A Contemplation on Tina

What would legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll superstar Tina Turner think about the current state of college football? If she was still kicking, would she craft a notes app manifesto expressing her outrage over the Western Michigan game to share on Instagram? These are just some of the questions that keep me up at night.

Anyways, lock in and welcome to my corner of hell. I write about anything I want around here since I’m married to the guy running this whole program. But don’t assume I’m a nepo baby. I put in my time half-watching college football games EVERY weekend. Just last weekend I watched a staggering 10 football games. Too many if you ask me!

Now, let’s all learn about Tina Turner.

You’re probably thinking: oMfg I kNow eNoUGh aboUt HeR. sHe hAs ThaT cRaZy bIG haIR. sHe SIngS. enD of sTOry.

Wrong. Sit down and listen up!

So Ike and Tina Turner were a dynamic singing duo for 16 years from 1960 to 1976. They met in 1956 when Tina (17) was dating Ike’s bandmate, Raymond Hill (24). Ike and Ray were roommates and she moved into their shared home. Blah, blah, blah, Ray left town a year later and Tina was left to raise their son as a single mother in Ike’s house (creepy). Down the road, Ike and Tina hooked up and thus began the sixteen year era of Ike and Tina.

Their very first recorded song together hit #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1960. Huge success! And you have to consider their circumstances as young black Americans in the 60’s trying to break into the music industry while living in… St. Louis. I’m not sure how hoppin’ St. Louis was back in the day, but vibes are low in the current day. Despite their success as a team, Ike wasn’t a good dude (alcoholic, cheater, physically abusive, and emotionally unpredictable). His lifestyle gradually became too much to handle, and Tina tried to leave him after recording this first song. However, she changed her mind claiming she couldn’t overcome her initial feelings towards him. Love is a tricky thing, kids. 

Bam!

Ike and Tina make it big!! They do it together. Everything Tina has accumulated in the past 16 years is tied to Ike – fame, money, children, homes, cars, you name it. However, as I mentioned before, he sucks to be around. She’s anchored to a man who allegedly threw boiling hot coffee at her face, gave her constant black eyes, and even broke her jaw at one point. At one of many breaking points, Tina goes so far as attempting suicide to escape her situation. But she still never leaves him.

The tension comes to a head on July 1, 1976. Tina and Ike are in Dallas and get into a fight heading to their hotel. In four days, they’re supposed to sign a 5-year deal with a new recording studio for $150,000/year. Big money.

Tina waits until Ike falls asleep. 

She sneaks out of their suite and flees the hotel on foot with only 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket. Sprinting across the freeway and dodging trucks, she leaves Ike in the middle of the night. She leaves everything she has known for the past 16 years. A woman shows up to the front desk of the Ramada Inn in a head scarf, dark sunglasses, and a bloodstained white suit.

Tina filed for divorce 26 days later. Ike took the recording studio, publishing companies, real estate, and cars. All of this was worth close to $500,000 at the time or roughly $2.9M today. This was the cost to gain her freedom from Ike. That’s how bad Ike sucks…allegedly.

For years after their divorce, Tina lived with various friends and worked small gigs to pay off debts. But I’d like to think it was all worth it. It took her 14 years, but she finally made her comeback with the solo album Private Dancer which included the banger “What’s Love Got to Do With It”. That shit charted #1 obviously, and the rest is history. By history I mean 12 Grammys, 7 world tours, and a SECOND induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (this time without Ike attached to her name).

Tina never worked with Ike again. Her ex-husband spent some time in prison for drug possession and continued to be an all-around delinquent. When he died in 2007, Tina’s team actually put out a statement saying “Tina hasn’t had any contact with Ike in more than 30 years. No further comment will be made”. Slay. I love her.

Tina was a true inspiration to us all. Don’t take shit from anyone.

So yeah, I think Tina would support the MAC conference in their formal appeal process to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff to recognize Western Michigan as the true game winner.