On this day in 1931, Izear Luster Turner Jr., better known as Ike Turner, was born in

Clarksdale, Miss. With his then-wife, Tina, Ike Turner led the Ike and Tina Turner Revue,

one of the most exciting soul acts of the '60s and early '70s.

Guitarist Ike Turner formed his first band, the Top Hatters, in high school. The group soon

became the Kings of Rhythm and played Delta juke joints. In 1951, the Kings of Rhythm

recorded the #1 R&B hit "Rocket '88" at Sam Phillips' famous Sun studio in Memphis,

Tenn. But the cut was credited only to the lead singer, Jackie Brenston, and his band,

the Delta Cats. The track has often been cited as the first rock 'n' roll record.

In the '50s, Turner was a talent scout, leading session-guitarist and producer. He

contributed to records by Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Johnny Ace and others. In

1956, Turner relocated to St. Louis, Mo., where he met Annie Mae Bullock during a club

performance. After she impulsively sang a song with his band one evening, Turner was

impressed. He soon changed her name to Tina and asked her to sing with the group.

In 1960, two years before they were married, Ike and Tina made a record together. The

track, "A Fool In Love," became a pop and R&B hit, and soon Ike developed the Ike and

Tina Turner Revue around Tina. In 1961, they had hits with "It's Gonna Work Out Fine"

and "I Idolize You." The next year, the Revue scored with "Poor Fool" and "Tra La La La

La."

Tina's raspy vocals and suggestive stage presence made the Revue stars, especially in

England, where bands such as the Rolling Stones were big admirers. Ike became known

for his bluesy guitar work. In 1969, the Ike and Tina Turner Revue opened a major

Rolling Stones tour, which contributed to the Turners' growing popularity.

The Turners had chart hits in the early '70s with their covers of Creedence Clearwater

Revival's

href="http://www.addict.com/music/Turner,_Ike_And_Tina/Proud_Mary.ram">"Proud

Mary" (RealAudio excerpt), Sly & the Family Stone's "I Want to Take You

Higher" and the Beatles' "Come Together." They also had a 1973 hit with the

Tina-composed "Nutbush City Limits."

But Ike was growing increasingly abusive and violent, so Tina left the band, and Ike, in

1976. Ike, who had recorded a 1972 solo LP, Blues Roots, issued the 1978 I'm

Tore Up, but his solo career never took flight.

After Tina's tremendously successful comeback in the '80s, during which she was hailed

as a queen of rock, Ike was seldom heard from. His drug troubles were growing, and in

1990, he was sentenced to jail on cocaine charges. He was in prison in early 1991,

when he and Tina were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ike has always downplayed Tina's accusations that he abused her. Those charges were

given a tremendous amount of publicity because of Tina's autobiography and the 1993

film based on it, "What's Love Got to Do With It." Laurence Fishburne and Angela Basset

were nominated for Academy Awards for playing Ike and Tina in the movie.

Ike has attempted to sell his own life story to publishers. Meanwhile, various

compilations of the Turners' work together, such as 1992's Best of Ike and Tina

Turner (Capitol/EMI), have been issued in recent years.

Other birthdays: Art Garfunkel, 57; Peter Noone (Herman's Hermits), 51; Mike Score (A

Flock of Seagulls), 41; Bryan Adams, 39; David Bryson (Counting Crows), 37;

Christopher Moore (Fishbone), 33; Andreas Bruhn (Sisters of Mercy), 31; and Jonny

Greenwood (Radiohead), 27.