A 10-foot statue of rock 'n' roll queen Tina Turner was unveiled Saturday in the rural Tennessee community where she grew up before becoming a Grammy-winning singer, an electrifying stage performer, and one the world's most recognizable and popular entertainers. The statue was revealed during a ceremony at a park in Brownsville, located about an hour drive east of Memphis, the AP reports. The city of about 9,000 people is near Nutbush, the community where Turner went to school as a child. As a teen, she attended high school just steps from where the statue now stands.
The statue shows Turner with her signature hairdo and holding a microphone, as if she was singing onstage. It was designed by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, who said he tried to capture her flexibility of movement onstage, how she held the microphone with her index finger extended, and her hair style, which he compared to the "mane of a lion." The statue was sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, and it took about a year to complete. Turner died May 24, 2023, at age 83 after a long illness in her home near Zurich. Her Grammy-winning singing career included the hits "Nutbush City Limits," "Proud Mary," "Private Dancer," and "We Don't Need Another Hero." Her movie credits include "Tommy" and "Last Action Hero."
The unveiling was part of the 10th annual Tina Turner Heritage Days, a celebration of her life growing up in rural Tennessee before she moved away as a teenager. Karen Cook said she traveled from Georgia with her friend, a cousin of Turner's, to honor the legendary performer. "It's a big deal and a great thing for the community to have Tina Turner in her small town," said Cook, 59. About 50 donors gave money for the statue, including Ford Motor Co., which donated $150,000. Ford is building an electric truck factory in nearby Stanton. The statue stands near a museum honoring Turner at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville.
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