Ike and Tina Turner

Greatly Appreciated

IKE AND TINA TURNER
 
 
Ike & Tina Turner  were an American musical duo composed of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner.  The duo was once considered “one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles”.  Their early works including “A Fool in Love”, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”, “I Idolize You”, and “River Deep – Mountain High” became high points in the development of soul music; while their later works were noted for wildly interpretive re-arrangements of rock songs such as “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Proud Mary”, the latter song for which they won a Grammy Award.  They’re also known for their often-ribald live performances, which were only matched by that of James Brown and the Famous Flames in terms of musical spectacle.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
If you get serious about it, record conventions and collectors fairs are a great place to find true rarities.  Prices can be steep though; I remember seeing an Ike and Tina Turner album, Dynamite! that I had purchased some years earlier for $15 offered for sale for well over $100. 
 
(November 2012)
 
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Phil Spector perfected his renowned “Wall of Sound” technique while making girl group records, where massive amounts of music were recorded together with a subtle echo effect.  “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes and “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals are cited as being prime examples of this technique.  Phil Spector himself says that he reached his peak with the recording of “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike and Tina TurnerGeorge Harrison has called that song “a perfect record from start to finish”. 

 

(October 2013)

 
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Major and minor artists alike often have spiritually themed songs or overtly Christian songs on their albums.  The first cut on Simon and Garfunkel’s debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is a gospel song called You Can Tell the World that was written by Gibson & Camp (Bob Gibson and Bob Camp – later known as Hamilton Camp).  Peter, Paul and Mary had numerous gospel songs on their albums, including “This Train” on their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary.  Also on this album, under the name “If I Had My Way”, is a traditional song also called “Samson and Delilah” that is based on the Biblical account.  Many other rock musicians have recorded this song, notably the Grateful DeadBob DylanIke and Tina TurnerBruce Springsteen, and Garbage front woman Shirley Manson

 

(July 2014)

 

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Wikipedia reports:  “[Carol Kaye]’s intense solo bass line, reverberating in quiet moments in [Phil] Spector’s production of [Ike and Tina Turner’s] ‘River Deep, Mountain High’, lent drama to the song’s ‘Wall of Sound’ and helped lift the record into the Grammy Hall of Fame.” 

 

(February 2015)

 
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Their opening album, Awake in a Dream (1991) was praised by Alex Henderson in Allmusic:  “Eleven was a so-called alternative rock trio of the early 1990’s that drew heavily on the psychedelic rock and soul music of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  Awake in a Dream is much too guitar-oriented to have been played on a Black radio station in 1970 or 1973, and yet, enjoyable selections like ‘Before Your Eyes’, ‘All Together’ and ‘Rainbow’s End’ make it clear that singer/guitarist Alain Johannes, bassist/singer/organist Natasha Shneider and drummer Jack Irons have spent a lot of time listening to the likes of Sly and the Family StoneIke and Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder.  Shneider is also heard on the clavinet, a synthesizer that was prominent in 1970’s soul and funk but was seldom used in the urban contemporary music that followed in the 1980’s and 1990’s.”  

 

(April 2015/1)

 

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Sugar Hill Records is an early hip hop label that was founded in 1979 by the married couple of Joe Robinson and Sylvia Robinson plus Milton Malden, with financial backing by Morris Levy of Roulette Records.  Sylvia Robinson – often called the “Mother of Hip Hop” – was listed as the CEO of the label.  She has a long R&B history dating back to the 1956 hit “Love is Strange” (co-written by Bo Diddley and Jody Williams), under the name of Mickey and SylviaMickey Baker taught her to play guitar, and they worked together off and on for about a decade.  The two are also known for performing back-up singing on the 1961 Ike and Tina Turner hit, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”.  Under the name SylviaSylvia Robinson later scored a #3 hit in 1972, “Pillow Talk”. 
 
(September 2016)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021