> Ike Turner Manager Confirms Death

Ike Turner Manager Confirms Death

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:16:03

Ike Turner passed away in his San Diego-area home this morning, according to the Associated Press and his longtime manager Scott M. Hanover. The cause of Turner's death is unknown at this time. He was 76.

While he's mostly known for the tumultuous Ike & Tina Turner period of his career, there's no denying the impact Turner had on the development of rock 'n' roll, from his many sessions as a bandleader to his distinct sideman work as a pianist and guitarist. (He was one of the first axe men to take full advantage of the whammy bar.) Over the course of his 50-year-plus career, he's collaborated with everyone from the genre-jumping cartoon pop band Gorillaz to blues legends like B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf.

As for his infamous relationship with Tina, Turner had this to say in Jet magazine earlier this year: "If I owe anybody an apology, that would be Tina. I put her through hell with other women. I regret it today, but I can't undo it."

Tina and Ike split in the '70s, but were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He was married four times and is survived by four children: Ike Jr., Michael, Ronald, and Mia.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
12.12.07