Ike Turner

A pivotal figure in the development of early rock'n'roll, Ike Turner created some of the most searing soul music of the 1970s with wife Tina Turner. Originally a radio DJ in his home town of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner and his R&B band the Kings of Rhythm backed the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson in the 1940s and 1950s and recorded what is widely regarded as the first ever rock'n'roll song Rocket 88 (released under the name Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats). Learning production from the great Sam Phillips, he wrote B.B. King's first hit 3 O'Clock Blues before the legendary partnership of Ike And Tina Turner went on to score the classic soul anthems Proud Mary, River Deep Mountain High and Nut Bush City Limits. As Ike's drug habit grew, so too did his violence and the pair divorced in 1976 with Tina going on to huge solo success while Ike's career spiralled downwards and he ended up in prison after trying to sell drugs to an undercover policeman. He sobered up after he was released, going on to work with Joe Louis Walker on the album Great Guitars (1997) and returning to prominence with the acclaimed solo album Here And Now (2001). He returned to his roots and won a Grammy for the album Risin' With The Blues (2006) and worked with Gorillaz on the track Every Planet We Reach Is Dead, but died in 2007.