Tina Turner Read online

  On the Wildest Dreams tour, she was still expelling an incredible amount of onstage energy. “I don’t believe that I can go and stand and sing for the people,” she claimed. “I can’t stand the idea of just standing there like Barbra Streisand or Ella Fitzgerald or Diana Ross. I have never been that kind of performer. I have been in rock & roll all my life. You can’t be a rock & roll old woman. You can be a rock & roll old man” (5). Her fans begged to differ. If she looked as sexy as she did, she simply could do no wrong!

  What amazed many of her fans the most was her ability to dance and whirl like a dervish—in high-heeled shoes! Explaining her ability to do such strenuous choreography in pumps, Tina claimed, “Well, you know, it’s because you’re on your toes. I’m never standing on my feet with all the weight on both of them. I’m always either on the right leg or the left. And it’s basically with the weight on the ball of the foot. The only time it’s full on is when I’m doing a heavy dance step, because you need to balance. But it’s not about the high heel at all—it’s the lift for me. It keeps me up where I can have the spring, the ability to move fast, to leap” (7).

  How did she continue to be so utterly youthful? She, however, doesn’t always believe that she does look entirely youthful. “Sometimes I feel like I’m Mother Teresa,” she laughs with regard to her age. “Fortunately, I did not have an easy life. I’ve experienced a lot, and I can share it in terms that might help people. Let’s just say, I’ve offered good advice; I’ve been fortunate to give that. But it’s all the time. I think people put a bit too much on me sometimes. People want to know, of course, how I got through my life. They ask about relationships with men, but it’s mostly to do with changes in life. A lot of people can’t deal with the changes” (7).

  At the age of fifty-eight, she still had the same lean body that she had when she was in her twenties. Can she eat anything that she wants? “Yes, anything I want!” she confirms. “I’m really fortunate I have that privilege to eat mostly everything I want, because I can say it’s how I am, it’s my stage work. But I never really get overweight” (16).

  When people try to get her to admit to liposuction and plastic surgery, she scoffs. “They don’t take into consideration that I’ve been singing and dancing—and that’s exercise,” she explains. “It’s got to do something. I have muscle. From control” (5).

  It is impossible not to notice that everything about Tina Turner exudes class and refinement. She saw what she wanted her own life to be like, and she simply went after her dreams—not stopping until she attained them. According to her, “I patterned myself from classy ladies. I take as much from them as I can, but I take it naturally, because I’m not going to be phony about it. I’m not going to walk around in Chanel suits or Gucci suits—that’s a little bit too much, because that’s not my nature. But watching my manners, caring about not being overdressed at the wrong time—it matters how I carry myself—that’s what I’m concerned about as far as being a lady. Nobody would ever think that Tina Turner is a lady. I am” (5).

  Speaking of class, the renovation of her house in the hills of Nice, France, was finally completed during this era. It was her retreat from the hectic world of show business—and what a luxurious retreat it had blossomed to become. Her manager, Roger Davies, first introduced Tina to the wondrous and beautiful south of France. She fell in love with the area and its lively but tranquil ambiance. For a while, she rented a “little pink house” near the same summit upon which she now lives.

  The whole city of Nice lies below. The western part of the crescent-shaped bay is known as Cap Ferrat—the most exclusive part of the city. “The Cap is Beverly Hills, and that’s what I fled,” explains Tina. “When we heard that this property was for sale, we were told that ‘angels live here,’ and we laughed about it. But in fact it’s a very spiritual place—between two mountains, surrounded by woods that are full of wildlife—and that’s essential to me. I was raised in the country, come from a Bible-reading family and grew up on church music. My mother’s Indian side has given me a different kind of religious heritage. Up here the wind and clouds breeze through the house, and the sky makes mesmerizing pictures. I can watch them for hours” (41).

  According to Tina, her home’s interior has to be harmonious with her fantastic new life. “A great interior has to coalesce. When I see something I love—a suite of furniture, a piece of art—I never measure, I never hesitate, I just buy it. Eventually I’ll find a place for it. I have strong tastes—and big storerooms. I’ve always wanted and needed to transform my surroundings, because decorating is my first response to loss and upheaval; settle, collect—create a private universe. I was a little girl when my parents separated, and I moved in with relatives, claiming a back room in their house. I brought a bedspread from home and a few treasures. Even thought it was freezing in the winter and broiling in the summer—and no bigger than a closet—I made it a place of my own. And that’s what I’ve always done on tour—rearrange the hotel furniture, sheet the ugly paintings. But getting things perfect in a house this scale was taking me too long. Eventually I saw that I needed professional help—the right kind for me” (41).

  The way in which she found the interior designers she employed came about in a roundabout way. She vacationed in Aspen, Colorado, and she was the guest of Jim and Betsy Fifield. Tina immediately loved the baroque manor that her friends lived in, and she inquired of her hosts as to who had decorated their home. Through the Fifield’s, Tina was put in touch with their interior designers, Stephen Stills and James Huniford.

  They jumped at the opportunity to work with Turner. Huniford recalls, “Having always loved her music, immediately adored her” (41).

  The three of them hit it off together, and agreed to try some interesting combinations of design influences. According to Tina, “I let them try things. They never push. I’ll say to them ‘Yes, let’s do it; [or] no thanks—I’ve been there.’ We work from feelings. It’s like mixing a CD” (41).

  Recalling their working relationship with Turner, Stills explains, “Designing involves culture, intuition, artisanship, and an ideal of transparency, which I can best compare to the art of literary translation. Your sensibility functions like a prism. In working with Tina, who’s a natural-born decorator, it was really a matter of helping her to find her own voice—to express her own style—rather than to impose ours. We toured museums together, went shopping on the Quai Voltaire in Paris, exchanged books and ideas—which Tina accepted or rejected, as it suited her—and we helped to edit her collections. But she was the mastermind of this house. It’s her own invention” (41).

  Tina fell in love with an outrageously expensive bedroom suite that had once belonged to Emperor Louis Philippe, including fauteuils and canopés—twenty-two fabulous gold finished pieces. There was, however, one piece missing from the suite: the king’s bed. It is currently owned by and displayed at the Louvre in Paris. According to her, “I wasn’t intimidated by the fact that it was palace furniture. It’s beautiful, it’s comfortable, and it set the tone for the whole house” (41). She might have been queen in a former life, but now she is literally living like one! You go, Miss Tina!

  The pièce de résistance, of course, is the Louis-Philippe bedroom suite, circa 1830. According to designer Sills, “I thought it was too grand and very expensive. But Tina just pointed at it and said, ‘Sorry, boys, that’s it!’ She said, ‘I don’t care what it is or who it’s by, I’m just having it!’ ” (39).

  Says Tina of the sumptuous court furniture that she now owns, “When I leave the planet, I plan to donate it to the Louvre so it can go back to its bed!” (12).

  She is very happy and comfortable in her house on the hill overlooking the port city of Nice down below. According to her, she rarely leaves the grounds “except maybe to walk down the hill to a local restaurant” (41).

  Off of the master bedroom is a terrace decorated in a decidedly ancient Egyptian motif, with hanging silk ropes, and a bronze bed. “This is my refuge,”
claims Tina, “my favorite spot in the house. I call it Cleopatra’s barge” (41).

  According to her, she doesn’t play a lot of rock music when she is at home with Erwin. “I love quiet. If I want to have music, I make it—but who wants music when they can hear this?” she says (39).

  The house in Nice was so grand that Tina felt overwhelmed when it came time to decorate it properly. According to her, “A lot of times, what interior decorators do looks pretty when you walk in, but there’s nothing there that’s personal. And I don’t want it too polished” (39). The house is very classic in design and decor, yet very rock & roll at the same time. She had her builder reproduce a pond from a painting that is hung in her bedroom. The painting depicts the ruin of a Roman temple. In another room, which is the video screening room, the walls are lined with Gold and Platinum records, plus her Grammy, American Music Awards, and MTV Awards are also on display. The room has a karaoke machine, so that guests can sing for the diva at her parties. And she has a huge television set that swivels 360 degrees, so it can be viewed from the kitchen, the drawing room, or the terrace.

  In the garage at the Nice house of Ms. Turner is a navy blue Mercedes Benz sports car from the 1960s, totally refurbished, with soft beige upholstery. It was a tenth anniversary present from Erwin.

  Says Tina, “We were at a friend’s house, and it was parked outside when we came out. I was looking at it, thinking, ‘This is a snazzy number,’ and Erwin just said, ‘By the way, it’s yours!’ ” (39).

  Tina claims that her house in Nice thrills her. “When I look around, I need to like every single thing I see—and where it is” (39).

  According to Huniford, “Tina loves to decorate. She has the most incredible eye for detail. At the end [of the design assignment], we joked with her that she could come work for us if she ever retired” (39).

  Not only was her new house making her happy, so was her life with Erwin. “When I had no money and was experiencing freedom for the first time, I made a few mistakes with men,” she admits. “I didn’t mind making those mistakes, because I was searching and playing, but the ones that were bad were awful. I ran into a few of them! But it never would have been about involvement. I have common sense. I have a lot of it!” (39).

  Then came Erwin. “I finally got involved with a man who cared about me,” says Tina. “I had a problem even getting a relationship out of him, because he didn’t want a high profile [life]. . . . I like the way Erwin handled it. We lock in somewhere. I receive comfort from him. Erwin’s not here for the money. He’s beginning to accept this lifestyle now, but he wasn’t even interested in that for a long time” (39).

  Even when Tina is on one of her global concert tours, they find time to get together. “When I am working he comes to me, because I can’t come to him. But no, my relationship with Erwin has nothing to do with my work, in the sense of where I go and what I do,” she explains (16).

  Since Erwin is also in the music business, would she ever consider making him her manager? “No, no, no!” replies Tina. “That was understood in the beginning; I didn’t want a boyfriend or a husband as a manager. No, I wouldn’t do that again. That would have been bad news. That would have been a very bad mistake” (16).

  In interviews, Tina was consistently asked if she ever thought of retirement. According to her in 1997, “I think of it often. I did actually make an attempt. It wasn’t actually retiring. I wanted to get more into movies and travel less. Continue to record, very little road traveling and acting, and I was still—I will never stop recording. Acting is still—if something comes that I can” (16).

  Still, that big “rush” of energy she gets from performing live is very addicting. “Yes, it’s at the moment when I walk on stage,” she explains, “there’s such a feeling of faces looking back at me with love and admiration. And it turns into a togetherness. It really is about a desire from the people. And the last tour I actually announced to my audience that I would be back. It was only because of that feeling, because that’s the kind of audience I have” (16).

  She was able to utilize the rush that she got from performing when she was on stage. And the calmness and sense of serenity and purpose that she got from Buddhist chanting helped. “It’s not about spirituality in God. Chanting is about contacting the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind helps us out in life, and when you find the right words to connect with that, it’s stronger than anything you can get from man. One must do it for oneself. That is my philosophy of Buddhism,” she explains (39).

  In 1998, Tina was heard on a popular duet with European singing star Eros Ramazzotti, called “Cose Della Vita.” She was also busy recording her next album, which was due for release the following year.

  Ensconced in her fairy tale dream house in the south of France, she had again succeeded in making more of her wildest dreams come true, but she wasn’t finished yet. After more than forty years as a recording and singing star, for Tina Turner, more of the best was still yet to come.

  18

  TWENTY FOUR SEVEN AND THE FINAL TOUR

  According to the dictionary, a “diva” is a “goddess,” a “prima donna,” and a “divine” creature. In the opera world, the word has long been used to describe the most demanding, exciting, temperamental, and talented of female singing stars. In a rock & roll realm, few are more goddess-like and worshiped than Tina Turner.

  Taking that into consideration, it was most fitting indeed when VH1 invited Turner to star on its second annual Divas Live TV special, on April 13, 1999. In fact, it was Tina who was asked to open the whole show. The popular music divas who were invited to share the stage with Turner were Cher, Faith Hill, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, and Chaka Khan. As the young divas-in-the-making, Brandy and Leann Rimes rounded out the list. And, as a special tribute to his own unique divaness, Elton John was the honorary male diva of the evening.

  Elton was very well involved professionally with several of the ladies on the show. Elton had known Cher since the mid-1970s when he was a guest on the TV special that kicked off the Sonny-less weekly Cher show on CBS-TV On March 23, 1999, Polygram Records had just released his latest musical venture, the concept album Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. The album was based on the famed opera Aida, and on it Tina Turner had recorded the song “Easy as Life.” In addition, Leann Rimes recorded a duet with Elton on the album, called “Written on the Stars.”

  Tina and Elton were further associated because they were in the middle of making plans for a new joint venture. They were supposed to go on tour together later that year. It seemed like a good idea to have them usher in their working together with an appearance together on this Diva show.

  The afternoon of the live telecast, all of the performers had access to New York City’s majestic Beacon Theater for musical and staging rehearsals. While rehearsing together, Elton and Tina had a huge argument about something that they differed upon. Elton reportedly stormed off to his dressing room trailer. Tina followed him out, and the two of them had a heated conversation together while the bewildered musicians remained on stage.

  When Elton and Tina returned to the stage, Elton apologized to Tina in front of the other musicians. Tina forgave him, and the rehearsal went on as scheduled. That night Elton and Tina performed together, but their projected concert tour together was officially “off.” The question still remains who was guilty of the most “diva-like” behavior: Elton or Tina? No one was talking.

  The Divas Live ’99 show was a tour de force TV event. It opened with Tina stepping out of a limousine that had pulled up to the front of the Beacon Theater on Broadway. She stepped out, strutted through the lobby, down the stage right aisle, and through the seated audience on her way up to the stage. Along the way she was singing one of her signature songs, “The Best.” As she strode onto the stage, Elton was there playing a grand piano with the house band. It was a brilliant way to open the show, and it left no question in everyone’s mind who was the “divaest” of them all that night—it was the lov
ely Miss Tina.

  As a duet, Elton and Tina sang his hit song “The Bitch Is Back.” It was rather an amusing choice of songs, in light of the argument they had gotten into that afternoon. After the song, Tina laughed to the star-studded audience, “Wow, divas and bitches, my goodness!” For their next number together, Tina and Elton launched into a song that was about—says Tina—”the oldest diva of all, Proud Mary.” Midsong they were to be joined on stage by another stratospheric diva, Cher. It was a wonderful moment in the show to see Tina singing her hit song with her long-time buddies, Cher and Elton.

  After Tina and Elton left the stage, Cher launched into her own solo song, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” The show progressed along with the other stars—including duets between Faith Hill and Brandy, and Elton with Leann Rimes. Whitney Houston dominated the last segment of the show. At the grand finale it was anticipated that the whole cast would be present for an all-star version of “I’m Every Woman.” However, Tina and Cher were conspicuously missing from the finale.

  Were Tina and Cher distancing themselves from Whitney’s well-publicized drug scandals? Did the argument between Tina and Elton make it uncomfortable for Turner to be there any longer? No one in diva-land was talking, but everyone was speculating. What’s a show of dueling divas without some backstage bitching and intrigue anyway?

  In any case, it was a triumphant evening for Tina and all of the divas who followed her to the stage. It also yielded a hit album and video/DVD package, capturing Tina’s live performance of those three star-studded songs.

  For Tina, 1999 was a year filled with major events concerning her past, her present, and her future. One of the saddest things to occur was the death of her mother in October of that year. For years there were many unresolved issues between Tina and Zelma Bullock.

  “She ended up living in a very nice house, being very respected and recognized as ‘Tina Turner’s mother.’ I think her last days were her best,” says Tina. However, she was to lament of their strained relationship, “My mother never really knew me—and my success she always attributed to Ike. She never thought it was me, so there was always a gap between us” (42).