Today in our History – November 5, Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was born.

GM –LIF – Today’s American Champion was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner began playing piano and guitar as a child and then formed the Kings of Rhythm as a teenager. His first recording, "Rocket 88" (credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats), is considered a contender for the distinction of first rock and roll song.

During the 1950s, Turner also worked as a talent scout and producer for Sun Records and Modern Records. He was instrumental in the early careers of various blues musicians such as B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Bobby "Blue" Bland. In 1954, Turner relocated to East St. Louis where his Kings of Rhythm became one of the most renowned acts in Greater St. Louis.

He later formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1960, which over the course of the decade became a soul/rock crossover success.

Turner's cocaine addiction and legal troubles, together with accounts by Tina Turner of domestic violence (published in her 1986 autobiography I, Tina and the 1993 film adaptation What's Love Got to Do with It), impacted his career in the 1980s and 1990s.

Addicted to cocaine for at least 15 years, Turner was convicted of drug offenses and served 18 months in prison. After his release in 1991, he remained drug-free until he relapsed in 2004, which was the cause of his death in 2007. During the last decade of Turner's life, he revived his career as a frontman by returning to his blues roots. He released two award-winning albums, Here and Now and Risin with the Blues.

Hailed as a "great innovator" of rock and roll by contemporaries such as Little Richard and Johnny Otis,[ Turner received critical acclaim as well.[8] Rolling Stone magazine editor David Fricke ranked Turner No. 61 on his list of 100 Greatest Guitarists and noted, "Turner was one of the first guitarists to successfully transplant the intensity of the blues into more-commercial music."

Turner won five Grammy Awards, including two competitive awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Tina Turner in 1991. He is also inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the Clarksdale Walk of Fame, the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Today in our History – November 5, Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was born.

Ike Turner was a popular twentieth century African-American musician, bandleader and lyricist. He was also a record producer and is given credit for introducing rock and roll in 1950s. Turner came to stardom in 1960s and 1970s with his former wife Tina Turner and their record label.

Ike Wister Turner was born on November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His mother was a seamstress and father was a Baptist minister. In his childhood, Turner witnessed his father being tortured and left for dead by white mob.

Upon his father’s death, his mother remarried and his step-father turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. Turner and his step-father often had arguments and fights and once he hit him a wooden piece and ran away.

He had a quite rough childhood before he visited local Clarksdale radio station and gained his first job related to music. He soon was offered a Disc Jockey job by the station manager and the job meant he had access to all the new releases.

Turner taught himself to play guitar on blues records. In his high school he joined a local rhythm ensemble called The Tophatters. The band played music around Mississippi. By then Turner had learned to play by ear and was still unable to read the music notes. When the band reached over thirty members it split into two; The Dukes of Swing and the Kings of Rhythm.

The former played jazz while the latter was led by Turner himself, which played blues and boogie-woogie. The early performances of Kings of Rhythm were based on latest jukebox hits. They were recommended to Sun Studio by another musician and their music was on-aired on a few radio stations.

Morover, early in his music career, Turner became part of road crew of Robert Nighthawk, who often performed at WROX. He played blues to support Nighthawk on several radio stations in Clarksdale.

This opportunity provided him the chance of gaining music experience with the professionals. He also did a few gigs for some blues artist, such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Elmore James, Little Walter and Muddy Waters. Finally the band got the much anticipated break when they recorded the track “Rocket 88”.

The Chess Brothers introduced their band as “Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats”. Turner came up with the introduction and first verse of the song while the band collaborated on the rest. As it turned out the number became a smashing hit and made a record, selling about half a million copies.

With the success of their new release arose the tension in the band as everyone struggled to claim glory and assert their importance. The band was on verge of falling apart when Brenston took few original members with him to pursue a solo career.

Turner being the bandleader disbanded the Kings of Rhythm for a few years, as he was met disappointment when he missed a chance at successful music career. However, he landed a job of production assistant for Philips and the Bihari Brothers and became a session musician. Bihari Brothers exploited Turner binding him under the contract and used his written material.

In 1951, Ike Turner came to success as first rock and roll artist. Shortly after, he met singer Anna Mae Bullock and renamed her Tina Turner and formed The Ike & Tina Turner Revue with her. He won two Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

However, his career took a downfall when his wife accused him of domestic violence and drug abuse and he was later convicted for drug offences. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!