VOA文化艺术2023--Tina Turner, 'Rock ‘n’ Roll' Star, Dies at 83

Tina Turner, 'Rock ‘n’ Roll' Star, Dies at 83

Singer Tina Turner, known as the "Queen of Rock ‘n' Roll" has died at the age of 83.

Turner's representative said she died Wednesday night after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. She became a Swiss citizen about 10 years ago.

The entertainer teamed up with her husband Ike Turner for a series of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and '70s. She survived the abusive marriage and returned as a solo¹ artist with the best-selling album Private Dancer in 1984. The album had three huge hit songs Private Dancer, Better Be Good to Me and What's Love Got to Do With It.

"How do we say farewell to a woman who owned her pain and trauma² and used it as a means to help change the world?" actor Angela Bassett said in a statement. Bassett played Turner in the 1993 movie What's Love Got to Do With It.

Turner sold more than 150 million records worldwide and won 12 Grammys. She was voted along with Ike Turner into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and on her own in 2021. Her life story was made into a movie and Broadway musical.

Leader of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, wrote on Instagram, "I'm so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young, and I will never forget her." Turner and Jagger had a memorable³ performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Philadelphia.

"Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable... Today we join fans around the world in honoring the Queen of Rock and Roll, and a star whose light will never fade," former U.S. President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter.

Other tributes⁵ came in from U.S. President Joe Biden, Beyonce, Elton John, and Mariah Carey among many others.

Turner was born in a racially separated hospital in Nutbush, Tennessee in 1939. She would say she received "no love" from either her mother or father. After her parents separated, she moved often around Tennessee and Missouri, living with different relatives.

She loved to sing and would go to blues⁶ music places in St. Louis. There, one of the top performers was Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. Over her mother's objections, she joined his group and married him in 1962.

Turner was among the first well-known stars to speak honestly about marriage abuse. She wrote in her book, I, Tina, that Ike Turner began hitting her not long after they met, in the mid-1950s, and only grew worse. She remembered that he threw hot coffee in her face, choked her, or beat her until her eyes were swollen⁷ shut, then sexually⁸ attacked her. Before one show, he broke her jaw⁹, and she went on stage with her mouth full of blood.

Ike did not deny mistreating Tina but tried to blame her for their troubles. When he died, in 2007, a representative for his ex-wife said simply: "Tina is aware that Ike passed away."

The Turners were popular with music fans during the 1960s and into the '70s. They also opened for the Rolling Stones in 1966 and 1969.

But by the end of the 1970s, Turner's career seemed finished at the age of 40. Needing work and money, she even agreed to perform in South Africa when the country was widely boycotted¹⁰ because of its racist¹¹ policy.

Turner's Private Dancer album came out in May 1984 and sold more than eight million copies. "People look at me now and think what a hot life I must have lived — ha!" she wrote in her book.

Turner married her second husband Erwin Bach in a civil ceremony in Switzerland in 2013. "It's that happiness that people talk about," Turner said, "when you wish for nothing, when you can finally take a deep breath and say, ‘Everything is good.'"

Words in This Story

trauma –n. a difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have problems for a long time

enormously –adv. to a very great extent

talented –adj. a special ability to do something well

generous –adj. willing to freely give time and property to others

tribute⁴ –n. praise honoring and showing respect for someone (often someone who has recently died)

1 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。

2 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

3 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

4 tribute   

n.颂词，称赞，(表示敬意的)礼物；贡品

参考例句：

• She accepted their tribute graciously.她慈祥地接受了他们的致意。
• Many conquered nations had to pay tribute to the rulers of ancient Rome.许多被征服的国家必须向古罗马的统治者朝贡。

5 tributes   

n.（尤指旧时一国向他国交纳的）贡品( tribute的名词复数 )；（良好效果或影响的）体现；（尤指对死者的）致敬；称赞

参考例句：

• He had the strength and power; he meant to bear rule over others and he expected tributes from them. 他有权有势，想支配人，要人们拜倒在他的脚下。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His colleagues paid generous tributes to the outgoing president. 同事们纷纷向即将卸任的总裁致敬。 来自辞典例句

6 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

7 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

8 sexually   

adv.性别上地；按性别地；性欲地；两性之间地

参考例句：

• to be sexually promiscuous 性生活淫乱
• I was depressed,withdrawn and sexually frigid. 我郁郁寡欢，离群索居，没有什么性要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

10 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

11 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。