Love Got To Do, When I'm Rippin All Through Your Whole Crew?

Where to start with this particular blog? Of course we all know the classic lyric from Biggie's Machine Gun Funk. Beatin Mutha F*ckers like....We all know the stadium rock behemoth that is Tina Turner of the 1980s onwards, and we know the fact that former husband Ike Turner has gone down in notoriety as a short-hand for spousal abuse, thanks in massive part to the 1993 Tina biopic What's Love Got to Do With It? Now of course this reputation is well-deserved, and far be it from me to denigrate or belittle in any way the very real horrors of domestic abuse - it is simply wrong and while it can rightly be the focus of satire or irony, the man was a massive wife-beater and that is simply not cool, period. In his autobiography he even tries to address and excuse the issue by saying that yes he slapped her down on many occasions, but that this is very different from beating. Of course it is Ike, whatever you say! However, I have always felt it to be an injustice that this reputation has overshadowed the musical legacy of Turner, who was a verified legend of music.

Now that the man has sadly passed on, dying as you will have seen at the age of 76 last week, perhaps his musical legacy will once again be appraised for what it was (although many obituaries have obviously still peddled the familiar tale of abuse, both of drugs and his wife, while flashing past the musical history). Here was a man who created "Rocket 88" in 1951, on the legendary Sun Records (future home of Elvis of course)) argued by many to be the first Rock'n'Roll single and thus a piece of music whose influence and stature it is very hard to top. Even with this record, however, which Ike Turner wrote and led with his Kings of Rhythm band, the role of Turner was overshadowed for years by the record being credited to his vocalist Jackie Brenston and released with the band name the Delta Cats.

If you don't know Rocket 88 I urge you to discover it, a timeless piece with fuzzy, hard guitar and an undeniably funky groove to it. And then there is the soul work of the 60s and 70s, much of which alongside Anna Mae Bullock, soon to be Tina Turner, whom he met in 1956. I have long been a fan of their output, and on songs such as "River Deep, Mountain High", "Proud Mary" and "Nutbush City Limits" they achieved perfect rock and soul gems. For a glimpse of the pair at their best it is worth getting hold of the DVD of the documentary Soul To Soul, a concert video from1971 featuring an amazing concert by contemporary American artists in Accra, Ghana. In fact this film is worthy of its own post.

The fact is, though, that Ike Turner was a certified great, and I hope that in his passing, his musical legacy is properly remembered and celebrated. I passed up the chance to see him live a couple of months ago, planning to attend some live gigs scheduled for London in January. These are unfortunately now never to be, but despite his many flaws I hope the man now rests in peace. I just hope the angels or devils wherever he has ended up don't get on the wrong side of him!