Ike & Tina Turner - The Soul of Ike & Tina (Great Collection)

Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo played among its repertoire, rock & roll, soul, blues and funk. They are known for their wild and entertaining dance shows and especially for their scintillating cover of "Proud Mary", for which they won a Grammy Award. The duo were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Ike Turner's first taste of musical stardom occurred in 1951 when his band, The Kings of Rhythm, recorded the blues single, "Rocket 88", later debated as the first rock and roll record ever issued. However, due to music industry regulations, the song was credited to Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats. Brenston later left for his own solo career, while Ike and his band concentrated on performing at local haunts in St. Louis.

In 1956, a sixteen-year-old named Anna Mae Bullock had moved from her hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee to live with her mother and sister in St. Louis. Within a year, Anna Mae frequented nightclubs with her sister. It was at one of these nightclubs that she first spotted Turner performing with the Kings of Rhythm. After seeing members of the audience getting chances to sing, she determinedly tried to secure her spot, finally succeeding by grabbing the microphone from a begrudging rival and launching into a version of B.B. King's "I Know You Love Me Baby". Her now-trademark raspy-throated vocals impressed Ike so much (he was known to have said to her, "Girl, I didn't know you can sing!" afterwards) that he allowed the girl known by friends as "Little Ann" in his band as a background singer. However, that changed after a male singer failed to show up for a recording session and Anna Mae, then eight months pregnant with her second child (her only child with Ike), recorded what became "A Fool in Love".

Originally Ike's intent was to erase her but after hearing her vocals he not only relented but also changed her stage name to Tina and appended his own surname to both, even though Ike was then still married to another woman. He also changed his group's name from The Kings of Rhythm to The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. The original group was extended to include three new background singers later known as "The Ikettes". Throughout their recording career, the ensemble was known simply as Ike and Tina Turner with Tina fronting the band through Ike's leadership.

Released in the winter of 1960, Ike & Tina's first single, "A Fool in Love", became an instant hit reaching number two on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart and number twenty-seven on the American pop singles chart, firmly launching the duo into the national spotlight with Tina being the major attraction to their live shows. That was followed a year later by "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (written by Rose Marie McCoy), which included Mickey from one-hit wonders duo Mickey & Sylvia as "Ikey" in the background. That song gave them their first Grammy nomination and peaked at number fourteen on the pop singles chart. A third hit, 1962's "Poor Fool", was a sequel to "A Fool in Love", which peaked at number thirty-eight.

However, their chart success was limited compared to their live shows that included a series of grueling one-nighters and the occasional big shows. Ike & Tina's touring popularity helped them land national teen shows including Shindig!, Hollywood A Go-Go and American Bandstand. With Ike leading the band and Tina and the Ikettes dancing up a storm with Tina showcasing a shouting soulful voice, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue were a national attraction by the mid-1960s even with limited top forty pop success.

In 1966, Phil Spector signed Ike & Tina to his Phillies label and recorded the landmark single, "River Deep - Mountain High", with Ike accepting $25,000 from Spector not to participate in the recording and to be allowed to record Tina alone. While the record failed to grant success on the American pop charts peaking at a dismal eighty-eight (commonly blamed on the over-hyping of the single by radio djs before its release), the song later became an international hit reaching number three on the UK pop chart. the Revue opened for the Stones on their 1966 and 1969 US tours gaining international acclaim.

By 1969, that acclaim was finally getting them more chart action with the release of the blues-heavy "Outta Season" and The Hunter. From the album "The Hunter" Tina received another Grammy Nomination for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for the song "Bold Soul Sister". That same year, the group opened for the Stones on their Altamont festival (one song from their performance appears in the 1970 documentary of the concert, Gimme Shelter). That year, they scored a hit with their version of Sly & the Family Stone's "I Want To Take You Higher." Also in 1970, they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and performed an early version of what would be their biggest hit to date - a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Proud Mary" and "Bold Soul Sister".

Released in the spring of 1971, "Proud Mary" gave the duo their biggest chart success, reaching number four on the American pop singles chart and winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1972. In 1971, they performed in Africa for a documentary film titled Soul II Soul; and were more briefly seen performing in the Milos Forman film Taking Off. The duo scored their final Top 30 chart hit with the Tina-penned semi-autobiographical "Nutbush City Limits" in 1973.

01. Goodbye So Long 2:10
02. If I Can't Be First 2:11
03. Chicken Shack 1:56
04. I Don't Need 2:16
05. I Wish My Dreams Would Come True 1:45
06. Hard Times 2:18
07. Flee Flee Flee 2:27
08. It's Crazy Baby 2:58
09. Gonna Have Fun 2:07
10. Am I a Fool in Love 2:57
11. Something Came Over Me 2:44
12. Hurt Is All You Gave Me 2:30
13. Don't You Blame It on Me 1:47
+ 16 Bonus Track

Post by ChrisGoesRock