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The remarkable story of Tina Turner was the subject of a feature film and a musical on the London scene, but with her new memoir My love story, the goddess R & B tells her story in her own words. The book explores not only the heights of her celebrity, but also the depth of her desperation while Tina suffered physical and psychological abuse from her husband and musical partner, Ike. For the first time, she admits that she saw her own life as the only way to end her torment.
Both were unlikely lovers. They met at the end of the 1950s in the St. Louis club circuit, where Ike played with his band, Kings of Rhythm. He was 25 years old and Tina (then known by her birth name, Anna Mae Bullock) was only 17 years old.
"Ike was not traditionally handsome," she writes. "In fact, he was not handsome at all – and he certainly was not my type. I was used to high school boys who were neat, athletic, and dressed in denim, so Ike's treated hair, diamond ring and lean body seemed old to me, even though it was n & # 039; He was only 25 years old. I could not help thinking, "God, he's ugly."
Tina became a band member, and after a relationship with the saxophone – which gave birth to her first son, Craig – in 1958, her association with Ike took a romantic turn. Even when she became pregnant with her child, business was never far from her mind. After the band's first studio recording with Tina raised $ 25,000 for Ike, he felt an opportunity that had nothing to do with love. "My relationship with Ike was doomed to failure the day he realized I was going to be his livelihood," says Tina, now 78 years old. "He needed to control me, economically and psychologically, so that I could never leave him."
ASSOCIATED VIDEO: Craig, the eldest son of Tina Turner, dies of suicide at age 59
At about the same time, Ike gave his nickname to the future superstar – against his will. "Tina" was inspired by a character from her favorite TV show. He also insisted that she take her last name, involving both marriage and a certain degree of ownership. In fact, he even filed the trademark "Tina Turner".
"I said I did not want to change my name and was not sure I wanted to go on tour. First, he was verbally abusive. Then he picked up a wooden shoe stretcher. Ike knew what he was doing. If you play the guitar, you never use your fists in a fight. He used the shoe stretcher to hit my head – always on the head, "she says. "I was so shocked that I started crying. Ike ordered me to get on the bed. I hated him at that moment. The last thing I wanted to do was to make love, if you could call it so. When he was done, I lay there, my head swollen, thinking, "You are pregnant and you have nowhere to go. You really got into something now.
RELATED: Why did Tina Turner forgive Ex Ike after years of violence: "Everything is forgotten"
Their son Ronnie was born in October 1960 and the couple formalized their union two years later at a quicky ceremony in Tijuana. As for the bride, their wedding night left something to be desired. "Guess where we went? At a brothel. On my wedding night! I never, ever, told this story to anyone because I was too embarrassed. "
Marriage has done little to stabilize their partnership and the pressures of growing awareness have contributed to tensions. "Our life together was a travesty of a" normal "relationship: defined by abuse and fear, not by love or even affection," she writes.
In a few years she had reached a breaking point and came to believe that there was only one way to stop the pain. "At the lowest point of my life, I convinced myself that death was my only way out. I've actually tried to kill myself. I went to see my doctor and told him that I had trouble sleeping. Just after dinner, I took the 50 [the pills he gave me]. I was unhappy when I woke up. But I came out of the darkness thinking that I was supposed to survive.
After more years of physical and mental torment, Turner fled her husband in 1976 with a Mobil card and 36 cents in her pocket. In a scene dramatized in the 1993 biographical film That's what love has to do with that, Turner blasted her as the two men toured, staying at the Statler Hilton in Dallas, Texas.
From there, she rebuilt her career by playing for the first time in decades in solo concerts. She ended up in court with her ex-future husband and asked for custody of her children – and her name.
Memory of Tina Turner coming soon.
"I told the judge, it's only blood money. I do not want anything. 'I only had one request. I wanted to continue using the name "Tina Turner", owned by Ike. I came out of this courtroom with the name of Tina Turner and my two Jaguars, one from Sammy Davis, Jr. and the other from Ike, and that's it. It sounds so funny now – no money for food or rent, but two Jaguars! Given my age, 39, my gender, my color and the time we lived in, everything was very strong against me. But you continue.
My love story must leave on October 16th.
If you, or someone you know, believe that you have been a victim of violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) to get help. anonymous and confidential help, available 24/7.
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