The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner

The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner
Studio album by Ike & Tina Turner
Released 1961
Recorded 1959-1960
Genre R&B, blues, soul
Length 31:39
Label Sue LP-2001
Producer Ike Turner, Juggy Murray
Ike & Tina Turner chronology
— The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner
(1961)		 Don't Play Me Cheap
(1962)

The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner is the debut album by Ike & Tina Turner, released on the Sue Records label in 1961. It's noted for the duo's debut hit single, "A Fool in Love" and for its modest follow-up singles, "I'm Jealous" and the top five R&B hit, "I Idolize You".

Overview

In 1957, Ann Bullock had won a spot in musical veteran Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm band as a background vocalist and was the first female vocalist to join Turner's band since Annie Mae Wilson Turner, one of Turner's former wives, in the early 1950s. Ike Turner had won a reputation as a talent scout, A&R man and bandleader and was credited for creating one of the first rock & roll records, "Rocket 88". By the time Ann Bullock joined, Turner and his band had gained a huge reputation in the St. Louis musical scene. Originally "A Fool in Love" had been composed by Turner in 1959 as a single for his then-lead vocalist for the Kings of Rhythm, Art Lassiter. Lassiter and Turner had an argument over the song's royalties leading to Lassiter walking out of the session before the song was to be recorded. While he still had no plan to make Ann Bullock the lead vocalist, he did asked her to sing the song as a guide vocal track for Lassiter as he was paying for the studio time used during the time of the song's recording.

Ike Turner then sent the recording to New York where Sue Records president Juggy Murray heard it and convinced Turner to keep Bullock on the song as Turner's original attempt was to erase her vocal after introducing the song to Lassiter. Turner was given a $25,000 check by Murray to keep Bullock's vocals. Prior to the song's release and signing a contract with Sue Records, Ike Turner decided to make Bullock into the lead vocal act, changing her name to Tina Turner, which Tina was unaware of until hearing the name on the radio when the song played. Her original stage name had been Little Ann prior. The billing of Ike Turner's band also changed, from Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm (or The Rhythm Rockers as he had sometimes billed them) to The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Released in the late spring of 1960, the song became an instant R&B hit and also successfully crossed over to the pop charts, peaking at the top thirty of the chart. Starting a rigorous schedule that would continue until Tina Turner left Ike in 1976, there would be a habit of recording albums and going on tours. This album was composed when the group was on the road and released in 1961.

In addition to "A Fool in Love", Sue Records released two more singles - "I'm Jealous" in late 1960 and "I Idolize You". While "I'm Jealous" was a receptive flop, "I Idolize You" nearly matched the success of "A Fool in Love" later peaking at the top five on the R&B charts though it never crossed over to the pop charts. "A Fool in Love" is sometimes considered to mark the beginning of soul music. While Tina Turner did most of the lead vocals on the album, Ike Turner and Tina sung along to each other in the duets, "You Can't Blame Me" and "You're My Baby". The Artettes, a girl group Ike Turner had hired shortly after making Tina the lead singer of his band, was hired to sing background vocals on the album. Afterwards, Ike Turner changed their name to The Ikettes and would continue to provide background vocals until the end of the Revue in the mid-1970s.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ike Turner; except where indicated

  1. "I'm Jealous" - (2:13)
  2. "I Idolize You" - (2:53)
  3. "If" - (2:10)
  4. "Letter from Tina" - (2:38)
  5. "You Can't Love Two" - (2:56)
  6. "I Had a Notion" (Joe Morris) - (2:58)
  7. "A Fool in Love" - (2:53)
  8. "Sleepless" - (2:51)
  9. "Chances Are" - (3:42)
  10. "You Can't Blame Me" - (2:13)
  11. "You're My Baby" - (2:22)
  12. "The Way You Love Me" - (1:50)

Personnel

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