Ike Turner Jr., the son of legendary performers Tina Turner and Ike Turner, has died at the age of 67.
According to his cousin Jacqueline Bullock, who first confirmed the news to TMZ, Ike Jr. passed away at a Los Angeles hospital on Saturday, October 4, from kidney failure.
‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my cousin, Ike Turner, Jr.,’ Bullock told Page Six. ‘Junior was more than a cousin to me, but rather a brother, as we grew up in the same famed household together.’
She also revealed to the outlet that his health had declined in recent years following heart issues and a stroke last month.
In he statement, Bullock remembered Ike Jr. for his musical talent and lasting impact in the studio.
‘As the son of Tina and Ike Turner, from an early age, his talents were evident as there wasn’t an instrument he did not want to play,’ she said. ‘While he favored the drums early on, my aunt and his mother, Tina Turner, insisted that he break down his drum kit after each practice. This led him to favor the keys.’
She concluded: ‘While he faced the same challenges that many of us have, he would become a sought after sound engineer, musician, and Grammy winner.’
Ike Jr.’s sister-in-law, Afida Turner, the widow of his late brother Ronnie, also paid tribute to him 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.’
Ike Jr. is one of Tina’s two adopted sons from her relationship to Ike Turner.
Like his parents, Ike Jr. also had a career in music as a member of the tribute band The Love Thang Band, alongside vocalist Sweet Randi Love.
He earned a Grammy working with his late father on the 2006 album Risin’ With The Blues, which prevailed in the category for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Tina and Ike Sr. raised four kids together.
The What’s Love Got to Do with It hitmaker adopted Ike Sr.’s two sons, Ike Jr. and Michael, from his previous relationship with Lorraine Taylor.
The couple later welcomed their only child together, Ronnie Turner, while Tina was also mother to son Raymond Craig, whom she shared with musician Raymond Hill.
Tina died in May 2023 after a long illness at age 83, while Ike Sr. died at 76 of a cocaine overdose in December 2007.
The legendary performer died at her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.
Ike Jr. was preceded in death by his two of his brothers, Craig, who died by suicide in 2018, and Ronnie, who passed away from colon cancer in 2022.
In 2018, Ike Jr. told The Daily Mail: ‘Tina raised me from the age of two. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known.’
‘But I haven’t talked to my mother since God knows when – probably around 2000. I don’t think any of my brothers have talked to her in a long time either,’ he claimed. ‘My mother is living her life – she has a new husband and she’s in Europe. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the past.’
