Zappagram #59: R.I.P. Tina Turner, the undisputed Queen of Rock and Roll

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re happy and healthy and ready for your weekly dose of musical medicine—the healing balm that soothes like no other.

The big news this past week, if you hadn’t already heard, was the passing of Tina Turner, the incomparable and legendary Queen of Rock and Roll.

I was ten years old in 1984 when she released her remarkable comeback album, Private Dancer. Between radio and MTV, Tina was everywhere, all the time. “What’s Love Got To Do With It” saw as much airplay as any other massive hit of the time, and to this day, I still have the images burned into my mind of that opening frame of the song’s video—the New York City skyline complete with the iconic Twin Towers, and Tina strutting out of the subway and down the streets of Manhattan in her little black dress, denim jacket, and patent leather high heels.

Even as a kid, I knew she was a force to behold, and along with the rest of the world, I was captivated. I felt the soul in her voice. I recognized and appreciated t…