Iconic singer Tina Turner passes away at 83

It's the end of an era. Legendary singer Tina Turner is dead. She was 83. According to her representative, she died in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, after a long illness. Turner began her career in the 1950s and dominated music charts throughout her career giving the world iconic songs like What's Love Got To Do With It. She was known as the queen of rock and roll and is considered one ofthe pioneers of the genre.

In the video for her chart-topping song What's Love Got to Do with It, n which she called love a "second-hand emotion," Turner epitomized 1980s style as she strutted through New York City streets with her spiky blond hair, wearing cropped jean jacket, mini skirt, and stiletto heels.

With her taste for musical experimentation and bluntly-worded ballads, Turner gelled perfectly with a 1980s pop landscape in which music fans valued electronically-produced sounds and scorned hippie-era idealism.

She had an illustrious career and won six of her eight Grammy Awards in the 1980s. The decade saw her land a dozen songs on the Top 40, including Typical Male,The Best, Private Dancerand Better Be Good to Me.Her 1988 show in Rio de Janeiro drew 180,000 people, which remains one of the largest concert audiences for any single performer.

Turner came from a poor farming family and fought several odds to become a singing legend. She was married to guitarist Ike Turner for a decade before she separated from him. Tina Turner was also a strong advocate against domestic violence and had openly spoken about her abusive marriage.

She described bruised eyes, busted lips, a broken jaw and other injuries that repeatedly sent her to the emergency room.

"Tina's story is not one of victimhood but one of incredible triumph," singer Janet Jackson wrote about Turner, in a Rolling Stone issue that placed Turner at No. 63 on a list of the top 100 artists of all time.

"She's transformed herself into an international sensation - an elegant powerhouse," Jackson said.

In 1985, Turner gave a fictional turn to her reputation as a survivor. She played the ruthless leader of an outpost in a nuclear wasteland, acting opposite Mel Gibson in the third instalment in the Mad Max franchise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

(With inputs from agencies)

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