Tina Turner Page 13

  When Tina was done filming her part in Tommy, she got an offer to return to London—again without Ike. According to Ann-Margret, “I’ve always admired the talent of Tina Turner, an immensely gifted, intelligent, and proud woman. I’d seen her in clubs several times, but during Tommy we got to know each other well. After the film ended, Roger arranged for us to stay in London and shoot my next TV special there. Tina flew back home to California. A few days later, we called and asked her to come back and guest on the show. She returned immediately, with only the clothes on her back. Then’s when I learned how little money she had, and the extent of the tough time she had gone through before leaving Ike Turner” (24).

  On the special, entitled Ann-Margret Olson, which aired in 1975, the two women had a great time singing and dancing together. Tina was able to confide in Ann-Margret and tell her about the hell she had been living through the past fifteen years with Ike. Ann-Margret let Tina know that she would be there for her if she ever left Ike.

  Regarding the special, Ann-Margret fondly recalled, “I performed a medley—‘Nutbush City Limits,’ ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women’—with my friend, the dynamic Tina Turner” (24).

  After returning to Los Angeles, the Ike Turner nightmare continued for Tina. One night in the studio with him, he claimed she wasn’t singing the song the way he wanted to hear it—so he threw an entire pot of boiling hot coffee in her face. The majority of it hit her in the neck. The first second that the scalding liquid hit her, it felt like the sensation of cold. Then, seconds later, Tina was aware that she had been severely burned. It was so hot that a layer of skin peeled off of her. She started screaming with pain. To make her stop screaming, Ike began beating her. It turned out that she had third degree-burns.

  According to Tina, he would beat her up, then force her to have sex with him, and then he would go back to playing his music—like nothing had happened. Says Tina of Ike’s frame of mind during these outrages, “It was like, ‘Goddamn it, SHE made me do this!’ ” (4).

  Meanwhile, the film Tommy was being edited for its gala release. The plot of the film—like the rock opera it came from—is the story of a little boy who witnesses the murder of his military pilot father at the hands of the his mother’s lover (Oliver Reed). His mother, Nora (Ann-Margret), drums into Tommy’s head that he never saw anything, never heard anything, and wasn’t to speak of anything, Traumatized by the event, he becomes blind, deaf, and dumb. After a series of bizarre experiences at the hands of his perverse relatives, Tommy grows up to become a young adult (Roger Daltry). Trying to shock the sensations of sight and sound back into Tommy’s life, his stepfather takes him to see the exotic and erotic Acid Queen. That’s where Tina makes her entrance, in a scene-stealing sequence where she attempts to make Tommy respond to her hypnotic drug therapy. As the story progresses, Tommy develops an incredible ability to play pinball like a wizard. After Tommy becomes an idol of the young, he regains his sight and hearing, and is elevated to prophet status. The film has not one word of dialogue, as all of the characters sing their musical soliloquies. The result is one of the most colorful and over-the-top rock movie musicals ever made.

  To be part of the gala opening of the film when it was released in 1975, Tina was in New York City, along with Elton John, Ann-Margret, and several of the other stars. This was a very empowering experience, to be held in such high regard and to receive a tidal wave of credit and praise—apart from Ike.

  Time magazine raved, “There has never been a movie musical quite like Tommy. A weird, crazy, wonderfully excessive version of The Who’s rock opera!” (25) Claimed movie critic Leonard Maltin, “Energetic rendering of The Who’s best-selling rock opera with standout musical performances by Clapton, John (singing “Pinball Wizard”), and Turner!” (26).

  The all-star original soundtrack album of Tommy—complete with Tina’s searing “Acid Queen” number—scaled the American charts to land at No. 2. It was the highest charting album that Tina had appeared on—to date. It was certified “Gold” for over a half million copies sold in the United States alone.

  In order to fully capitalize on the public’s increased interest in Tina—without Ike—Liberty/United Artists Records wanted a rock & roll album by Tina alone—entitled Acid Queen. Since Ike negotiated the deal, he allowed outside producers Denny Diante and Spencer Proffer to produce half the album alone with Tina, but they had to co-produce the other half of the album with him involved, and with Ike writing the songs. The most fun Ike-written cut is an ode to the musician who used to play his music at the Nutbush picnics, “Mr. Bootsey Whitelaw.” The song is a musical warning about avoiding Bootsey’s sexual advances. But it was the first five Ike-less rock & roll cuts that really made this album special. On it Tina cut The Rolling Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and “Under My Thumb,” The Who’s “I Can See for Miles” and “Acid Queen,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

  A great album, Acid Queen only made it to No. 155 in Billboard in America. Only one single was released from it, “Baby Get It On,” which Ike wrote. The song peaked at No. 88, and was accredited as being an Ike & Tina Turner cut. What was truly important about this album was that it was her first rock & roll solo album, and it set the stage for greater success to come.

  Tina kept chanting more and more frequently during this period. Ike’s violent behavior gave her good reason to do that. Since the whole Tommy project was a huge success for her, the press was constantly interested in her—her alone—and not Ike. He would go into rages over this. And, while he was arguing about that, he would bring up “River Deep-Mountain High”—another deal he made without consulting Tina.

  In the past, whenever she started thinking about leaving Ike, she was conflicted. According to her, “There were tons of things involved. Where was I going to go? Was I going to leave my children in that mess?” (8). She couldn’t go back to her mother’s house because Zelma was living in Ike’s house in East St. Louis. Tina would never be safe there. Her sister, Alline, lived in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles and was just terrified of Ike Turner and his temper. Tina wouldn’t be safe there.

  But, finally, she had reached the end of her tether. The first time she ran away, she went to her cousin’s house. It only took Ike three days to locate her there. He forced her to go back home with him, and then proceeded to beat her up again. Then, just to demonstrate his anger toward her, Ike picked up a fireplace iron. Tina figured he was going to beat her with it, but she unflinchingly stared him in the eye. In the past he had broken her jaw and her ribs. What more could he do to hurt her? She was through being afraid of him. He ended up not hitting her with the iron poker after all. Instead, he bent it with his bare hands just to make his point.

  Tina ran away again, this time taking the children. She went to the house of a friend—Maria Booker. Ike never thought of looking for her at Maria’s house in Malibu. She stayed away for two weeks. She came back and told Ike that she was through playing this game and that she was leaving him. He didn’t beat her immediately. But the beatings did continue.

  When the Ike & Tina Turner hit recordings dried up during this era, so did the American tour dates. Ike kept recording an endless sea of material, but none of it would ever yield another hit. There were, however, tour dates to do in France, Germany, England, Australia, and the Far East. Little did Ike know that this was to be the final global Ike & Tina tour—ever.

  Since Ike insisted on being paid for their live performances in hard U.S. currency, on these foreign tours he would have quite a bit of money with him. He had taken to carrying it around in a briefcase because he trusted no one. When the tour got to Paris in December of 1975, the briefcase was somehow lost with over $86,000 in cash in it. Ike insisted that the entire entourage submit to lie detector tests to locate the culprit. However, Ike was left with no one else but himself to blame. It was surmised that Ike was so stoned he had simply set it down somewhere and walked away.

  In January 1976, The Ike
& Tina Turner Revue rolled into Indonesia. At a club in Jakarta, Ike got into a fight over a below-standard sound system. It ended up in a battle with the local police, and the band had to flee—abandoning $22,000 worth of their own equipment.

  Back in Los Angeles in March 1976, Rhonda Gramm had finally had enough of Ike, so she quit. Ike promptly had her house repossessed, as he was the deed-owner. Barely registering the changes that were going on around him, Ike Turner returned to Bolic Sound Studios and his habitual intake of cocaine. His physical fights with Tina continued into 1976. He was, however, oblivious to the fact that the party was about to come to a crashing end for him.

  Tina’s superstar friend Cher recalls, “I was doing the Cher show, and Ike & Tina came on, and Tina and I got along really, really well. I remember she came backstage and she was alone. And, I remember she was asking me how difficult it was for me to leave Sonny.” According to Tina, “[Cher] said that Sonny didn’t hurt her in the sense of violence, but other than that, we just sort of came right along the same kind of way” (19). Tina took note of how smoothly Cher had been able to leave Sonny Bono and have her career continue to flourish and grow without him. Like the old Sam Cooke song, “Change Is Gonna Come,” Tina was beginning to see a new era about to start for her.

  She was getting stronger by the day. She had come to the conclusion that she was even willing to walk away from show business if it meant getting Ike Turner out of her life for good. “Music life was not attractive. It was dirty. It was a chitlin’ circuit—eating on your lap. And that’s why I say, ‘I was always above it.’ Why, I don’t know, but I knew I didn’t want it. I’d rather go and clean a white person’s house, where it was nice, than sing in dirty old places and deal with Ike and his low life,” she claimed (5). Liberation day for Tina Turner was right around the corner.

  11

  THE LAST STRAW

  It was July 4, 1976, and it seemed like any other combative day in the life of Ike & Tina Turner. They were flying to Dallas to begin a regional concert tour. The first date on the tour was set for that night at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Dallas. On the flight from Los Angeles to Dallas, things very quickly got off on the wrong foot.

  Tina and Ike arrived at the airport with Ann Thomas, their current bandleader, Claude Williams, and a new white girl from Canada whom Ike was sleeping with. That day, Tina was wearing a white Yves Saint Laurent suit. At the airport, when Ike tried to give her some of the gooey, melting chocolate candy he was eating, she made a negative reply. With that he hit her.

  When they boarded the plane, it was the usual seating arrangement, with Ike in the middle seat, Tina on one side and Ann Thomas on the other side. He intended to lay across them on the flight in his usual grand style. Tina wasn’t in the mood for this demeaning arrangement today. With that he kicked her and gave her a dirty look.

  They arrived at the Dallas airport and got off of the plane. As they walked to their waiting limousine, Ike was giving Tina evil looks. She knew a fight was brewing, and today was the day she was prepared to fight back. According to her, “When someone is really trying to kill you, it hurts. But this time it didn’t hurt. I was angry too” (5).

  Recalls Ike, “Whatever she said to me, man, I was really out there. I slapped the shit out of her. She did it again. Bam. I slapped her again. And when I slapped her that time, she jumped up in the limo and put her knee in my chest. I said, ‘You motherfucker.’ I grabbed her by the windpipe to pull her off of me. And I punched her and punched her. When I hit her, there was blood coming from my eye or something” (17).

  This time Tina was through taking his abuses. In the back of the limo she remembers going at Ike for the first time in her life “Digging, or just hitting or kicking.” He just kept on beating her, and she kept on fighting back. “By the time we got to the hotel, I had a big swollen eye. My mouth was bleeding” (5).

  Ike Turner had hit her for the last time; she had made up her mind. “I knew I was gone,” she claims. “I was flying. I knew that that was it. By the time we got to the hotel, I’m not lying, my face was swollen out past my ear. Blood was every place” (6).

  The people who were at the front desk of the Hilton were stunned at the sight of a bleeding Ike and Tina. They looked like they had just walked away from the wreckage of a head-on car crash.

  “We walked upstairs,” says Tina, “and Ike knew. So he went and laid across the bed. And I was still saying, ‘Can I get you something?’ And I started massaging him, as usual, massaging his head. And he started snoring. And I leaned over and I said . . . ‘goodbye’ ” (6).

  She didn’t waste any time getting the blood off of herself or changing her clothes. The time for the great escape had come, and this was it. Her head was so swollen she couldn’t even put on her wig, so she just left it there. She put a hair wrap on her head. She threw on a cape, grabbed a small piece of hand luggage with some makeup and toiletries in it. With that, Tina headed for the door. “I knew I would never be given my freedom. I would have to take it,” she says with defiance (5).

  “I ran down the hall, and I was afraid I was going to run into his people—his band and his bodyguards. So I went through an exit and down the steps. I was so afraid . . . because everybody was aware that Ike and Tina were supposed to be on in half an hour. Then I turned and went through a kitchen, just running. I just dashed through and went through the back door, and I remember throwing myself up onto trash cans just to rest, just to feel I had gotten away. Then I composed myself and thought, ‘Now what?’ I started to run fast, just run” (5).

  The alleyway ran right into the freeway. Across the busy freeway was another hotel, the Ramada Inn. Tina hoped this would be her haven of refuge. She arrived at the front desk bleeding, swollen, and desperate. She asked to see the manager.

  If she had decided in advance that she was leaving Ike this very day, she might have prepared herself better. But she knew it was time to finally make her break for freedom. When she looked in her pockets, she discovered she had left Ike with next to nothing on her—only thirty-six cents and a Mobile gasoline credit card.

  She told the manager of the Ramada Inn who she was, and informed him that her husband had beaten her up and that she didn’t have any more than a quarter, a dime, and a penny on her. She asked him if he could give her a room to stay in, and she swore that she would pay him back. Seeing the seriousness of the matter and recognizing who she was, he gave her his best suite. He also put security guards on the door and offered to get her any food she wanted. Her face was so swollen and bruised that all she could eat was some soup and crackers.

  After the hotel manager left, she washed the blood off of her white pants suit and draped it over the room’s heater so it would dry. Still aching from the fight she had just had, she tried to figure out what to do. According to her, “I needed to call somebody with money. My family didn’t have the money for a ticket. That’s the whole thing always. I didn’t know anybody with money. They were all Ike’s people” (5).

  She called a man named Mel Johnson, who was a friend of Ike’s from St. Louis. Currently, Mel was a Cadillac dealer in Los Angeles. However, she sensed that calling Mel was a mistake. After she hung up the phone, she called Ike’s manager, Nat Tabor. He knew the situation between she and Ike, and he offered to help her. He had friends in that part of Texas, and he sent these people—an older white couple—to pick her up, take her to the airport, and give her some cash.

  The next day, everything went as planned, and as the plane was preparing to land in Los Angeles, Tina had a sudden sense of fear that Ike could have flown there ahead of her and would be waiting at the gate when she got off the flight. She made up her mind that she would simply start screaming her head off until the police came. There was no way she was ever going back to him again.

  She had done her best to disguise herself so that no one would recognize her. With her own hair still wrapped on her head, and huge dark glasses on, she hailed a cab. The first thing the cab driver said to her as
he turned around to inquire where she was going, was to ask her if she was Tina Turner. So much for her disguise.

  She spent the Fourth of July weekend at Nat Tabor’s house. She ended up spending a week there and finally realized that she would have to face her problems. There was absolutely no hope for a reconciliation with Ike. According to her, “What made me leave was the beating. I thought, ‘I’m not going to be dragged down in the dirt one more time” (2).

  Nat phoned Ike to see if he could amicably pave the way for the formal separation. Ike went into a tirade on the phone, threatening the lives of Nat and his family. Tina told Nat that she was going to leave, as she did not want to endanger him or his family any further. She decided to go back to Maria Booker’s in Malibu again. While she stayed there, she and Maria chanted together. However, they both realized that Tina couldn’t stay there for long because Ike would eventually come looking for her there.

  Maria made arrangements for Tina to move in with her sister, Anna Maria Shorter, who lived on Lookout Mountain. She was married to Wayne Shorter, a jazz musician with the group Weather Report. Anna Maria was a Buddhist chanter as well, and she and Tina chanted to strengthen Tina. Next, she moved in with a girl who was a college student, who chanted and worked as a masseuse. From there Tina moved back in with Anna Maria.

  Without a cent of her own, Tina paid her way at her friends’ houses by cooking and cleaning, and felt blessed to do so. However, she did much more than just clean. She would tackle tasks that no one likes to do for themselves, such as organizing closets and straightening up things for them. It was not just work; it was a way of working through her own frustrations.

  “I want to tell you something,” says Tina. “I enjoyed it. Because I was paving my way. What was I supposed to do, sit there and be a star? There were two things I could do. And I couldn’t sing there. But I learned to clean from the white woman in Tennessee. It was physical. I’d just see the closet transformed and it was wonderful. It was what I do in my own house. Except the house was missing” (8).