Los Angeles, Oct 6 (UNI) Ike Turner Jr., Grammy-winning musician and the son of legendary R&B duo Ike and Tina Turner, has died at the age of 67.
His passing was confirmed by his sister-in-law Afida Turner, who shared the news on Instagram, writing, “REST IN PEACE IKE JR: U WAS AMAZING BROTHER IN LAW I M GLAD I SPEAK WITH U ON A PHONE BEFORE U GONE LOVE U RIP.”
According to Deadline, Turner Jr. died at a Los Angeles hospital due to complications from kidney failure. His cousin, Jacqueline Bullock, told TMZ that he had battled heart issues for several years and had suffered a stroke the month prior.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my cousin, Ike Turner, Jr.,” Bullock said in a statement shared with the New York Post. “Junior was more than a cousin to me, but rather a brother, as we grew up in the same famed household together.”
Born in 1958 to Ike Turner and Lorraine Taylor, Ike Jr. was adopted by Tina Turner alongside his brother, Michael.
As Deadline noted, he inherited his parents’ musical talent early on, with Bullock recalling that “there wasn’t an instrument he did not want to play.” Though he started out on drums, his mother Tina reportedly asked him to disassemble his drum kit after every practice, a task that led him to shift his focus to keyboards.
Eventually, Turner Jr. became a skilled producer and engineer, going on to help manage Bolic Sound Studios, the recording facility founded by his father.
He would later win a Grammy Award in 2007 for Best Traditional Blues Album for his work on Ike Turner’s final project, Risin’ with the Blues, as highlighted by Deadline.
In a 2018 interview with the Daily Mail, he spoke candidly about his childhood, saying he was raised largely by housekeepers while his parents toured extensively. “My father took me out of school at 13,” he revealed.
“I ended up running his recording studio, plus going on the road with them. They made a lot of money on tour and my father used to make me count it until my hands were gray.”
Despite a difficult and often estranged relationship with his parents—particularly Tina, from whom he was largely distant before her passing in 2023—Turner Jr. remained committed to preserving the family legacy through his tribute band, The Love Thang. Deadline notes that the musician once said he hoped to “do the right thing with the name.”
Ike Turner Jr. ‘s contributions to music, both behind the scenes and on stage, leave behind a lasting mark on the legacy of one of rock and soul’s most iconic families.
