Enduring Facts About Tina Turner, The Queen Of Rock & Roll
The hair. The strut. The voice. It could only be one woman: Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock & Roll. Here is the enduring story of this tough-as-nails legend.
1. She Had A Poor Family
Tina Turner's life is even more tragic, and incredible, than people know. For one, that's not her name: She was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, and grew up in Nutbush, Tennessee.
Her parents were sharecroppers and she remembers picking cotton as a child. But when WWII started, everything changed.
2. She Had An Unstable Childhood
Tina’s parents took jobs at a defense factory in Knoxville, Tennessee. However, they decided to leave three things behind, Tina and her two sisters! The parents separated the three kids and sent Tina to live with her strict religious grandparents.
She wouldn’t see or play with her sisters for years.
It was only after the conflict in Europe was over that the children were once again allowed to live with their parents…but her most painful childhood trauma was yet to come.
3. Her Mother Abandoned Her
When she was just 11, Tina Turner was scarred for life by a horrific incident. It was that year that her mother abandoned the family and left with no warning. Apparently escaping an abusive relationship with Tina’s father, her mother fled to St Louis and left her children behind with no goodbyes. The incident left her feeling unwanted and unloved, and it would have a jarring effect on Tina as she grew up.
4. Her Father Kicked Her Out
The turmoil of Tina’s young life continued well into her teens. Two years after her mother left the family, her father remarried—but the kids weren’t part of the deal.
Tina’s father and new wife moved to Detroit and once again, the children were left behind. Tina and her sisters were sent away to live with their other grandmother in Brownsville, Tennessee. But here, Tina came into her own.
