CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Tina Turner, who died last Wednesday at 83, was famous and adored… but she also led a tough life.
She was asked during an interview if it was worth it. And she said ‘no’. The interviewer asked her again, slightly differently, ‘Did the good outweigh the bad?’ And she again said ‘no, it didn’t.’
There were times in her life that were incredibly dark and difficult. Her story is a reflection on the high cost of fame.
Anna Mae Bullock attended an Ike Turner show in a club in East St. Louis. Ike was already a well known blues guitarist. During intermission she walked up to Ike and told him that she knew the words to many of the blues songs that he and his band were playing; could she come up in stage with him? Ike was always interested in an attractive woman, and soon she was the group’s vocalist. But she always thought of Ike as a star, and that’s the way he wanted it. But if you look at their early concerts, nothing is further from the truth. She outshines him each and every time.
Ike was a cruel man. A wife beater. A womanizer. A cocaine addict. He controlled the couple’s money and music industry contacts. She was back in poverty when she left him. Only in the 1980s did her solo career take off, leading to an extended period of professional success. She was adored in both the United States and Europe. And she amassed a fortune. Her estate is worth $220-million.
And yet, in her mind, the good times, the incredible heights, are not enough to overcome the horrifying abuse and struggles. That she might have been happier being a nurse from a poor town in Tennessee who sang on the dinner circuit.
The Gospel of Matthew says “ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” We think that’s a bible passage about greed or being driven. Perhaps it isn’t. Every ambition we have in life demands something of us. Who is wise enough to recognize when the price is too high?
Chris Conley
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