Latest news with #IkeTurner
Edmunds
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Edmunds
These Are the Most Popular Cars in Music
Hip-hop is rife with car references, more than any other modern genre. That's no surprise, as, like in rock music decades before it, cars represent success, status and self-expression in the stories of its songs. The influence goes beyond just name-dropping, though. In a song like Ludacris' 'Roll Out (My Business),' his Mercedes becomes part of the story. Benzes, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis all assume character roles in many modern hip-hop lyrics, as rappers boast of the wealth they've amassed in order to afford them. Decades before, pop and rock artists used cars as symbols of freedom, rebellion, and romance in chart-topping hits and underground anthems. The Beach Boys rightfully get credit for mythologizing the early 1960s Southern California lifestyle in songs about surfing and driving, proclaiming their love for Ford hot rods ('Little Deuce Coupe') and Chevy V8 engines (' 409'). They weren't the only ones though, as a cottage industry of artists, records and songs about cars sprung up in the 1960s and 1970s, ranging from rockabilly artists like Vince Taylor, whose 'Brand New Cadillac' became a popular deep track when covered by The Clash, to Commander Cody's 'Hot Rod Lincoln.' Cars were even central to the birth of rock music. 'Rocket 88,' by singer Jackie Brenston and future soul superstar Ike Turner, was released in early 1951. It's widely considered one of the first 'rock' recordings for its vigorous shuffling beat, lively guitar and horn parts, and song structure that became a template for rock songs for the next two decades. Naturally, the song was about a car, in this case the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 that had been introduced only a couple of years earlier. Finally, one of the most famous songs of the 1980s was a lyrically loaded ode to love and romance wrapped in the metaphor of America's premier sports car. Prince's 'Little Red Corvette' cracked the Top 10 singles chart in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. In America, it reached number 6 in 1983. In 2016, following Prince's death, it reached Number 4. The single has sold nearly 1,000,000 copies to date. Trucks and tradition Hip-hop and rock artists love their luxury cars, sports cars, and hot rods, but country artists tend to prefer trucks as their mobile muses. Pickups are the original utility vehicles, combining strength, capability and dependability — themes that are also rich for material in country music lyrics. Our data shows a wide variety of truck mentions popping up across music genres, covering everything from classic pickups to luxury SUVs often called "trucks" in song lyrics. The Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado get plenty of shoutouts, showing their iconic status in American culture, especially in country and rock music. Even SUVs get an occasional nod. The Chevrolet Tahoe is the seventh-most mentioned song in the dataset, merging the widely recognized truck brand with its popular SUV model. Going a bit deeper, we looked at recent truck sales data to understand how popular trucks compare in the real world to their musical mentions. According to the latest data, the Ford F-Series dominates U.S. vehicle sales with 765,649 units sold in 2024, maintaining its place as America's best-selling truck. The Chevrolet Silverado follows closely, both results mirroring their prevalence in song lyrics. The relative absence of lyrics for Ram pickups, on the other hand, suggests Ram's marketing team has some work to do. From motors to monikers
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Awkward Tina Turner musical makes you uncomfortable but still charms and thrills, like the star herself
Hovering uneasily between fun and ferocity, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre is crammed with rousing hits but has the compressed drama of a cage fight Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre is ambitious storytelling with a real edge; it hovers uncomfortably between a stark meditation on domestic violence in a black American context, and a redemptive feel-good story of the triumph of talent. The show opens with megastar Tina in her prime, about to go on stage at a monster concert. It then flashes back to her as a little girl in Nutbush, Tennessee, singing in church. Her mother, beaten by her father, flees the family home with Tina's sister, leaving Tina behind – a deep wound that haunts her life. Tina's own marriage to Ike Turner replicates this domestic violence scenario, in an intergenerational recycling of trauma. The script does not excuse Ike's violence, but does try to contextualise it among the major humiliations heaped on black male Americans in a deeply racist 1960s society.
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Tina Turner the Musical: ‘Tina really wanted to show the good, the bad and the ugly'
Two years ago this month, Tina Turner died at the age of 83 at her home in Switzerland. The global superstar and rock icon had a career spanning more than five decades. Although she retired from performing on stage in her late 60s, one of her final projects was to collaborate on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which debuted in London's West End in 2018. Turner didn't write the musical, however she was heavily involved in the creative process, providing input on various aspects of the story. The show spans four decades and charts her rise to international fame, but it also portrays the difficulties and struggles that the singer lived through. 'That was a huge thing for her. She really wanted to not portray her life in any kind of way of Disney,' explains Simone Mistry-Palmer, the show's choreographer and assistant director. 'She really wanted to show it, you know, the good, the bad and the ugly'. READ MORE The 'bad and the ugly' that Mistry-Palmer is referring to is the sixteen years of abuse that Turner suffered at the hands of her ex-husband Ike. The pair rose to fame in the early 60s as a husband and wife musical duo, but Turner was abused the entire time. After the pair split, with less than a dollar to her name, the then 37-year old had to rebuild her life and relaunch her career as a solo artist. Set to a soundtrack of her iconic hits, the theatre show packs everything in and more, says Mistry-Palmer. 'It's all in there, the stuff with Ike Turner, the abuse, you've got racism, you've got misogyny, you've got it all, you know, but despite all of that, you know, she comes out on top'. This month, the musical is coming to Dublin's Bord Gáis Energy Theatre for a three week run from May 27th. Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy will be playing Turner. It's a dream come true for the singer and actress, who originally auditioned to play a different part. 'I auditioned for Tina Turner's mum Zelma, so it came as a shock. It's a lot of weight to carry because this woman was an absolute legend, so I wanted to make sure when I did her work that I was doing it to the best of my abilities,' she says. You can listen back to this episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
