Ike Turner Jr., Son of Ike & Tina Turner, Dies at 67

Ike Turner Jr., the son of soul/rock duo Ike & Tina Turner and a Grammy-winning producer in his own right, has died at the age of 67 – one day after his birthday.

Tina Turner’s niece, Jacqueline Bullock, confirmed the news to TMZ that Ike Jr. passed away from kidney failure on Saturday, October 4, at a Los Angeles hospital. Bullock says that his health has been declining for some time, including severe heart issues and a stroke in early September.

In a statement to the New York Post, Bullock said, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my cousin, Ike Turner, Jr. ‘Junior’ was more than a cousin to me, but rather a brother, as we grew up in the same famed household together.”

Ike Turner Jr. was born in 1958 to Ike Sr and Lorraine Taylor. Tina Turner (who married Ike in 1962) would later adopt him and his brother, Michael. Junior quickly followed his parents into music.

“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,” Bullock told the Post. “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. Eventually, Junior would end up helping to run Bolic Sound Studios, the recording studios founded by his father, Ike Turner.”

Ike Jr. became a sought-after sound engineer. In 2007, he won a Grammy for his work on his father’s “Risin’ With The Blues” album.