If you take Ikes personal life and put it aside for a minute and focus on his musical talent.
I would say he was right up there with the greatest.
He was an instrumental pillar to the early rock n roll scene.
Fantastic Piano player and a gun on the guitar.
If you watch or read many docos on history of music etc there will be mentions of Ike Turner.
I have a kings of rhythm best of cd and it is awesome.
I also read in a prince interview i think in guitar world or some other magazine and they asked Prince about what an upcoming artist/musician should listen to when first starting out...and he said Joni Mitchell and that nobody was better than Ike Turner.
So even Prince gave props to Ike.
From seeing the Revue, I think Prince was inspired not only by James Brown but Ike Turner's Revue with Tina. You can actually tell he took bits from Ike.
As a musician and a bandleader yes, he was THAT talented. As a songwriter? No, I don't think he was great or even good. You can rarely fault him as a performer but the material he wrote was often fairly mediocre. For me that has always been the biggest fault with Ike and Tina, he/they struggled to find great songs to record.
Live he was certainly one of the better artists of his era.
Controversy aside, Ike Turner was on the level of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Jimi Hendrix.
Please quote me.
I disagree. With the possible exception of Jerry Lee Lewis they were all much better songwriters than Ike and as solo artists they were all much more successful. Ike occupies a somewhat unique position in music history. He was basically a bandleader/producer, Ike and Tina were certainly not a duo in the traditional sense (Ike rarely sang lead or even prominent background vocals), he was basically a glorified sideman. That is not to say that he was not talented but I just don't see how he is comparable to the four artists that you listed.
Controversy aside, Ike Turner was on the level of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Jimi Hendrix.
Please quote me.
I disagree. With the possible exception of Jerry Lee Lewis they were all much better songwriters than Ike and as solo artists they were all much more successful. Ike occupies a somewhat unique position in music history. He was basically a bandleader/producer, Ike and Tina were certainly not a duo in the traditional sense (Ike rarely sang lead or even prominent background vocals), he was basically a glorified sideman. That is not to say that he was not talented but I just don't see how he is comparable to the four artists that you listed.
Controversy aside, Ike Turner was on the level of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Jimi Hendrix.
Please quote me.
Yeah he was and really on this topic if you think he wasn't.... I'd say you were lacking in music edumacation, go back to school. I'm trying my best to be diplomatic in my words.....
I think Ike's strength as a songwriter was with instrumentals. Not with lyrics. That's why his most famous songs (with Tina) were lyrically written by others (Phil Spector, John Fogerty, Tina herself).
YES. Mr. Turner was smack dead in the middle of the birth of Rock&Roll/ R&B. Talented cat and played mean ax too.
It is interesting that you mentioned his guitar playing. I am currently listening to the four disc collection That Kat Sure Could Play! which mostly features his work as a sideman circa 1951-1957 and he is featured heavily on the piano as opposed to the guitar, particularly on the first two discs.
YES. Mr. Turner was smack dead in the middle of the birth of Rock&Roll/ R&B. Talented cat and played mean ax too.
It is interesting that you mentioned his guitar playing. I am currently listening to the four disc collection That Kat Sure Could Play! which mostly features his work as a sideman circa 1951-1957 and he is featured heavily on the piano as opposed to the guitar, particularly on the first two discs.
Ike didn't start playing guitar more until late 1950s. Ike was a great piano player. He always considered the piano his main instrument but he played guitar (and drums) just as well. You probably have to get his 1960s collection of his instrumentals with the Kings of Rhythm because he's on guitar there. When Tina first met Ike, he was playing piano.
It is interesting that you mentioned his guitar playing. I am currently listening to the four disc collection That Kat Sure Could Play! which mostly features his work as a sideman circa 1951-1957 and he is featured heavily on the piano as opposed to the guitar, particularly on the first two discs.
Ike didn't start playing guitar more until late 1950s. Ike was a great piano player. He always considered the piano his main instrument but he played guitar (and drums) just as well. You probably have to get his 1960s collection of his instrumentals with the Kings of Rhythm because he's on guitar there. When Tina first met Ike, he was playing piano.
Mr. Turner was an excellent a superb rhythm guitarist. You ask some lead guitarist to play rhythm guitar and they'd piss on themselves. The thing about Turner, he played a roll in all aspects of music from arranger, songwriter, recorded company scout (the man who signed Howlin Wolf, BB King, and Elmore James to name a few others no less), session player... listen to him play on Buddy Guys records in the 60's my goodness. The 60's is when he was very prolific but Turner could write a lyric too. Neither he or Tina allowed others to defined what they should play or sound like, when I listen to their music as a group and individually they pretty much did whatever the wanted to do. To reduce Turner's to career to a song, Rocket 88 as some did when he was inducted to "The HALL".... is to ignore what he did afterwards, listen to his music, all of it. Then come back and tell what he was or wasn't.
Ike didn't start playing guitar more until late 1950s. Ike was a great piano player. He always considered the piano his main instrument but he played guitar (and drums) just as well. You probably have to get his 1960s collection of his instrumentals with the Kings of Rhythm because he's on guitar there. When Tina first met Ike, he was playing piano.
Mr. Turner was an excellent a superb rhythm guitarist. You ask some lead guitarist to play rhythm guitar and they'd piss on themselves. The thing about Turner, he played a roll in all aspects of music from arranger, songwriter, recorded company scout (the man who signed Howlin Wolf, BB King, and Elmore James to name a few others no less), session player... listen to him play on Buddy Guys records in the 60's my goodness. The 60's is when he's very prolific but Turner could write a lyric too. Neither he is Tina allowed others to defined what they should play or sound, when I listen to their music as a group and individually they pretty much did whatever the wanted to do. To reduce Turner's to career to a song, Rocket 88 as some did when he was inducted to "The HALL".... is to ignore what he did afterwards, listen to his music, all of it. Then come back and tell what he was or wasn't.
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[Edited 10/28/12 16:01pm]
True. I still think "A Fool in Love" is one of the greatest songs of all time.
Mr. Turner was an excellent a superb rhythm guitarist. You ask some lead guitarist to play rhythm guitar and they'd piss on themselves. The thing about Turner, he played a roll in all aspects of music from arranger, songwriter, recorded company scout (the man who signed Howlin Wolf, BB King, and Elmore James just to name a few no less), session player... listen to him play on Buddy Guys records in the 60's, my goodness. In the 1960's is when he was very prolific but Turner could write a lyric too. Neither he or Tina allowed others to defined what they should play or sound, when I listen to their music as a group and individually they pretty much did whatever the wanted to do. To reduce Turner's to career to a song, Rocket 88 as some did when he was inducted into "The HALL".... is to ignore what he did afterwards, listen to his music, all of it. Then come back and tell what he was or wasn't.
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True. I still think "A Fool in Love" is one of the greatest songs of all time.
YES. Mr. Turner was smack dead in the middle of the birth of Rock&Roll/ R&B.
+1. In a few generations Tina Turner’s fans will all be dead and she’ll be another forgotten twentieth century vocalist. But Rocket ’88 will keep Ike Turner’s name will be in history books for hundreds of years.
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The thing about Turner, he played a roll in all aspects of music from arranger, songwriter, recorded company scout (the man who signed Howlin Wolf, BB King, and Elmore James to name a few others no less), session player... listen to him play on Buddy Guys records in the 60's my goodness. The 60's is when he was very prolific but Turner could write a lyric too. Neither he or Tina allowed others to defined what they should play or sound like, when I listen to their music as a group and individually they pretty much did whatever the wanted to do. To reduce Turner's to career to a song, Rocket 88 as some did when he was inducted to "The HALL".... is to ignore what he did afterwards, listen to his music, all of it. Then come back and tell what he was or wasn't. 
