rock and roll.