Late superstar Tina Turner is remembered as one of the greatest female musical icons of all time, renowned for hit songs including The Best (1988) and What’s Love Got To Do With It? (1993).
Her glittering solo career took off years after her divorce from first husband, Ike Turner, with whom she initially rose to fame in the 1960s. Sadly, Tina passed away at the age of 83 on May 24, 2023, after battling multiple health issues.
She underwent treatment for bowel cancer in 2016 and received a kidney transplant a year later. Despite her passing, her music continues to resonate, but some fans are only just discovering that Tina Turner was not her real name.
Indeed, there’s a dark truth behind the Tina Turner name that many are only now uncovering. One individual took to Reddit to confess their surprise about her real name. “Today I learned Tina Turner’s real name was Anna Mae Bullock,” they wrote.
They added: “Ike Turner not only invented the name ‘Tina Turner’ as her stage name, but he had it trademarked, so that in case she left, another singer could perform under the same name.”
Performing alongside her younger sister in St. Louis nightclubs in Illinois, Tina – or Anna Mae as she was then known – first caught Ike’s eye. Initially rejecting her requests to perform together, Ike eventually relented, allowing Anna Mae to record a demo with him.
Impressed by her captivating sound, Sue Records chief Juggy Murray didn’t hesitate to offer her a contract there and then, presenting her with a $25,000 down payment. As a result of her “screaming dirt” sound, meanwhile, biographer Bob Gulla revealed Ike wanted to call her Tina – as it rhymed with Sheena – inspired by characters, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and Nyoka the Jungle Girl.
And in his 1999 tell-all autobiography ‘Takin’ Back My Name’, Ike confessed he had cunningly trademarked the name ‘Tina Turner’ foreseeing a possible split after their marriage in 1962, allowing him to perform with any other woman in the future – still under the legendary ‘Ike and Tina Turner’ banner.
The iconic duo parted ways in 1976 and finalised their divorce in 1978, with Ike initially retaining the rights to Tina’s stage name. It was only after an intense legal battle that Tina secured the legal rights to her name.
Fans on Reddit were quick to react to learning of the Turners’ tale. “Okay, but if you’ve ever seen a video of Tuna Turner back in her days with Ike, it’s totally obvious that she could never be replaced,” one person exclaimed. “The audience would probably drag him off the stage and lynch him if they paid to see Tina Turner and got some ordinary mortal instead.”
Another quipped:”So if Paul Rudd really wanted to, he could be Tina Turner?” A third chimed in: “Well, she won the trademark in the divorce, so she got the last laugh.”
However, a fourth Reddit user offered some grudging respect for Ike Turner’s contributions to music, writing: “Ike Turner was one of the people recording at Sun Records who basically invented Rock and Roll. He never really got the credit that the white artists like Elvis and Jerry lee Lewis got. This doesn’t detract from the fact that he was a worthless a*****e, but it bears noting.”