"My legacy is that I stayed on course…"

About a decade ago, my family held a lip-sync battle during Thanksgiving. It was a fun little thing to create and perform, and it took me all of three seconds to decide who I wanted to dress up as. And earlier this year, the world said goodbye to the real her – Tina Turner.

She was born Anna Mae Bullock, in November of 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee, singing in the church choir, living at times with her mother, paternal grandparents, and her maternal grandmother. She started out as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and her voice is the powerhouse in songs that still hold up today – Proud Mary, Mountain High – River Deep, and It’s Gonna Work Out Fine. While they were married for 16 years, Tina Turner eventually divorced Ike Turner after years of physical and verbal abuse. But she went on to have an incredible solo career – with a comeback album that included Private Dancer and my personal favorite, What’s Love Got to Do With It.”  She is known and remembered for being the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, selling over 100 million records, and winning 12 Grammy Awards. She was the first Black artist and woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, breaking glass ceilings before that phrase was even coined. With her electrifying stage presence, unparalleled vocals, and unbreakable spirit, Tina shattered barriers and blazed a trail that transcends generations.

My legacy is that I stayed on course… from the beginning to the end because I believed in something inside of me. – Tina Turner

 What strikes me as I have read the tributes rolling in about her life – is that she carved out a place for herself in a world and an industry that had never known someone that looked like her or sounded like her. She made a path where none existed, and where so many incredible musicians have followed since. Her legacy is one of inspiration, and she embodied a passion, authenticity, and commitment in each performance, each flick of her hair, and each crescendo in a verse. As Diane Warren said in her tribute “Shake the roof off of Heaven Tina Turner.”