Recommendations of the Editorial team
The musician, producer and son of R&B duos Ike & Tina Turner, Ike Turner Jr., died in Los Angeles at the age of 67. The news confirmed his sister -in -law Afida Turner via Instagram: “Quiet in peace, Ike Jr. – You were a great brother -in -law. I am glad that we were still on the phone. Love you. Rip.”
According to his cousin Jacqueline Bullock, Turner died of kidney failure in a hospital in Los Angeles on Sunday after having had heart problems for years. He only suffered a stroke last month.
The family divided the “New York Post” in a statement: “With great grief we announce the death of my cousin Ike Turner Jr.. For me, he was more like a brother – we grew up in the same household.”
Early years and musical roots
Born in 1958 as the son of Ike Turner and Lorraine Taylor, Ike Jr. was adopted with his brother Michael by Tina Turner. His musical talent showed up early – according to Bullock, there was “no instrument that he didn’t want to play”. In the beginning he was enthusiastic about the drums, but Tina Turner is said to have insisted that he can break down his drum set after every rehearsal. This led him to turn to the keyboard – a step that shaped his career.
He later helped to lead his father’s legendary Bolic Sound Studio – a creative hub for numerous artists from the 1970s and 1980s. As an experienced sound engineer and producer, he worked on various projects and in 2007, together with his father, won a Grammy Award for the album “Risin ‘With The Blues” in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.
Between fame, distance and personal processing
In an interview with the “Daily Mail” (2018), Ike Turner Jr. spoke openly about his difficult childhood. He reported that he was mainly raised by home employees because his parents were “eleven months a year”. At the age of 13, his father took him out of school to use him in the recording studio – a time that Ike Jr. described as formative but also stressful. “My father let me count the tour money until my hands were gray,” he recalled.
Despite the distance from his mother Tina Turner – to whom contact had broken off for many years – Ike Jr. tried to continue the musical heritage of his family. With his band The Love Thang, he wanted to “maintain the correct handling of the family name” and remember the positive sides of the gymnasts.
Only a gymnastics son left
Tina Turner had a total of four sons (two biological, two adopted). Three of these four children have now died: Craig Raymond Turner († 2018), Ronnie “Ronnie” Turner († 2022) and now Ike Turner Jr., whom she had adopted.
Michael Turner, an adoptive son (also from Ikes side), lives. Less publicly is known about him. According to sources, he suffers from health problems and lives in a care facility in South California.