Tina Turner - "Proud Mary"

In honor of Black History Month all the posts for this month will feature black artists.

She is a warrior, a muse, an activist, a poet, and an inspiration. She has battled adversity after adversity and always risen above the challenge. Through poverty, abuse, abandon, and loss, she has taught us all a master class in finding your silver linings and rising to take second chances. 

She began her career in 1958 as a featured singer with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, first recording under the name "Little Ann". Her introduction to the public as Tina Turner began in 1960 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.  Success followed with a string of notable hits credited to the duo, including "A Fool in Love", "River Deep – Mountain High" (1966), "Proud Mary" (1971), and "Nutbush City Limits" (1973), a song that she wrote. In her autobiography, I, Tina (1986), she revealed several instances of severe domestic abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. Raised a Baptist, she encountered faith with Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism in 1971, crediting the spiritual chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which Turner says helped her to endure during difficult times.

After her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career through live performances. In the 1980s, Turner launched a major comeback with another string of hits, starting in late 1983 with the single "Let's Stay Together" followed by the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer which became a worldwide success. The album contained the song "What's Love Got to Do with It", which became Turner's biggest hit and won four Grammy Awards including Record of the Year. Her solo success continued throughout the 1980s and 90s with multi-platinum albums including Break Every Rule and Foreign Affair, and with singles such as "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)", "Typical Male", "The Best", "I Don't Wanna Fight", and "GoldenEye", for the 1995 James Bond film of the same name.

In 1993, What's Love Got to Do with It, a biographical film adapted from her autobiography, was released along with an accompanying soundtrack album. In addition to her musical career, Turner has also garnered success acting in films, including the role of the Acid Queen in the 1975 rock musical Tommy, a starring role alongside Mel Gibson in the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and a cameo role in the 1993 film Last Action Hero.

One of the world's best-selling artists of all time, she has also been referred to as The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. Her combined album and single sales total approximately 100 million copies worldwide. Turner has also sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. In 2008, Turner returned from semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour. Turner's tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–09. She is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, and career longevity.

Throughout her career, she has won eleven Grammy Awards, including eight competitive awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame awards. Rolling Stone ranked Turner 63rd on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. and 17th on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. In 1991, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In January 2018, it was announced that Turner will be one of the recipients of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

She will never be forgotten and the trail she blazed burns brightly still with girls striving to be like Tina. 

So today, with depths unfound and heights unscaled, I choose Tina Turner's "Proud Mary " as my, let yourself rise, find beauty in the broken, it's never to late to change your life, song for a, never believe other people's limitations of you, take back your time, live and burn and soar through the drudgery, Tuesday.