Wonder Woman of the Week: Tina Turner

Few musicians in the history of rock and roll are as iconic as this week's Wonder Woman- Tina Turner. The Tennessee-born singer would go on to become one of the most famous rock and roll musicians of all time, but as AC/DC once sang, "It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll." Turner overcame spousal abuse, career obstacles, and a complicated childhood to become an immortal star of music. Turner was born in Tennessee as Anna Bullock in 1939 on a sharecropping farm where her father worked as an overseer. When her parents left the farm to work in Knoxville during WWII, her parents left Anna with a super-religious grandparents. There, Anna began singing in a local church choir and her career in music began.

When Anna Bullock was eleven, her mother fled an abusive marriage- leaving the children spread across three households of the family behind. Tina's father remarried and moved to Detroit- leaving Anna and her siblings behind in Tennessee. When Anna was sixteen, her grandmother and primary caregiver died- forcing the young woman to move to St. Louis to move in with her estranged mother in order to finish high school. While working as a nurse's aid in St. Louis, Bullock started visiting nightclubs by night with her sister and met the musician Ike Turner.

In 1957, Anna Bullock began performing with Ike Turner's band- the Kings of Rhythm. St. Louis radio stations began playing recordings of Bullock with the band, and local audiences went crazy for it. Ike Turner eventually gave Anna the nickname Tina and later added his surname Turner after becoming paranoid Bullock might eventually leave the band. After trademarking the name Tina Turner, Ike Turner began a dangerous pursuit of financial abuse towards his bandmate.

From 1960-1976, Tina Turner toured with Ike Turner as a duo act and recorded several hit singles and albums. Bullock's fame soared and she quickly became a major name in rock and roll music- but her relationship with Ike Turner became increasingly dangerous. After the two married as a means of Ike Turner continuing to attempt to control his bandmate, Ike became addicted to drugs and began violently abusing his wife. After a year in courts, Tina Turner finally got a divorce in 1978- but had to assume debts from cancelled tours and incurred taxes owed to the IRS.

Tina Turner launched her solo career immediately following her divorce- starting with small cabaret shows and growing into full-scale performances in the 1980's. Over the next two decades, Bullock performed in major music concerts across the world- with major shows in North and South America as well as Europe. In 2000, Bullock announced retirement- ending a lifelong career in music that would immortalize her name in the history books of rock and roll.