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As most of you probably know (or if you even care), musician Ike Turner died last week. Most notably the ex-husband of singer / actress Tina Turner, he was also a legendary band leader and guitarist, known for creating the first black rock n’ roll record (which is interesting to me, at least). But when I heard on the news that he passed, I shrugged my shoulders and went on my merry way. Why? Probably the same reasons that a number of women did: His reputation as a vitriolic wife beater overshadowed his musical talent.
Even though we go to the movies to escape from reality for a couple of hours and we know that even true stories are sensationalized, or ‘sexed up’ to keep our attention, I remember when I saw What’s Love Got to Do With It and feeling a bit frightened and disturbed. The scenes of brutality were bone-chilling. How could a woman endure that?
After the movie, Turner was basically blacklisted, even though he initially denied his abuse of Tina. And Tina became more commercially successful than Ike had ever been. A sweet revenge? Probably so, but not anything directed at Ike, it was just Tina doing her own thing, minus the physical, verbal and mental abuse.
A number of bloggers picked up the announcement of his death, focusing on what Ike should be remembered as – an abuser or a musician? According to The Angry Black Woman the lack of empathy for his passing might be because he never publicly apologized for beating his wife:
If he did admit what he did, make an apology, and other such things in that direction, then yeah, I think we can then focus on the positive aspects of his life. But if he has spent all these years denying what he did and possibly going on to do it to other people, then no. I don’t give a flying fuck how much good music he made in that case. I really don’t.
I am tired of people using the “But he was a great artist” line whenever someone who is, otherwise, a despicable human being, writes a song or a book or a poem that they like. I hate to break Godwin’s Law here, but even Hitler wrote some nice poetry and drew some pretty pictures (and he was nice to animals).
If you read some of the comments to this post (the comments on ABW’s blog are always interesting) there are actually people who debate whether the abuse was ‘really that bad.’
a well worn saying comes to mind…
‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’
judgement is all too easy to pass and is a big problem in our society. is physical abuse any different to mental?
I’ll be remembering the man for his music. if you want to hear some I’m laying down a week long musical tribute on my musical diary
Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, right? That’s debatable. If this was Jerry Lee Lewis, would there be the same apathy? Third State Sunday Review's (link below) Ava and CI take great offense to some of the articles written by men, most notably this one by Danny Schechter:
He was a genius, a dark genius perhaps—and that’s not a racial reference. When I did the first national story on Tina’s comeback for ABC’s 20/20, I sought him out to give his side of the story, The truth is that the drugs deranged him although I can testify that he shared the powder with many.
Ike’s fall was tragic. As a Buddhist, Tina must have compassion for him and has probably forgiven him because of the children they had together. I, for one, was glad to know before the troubles and hard luck and cocaine brought him down. Ike was Tina’s mentor. He was a great talent and never fully got his due. I am as glad I knew him as I was in working with Tina. We met a t WBCN in Boston. Both let me into their lives years later for which I am greatful.(sic)
Okay. The ladies over at the Third Estate Sunday Review have a point:
Ike Turner was born scum and died scum. B-b-but, he was an artist! That's the cry from the Ike Defenders. In between birth and death, he robbed others of songwriting credit, tormented musicians, broke all union rules by levying 'fines' on backup singers that were only designed to enrich his own pockets, recorded a ton
