Just the thought of Tina Turner brings the image of ageless talent, strength, and beauty to mind. The star who has been a presence in music on stage and through hits in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and 90s has reinvented herself from the inside out more than once, reminded the entertainment world of her endless talent even more than her voluptuous legs etch themselves into one’s consciousness.

Tina Turner has one of the most complex and compelling life histories in music. She was enslaved, encouraged, and simultaneously abused and manipulated by her first husband, Ike Turner, who saw the dynamo within Anna Mae Bullock.

She captivated audiences with voice and irrefutable energy, exhibited in her trademark vibrating legs, in songs like “Nutbush City Limits,” straight from her roots, to her re-creation of “Proud Mary,” that put the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic in a whole new category. When she found the strength to escape from Turner, she reshaped herself as an icon for female self-esteem and staying in control. “What's Love Got to Do with It,” “Better Be Good to Me,” “The Best,” and a string of other songs became omnipresent on playlists worldwide.

Despite attaining massive reincarnated success, Tina Turner remained the insecure girl from Tennessee in many ways, especially when it came to men and marriage.

In October 6 features from USA Today, People, and other entertainment outlets, Turner tells the rest of the story exposed in her forthcoming memoir, “My Love Story” and how the sacrificial gift of a kidney transplant from her second husband, Erwin Bach, saved her life.

Truly life-and-death health drama

Now 78, Tina Turner truly owes the years since 2016 to her husband, German music mogul, and producer, Erwin Bach, in ways beyond his loving devotion.

The singer, who is often dubbed as the Queen of Rock reveals in her Book that she suffered from kidney disease and that by 2016, she had only 20% function, and they were “plunging rapidly.”

The songwriter who frequently sang of self-reliance describes being completely “shocked” by her husband's selfless offer and “the enormity” of surrendering his kidney.

She now reflects on being “happy, overwhelmed and relieved” that she and her husband had “come through this alive.” Every day is a gift, especially when just one more day seems impossible.

Nervous and naughty, yet seeking love

It was almost a decade after Tina Turner managed to free herself from the tax debts and tentacles of her relationship with Ike Turner that she met Erwin Bach in 1985. Through the help of friends like David Bowie and Cher, among others, Tina Turner found her way to her own independent career. Relationships, however, were a very tentative matter for the superstar. She writes that she was “kind of naughty” in their early romance, and was captivated by Bach’s manner and casual style of loafers without socks.

She summoned the forwardness to whisper in his ear that she wanted him to make love to her when he came to America. He had no words in response, only a shocked expression, and Tina Turner said she “couldn't believe what (she) said, either!"

Bach is 16 years younger than Tina, and that may be a huge benefit when it comes to major organ transplants, but the stellar singer confesses that she was not so confident in coming into a new relationship.

Turner details that sex was never something that she was desperate for and that she often would have spans of a year or so without that intimacy. Being with Tina Turner might have been the fantasy for many of her fans or onlookers of the gorgeous mature woman, but she relates that it's one thing to envision Tina Turner, complete with wigs and wardrobe for “trimmings,” and quite another “waking up with the unadorned Anna Mae.”

The singer’s fears were all put aside by Bach's loyalty and positive attitude.

He and Turner shared a home by the 1990s before his work required a move to Switzerland, where the pair now live. They married in 2013. The producer steadfastly encouraged his wife after she suffered a stroke three weeks after their marriage when she couldn't imagine standing in heels, much less being able to walk again. A further scare came in 2016, with Turner's diagnosis of intestinal cancer. Still, their union remained strong, and Turner credits her husband for radiating “confidence, optimism, and joie de vivre” that helped her in maintaining calm.

Tina Turner also endured the loss of a son, Craig, by suicide this past July. She raised the son who was born when she was just 18 with a saxophonist dad, a son by Ike Turner, and two boys from another relationship.

Clearly, Tina Turner has found fulfillment beyond the accolades of career success, and a soulful connection with her husband that goes far beyond chemistry. Her memoir will be released later this month.
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