Following Tina Turner’s death, the music industry has been inundated with tributes to the late artist. Pete Townshend of the Who is the latest to express his sympathy. Townshend recently uploaded a photo of Turner on the band’s official Instagram account and showed his respect for her while reflecting on their friendship in his open letter. Townshend wrote of Turner’s long fight with cancer and her contributions to R&B music: “I’m sorry to hear Tina Turner has died. She had been ill for a long time and had struggled to maintain contact with old pals. She’ll be able to relax now. She was an R&B trailblazer as well as an incredible performer and singer. We don’t want to mention too much about her abusive husband, Ike Turner, but her early records with him were simply incredible.”
He also mentioned Turner’s abusive relationship with her ex-husband, Ike Turner, briefly, saying: “When she worked with him, she always took off, leaving him as a fifth wheel, chipping away at his basic riffs.” When she was finally free of him, her art reached new and even greater heights. It didn’t appear to be doable. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to watch Tina play live, you know how terrifying she can be. She had a huge presence.” The guitarist went on to express his love for Turner and their collaborative effort:
“She’s a female Little Richard.” She appeared to be a giant: trembling, sexual, physical, and breathtakingly gorgeous. She was fragile, vulnerable, and a very sweet and empathetic person in the flesh. She was, of course, my Acid Queen in the ‘Tommy’ film, and it’s frequently my job to sing that song with the Who, so she’s always on my thoughts. It is difficult to deal with. The song is about being abused by a nasty woman. How she turned that song around! All of her victim rage erupted into fire and bluster, as well as a great and bizarre cameo part that will live on in my memory. She’d been on my mind for ten years, and I’d been intending to track her out and see how she was. I genuinely believed she would live indefinitely. Townshend, Pete.” Roger Daltrey included a brief message with his letter, saying:
“What a voice! What a showman! What an adventure! “A true original and simply the best artist.” Tina Turner’s relationship with the Who went beyond Townshend’s open letter. She played the Acid Queen in the film adaptation of their rock opera ‘Tommy,’ contributing her powerful vocals to the song that carries the character’s name. Turner’s rendition of ‘Acid Queen’ became the title of her 1975 album.