美国国家公共电台 NPR--Remembering rock and roll icon Tina Turner who has died at age 83

Remembering rock and roll icon¹ Tina Turner who has died at age 83

Transcript²

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Maureen Mahon, professor and chair of New York University's music department, about Turner's legacy³. Her raspy voice and electric stage moves influenced many performers.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The queen of rock 'n' roll with a voice and stage presence all her own - who else could we be talking about but Tina Turner?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROUD MARY")

TINA TURNER: (Singing) Proud Mary keep on burning, burning, rolling, rolling. All right. Rolling on the river.

MARTIN: Turner won eight Grammys and was one of the very few to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as part of a duo with then-husband Ike Turner and again as a solo⁴ artist.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT")

TURNER: (Singing) What's love got to do - got to do with it? What's love but a secondhand emotion?

MARTIN: Tina Turner died yesterday at her home in Switzerland at the age of 83. Maureen Mahon is a professor and chair of the New York University Music Department, and she's with us now to offer some remembrances of this incredible⁵ talent. Good morning. Thanks for joining us.

MAUREEN MAHON: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

MARTIN: So let's start at the beginning. She was Anna Mae Bullock. She was growing up in Tennessee. She had a pretty rough childhood, moved to St. Louis when she was 16, met the bandleader Ike Turner. Obviously, something about her made her stand out even as a teenager. What was it?

MAHON: It was the voice. She had an extraordinary voice.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RIVER DEEP - MOUNTAIN HIGH")

TURNER: (Singing) When I was a little girl, I had a rag doll, the only doll I've ever owned.

MARTIN: Ike Turner was famously abusive, I mean, physically⁶, emotionally. Despite that, they produced these incredible hits, you know, "River Deep - Mountain High." But she did leave him. And remember, this was at a time when people really didn't talk openly about things like that. How did she make her escape?

MAHON: She - it took her a while to do it. And she started singing with Ike Turner when she was still in high school. And they had hits together in the early 1960s. They'd gotten married even though they hadn't started out as romantic partners, just recording⁷ and performing partners. But by the middle of the 1970s, she decided⁸ that she just had to leave. And so she did. And she left really everything behind from that relationship with the exception of her name. So she didn't fight for alimony. She didn't fight for, you know, the rights to the music. She just wanted to keep her name because she knew that was the thing that people would remember and recognize and value.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PRIVATE DANCER")

TURNER: (Singing) I'm your private dancer, a dancer for money. I'll do what you want me to do.

MARTIN: And then that huge comeback in 1984 with the album "Private Dancer" - four songs hit the top 10 in the U.S., won four Grammys. How did she do it?

MAHON: She was fortunate to cross paths with a manager named Roger Davies. And he was someone who had grown up in Australia as a fan of Ike & Tina Turner. He knew her music, and he recognized her incredible talent. And he also understood that the recording industry at that time was going to have some challenges accepting a solo Black woman artist over the age of 25 doing the music that she was doing. But they really just doubled down on the rock 'n' roll image. She stopped wearing the sort of flashy outfits⁹ that she had been wearing as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and she developed this really cool, tough rock 'n' roll look. And they...

MARTIN: Yeah.

MAHON: ...Shifted her sound to fit into the pop sound of the early 1980s. And the fact that she was such an extraordinary singer and performer allowed her to really connect with audiences. She managed to get a recording contract, and they put out that album.

MARTIN: OK, last question - she retired¹⁰ from touring almost 15 years ago. A whole generation hasn't gotten to see her live, really. What should they know? How should she be remembered? As briefly¹¹ as you can.

MAHON: I think as a Black woman who refused to stay in the box that people wanted to put her in and as a phenomenal vocalist and entertainer and, of course, as the queen of rock 'n' roll.

MARTIN: And they can learn more about her in your book, "Black Diamond Queens: African American Women And Rock And Roll." That's Maureen Mahon. Professor Mahon, thanks so much for remembering her life with us.

MAHON: Thanks so much for having me, Michel.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BEST")

TURNER: (Singing) You're simply the best, better than...

1 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

5 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。