Ike Turner

Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner began playing piano in childhood and formed the Kings of Rhythm as a teenager. His first recording, "Rocket 88", credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, is widely regarded as a contender for the first rock and roll song. During the 1950s, Turner taught himself to play guitar and worked as a talent scout and producer for Sun Records and Modern Records, playing a key role in the early careers of several blues musicians, including B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Bobby Bland. In 1954, he relocated to East St. Louis, where the Kings of Rhythm became one of the leading acts in the Greater St. Louis area. In 1960, Turner formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which went on to achieve major success as a soul and rock crossover act during the decade.

Turner's cocaine addiction, along with allegations of domestic violence described by Tina Turner in her 1986 autobiography I, Tina and the 1993 film adaptation What's Love Got to Do with It, adversely affected his career. Addicted to cocaine for at least 15 years, Turner was convicted of drug offenses and served 18 months in prison. After his release in 1991, he relapsed in 2004 and died of a drug overdose in 2007. In the final decade of his life, Turner experienced a career resurgence as a frontman, returning to his blues roots with the release of the award-winning albums Here and Now (2001) and Risin' with the Blues (2006).