Ike Turner

Although Ike Turner is perhaps best known for his collaborations with ex-wife Tina Turner, and for the violently tumultuous relationship the pair had, he was also one of rock & roll's earliest and key architects. Turner and his Rhythm Kings played on what many consider to be the very first rock-&-roll record, Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88"; he worked as a session man on sides by some of the biggest names in R&B and blues, and was also a talent scout for various labels. Turner's career following the break-up of his marriage and creative partnership with Tina in the mid 1970s was marked by run-ins with the law and drug abuse. However, he continued to record and perform for decades, and took strides to make amends for past indiscretions. Turner died in 2007, shortly after winning a Grammy for his album RISIN' WITH THE BLUES.