Tina Turner announced as Memphis Music Hall of Fame inductee

BROWNSVILLE TN (July 2, 2019): The 2019 class of inductees for the Memphis Music Hall of Fame were recently announced during a press conference at Lafayette’s Music Room at Overton Square, Memphis. Among the eight new inductees is Haywood County native and international music icon Tina Turner.

Turner was born in Nutbush, a small farming community north of Brownsville, in 1939 as Anna Mae Bullock. She moved to St. Louis during her high school years where she met and began performing with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm; later marrying and recording hits with Ike. She went on to enjoy one of the biggest solo music careers with hits like Proud Mary and Private Dancer. Turner has sold 200 million records worldwide, received the Kennedy Center Honors, 12 Grammy awards, and sold more concert tickets than any other female performer in history; earning her the title of “Queen of Rock.”

“Tina’s career has spanned over 60 decades,” says Sonia Outlaw-Clark, director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center (WTDHC) and Tina Turner Museum, “and the fact that she continues to garner accolades is a testament to her incredible talent and to the legacy she has built for the music industry and her hometown.”

Turner, who currently resides in Switzerland, has been actively involved in saving her childhood school, Flagg Grove School, relocated from Nutbush in 2012 and preserved on the grounds of the WTDHC as the Tina Turner Museum in Brownsville. The school, complete with costumes, gold records and memorabilia from her career opened in 2014. Most recently she has collaborated with the musical production of her story, “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” The musical will make its U. S. debut on Broadway November 7, the night before she is officially inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

Turner joins seven other phenomenal artist being recognized Friday, November 8 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis. They include Steve Cropper (Stax guitarist/songwriter), Charlie Musselwhite (Blues great), Dan Penn (producer and soul songwriter), The Memphis Boys (session band – American Sound Studios), Don Bryant (Hi Records soul singer/songsmith), Dee Dee Brdigewater (jazz and Broadway great), and Madame Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave (orperatic soprano).

The Memphis Music Hall of Fame has been honoring musical legends since 2012 and this year’s inductees will bring the total roster to 84. Operated by the Smithsonian-branded Memphis Rock and Soul Museum, a museum and exhibit hall honoring the inductees was opened in 2015. Tickets for the induction ceremony are available now at the Cannon Center box office or from Ticketmaster.

For more information about the Tina Turner Museum, please visit www.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.

About the Center: The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, in Brownsville, is a music heritage destination that offers a refreshing Southern experience showcasing the history and culture of rural West Tennessee. Inside visitors can learn about the history of cotton, explore the scenic and “wild” Hatchie River and get to know the legendary musicians who call West Tennessee home. Also located on the grounds is the Tina Turner Museum at Flagg Grove School, the childhood school of Tina Turner, and the last home of Blues pioneer Sleepy John Estes. The Delta Heritage Center is also a featured stop along the Americana Music Triangle connecting Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans. To learn more about the Center, visit www.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.