Margo Jefferson writes about the people and events that changed her into the woman she is today. I was struck by her admission that as a girl, Margo Jefferson found Ike Turner (aka, Izear Luster Turner) compelling. Turner, constantly frustrated yet talented, struggled throughout his career. “Even now when I see a video or hear an old hit, I’m drawn back in. He was an R&B man, a soul man, a pioneer rock and roll man. When he got to the crossroads, his soul was in thrall to manic depression and drug addiction; to years of envy (of Tina, of white rockers turned millionaire stars; of black men he’d once helped sign to record labels–B. B. King, Bobby Bland, Howlin’ Wolf all legends now and where was he?); to a Mississippi childhood that was a trifecta of domestic abuse, sexual treachery and racist violence.” (p. 89)
I was also impressed with Jefferson’s comparison of great women performers: Bessie Smith, Clara Smith, and Ethel Waters on one side; Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan on the other.
Margo Jefferson provides more surprises: writers that influenced her like Willa Cather and poet Louise Bogan.
If you’re in the mood for a startling journey over a lifetime of music, books, and teaching give Constructing a Nervous System a try. GRADE: B+
As usual I am impressed with the variety of your reading material. All of my ideas about Ike Turner come from the film and are thus negative and probably not sympathetic enough to his childhood.
Patti, Diane and I saw TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL again recently. Ike Turner shows up as a Bad Guy during most of the performance despite his abusive childhood.
Well, that’s the kind of childhood that usually produces bad guys…
Todd, you’re right.
Like Patti, I’m impressed with and awed by your selection of reading material, but I have two questions. Where (or how) do you come up with this stuff and, even more puzzling, how do you find the time to read it?
Michael, I don’t watch much TV so that frees up a lot of Time. And, I don’t have a cell phone (studies show that people check their cell phones an average of 700 times per day) so that also supplies Time for reading. Usually, I’m reading books that garnered strong reviews from the WALL STREET JOURNAL, NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW, and magazines like THE ECONOMIST and THE ATLANTIC. I prefer a variety of reading material.
I always wondered what made Ike into such a loser after he kind of invented Tina. Of course I don’t know how their relationship really went, but shouldn’t he have been proud of the results?
And maybe continue to find and develop more artists of that kind?
Maybe it was just jealousy?
Wolf, the record companies and other singers at that time ripped off Ike Turner’s music and left him embittered. Add that to his abusive childhood and you end up with a charismatic but toxic performer.
I knew some stuff about Ike – he was the guy behind what is considered by some the first rock & roll hit, Rocket 88 – even though it was credited to Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats. It was actually Ike & the Rhythm Kings.
On the other hand, I don’t know anything about Margo Jefferson.
Jeff, I understand Ike Turner’s resentment and bitterness as other groups and artists “borrowed” his work and gained fame and money. Here’s Margo Jefferson info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margo_Jefferson