Ike Turner Jr., the son of Ike and Tina Turner who won a Grammy for traditional blues album in 2007 as a producer on his father’s album “Risin’ With the Blues,” has died. He was 67.
Turner died Saturday at a Los Angeles hospital from kidney failure, family member Jacqueline Bullock told TMZ. She said the musician had been battling heart issues for years and had a stroke last month.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my cousin, Ike Turner, Jr.,” Bullock said in a statement to the New York Post. ‘”Junior’ was more than a cousin to me, but rather a brother, as we grew up in the same famed household together.”
“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,” the statement continued. “Eventually, Junior would end up helping to run Bolic Sound Studios, the recording studios founded by his father, Ike Turner.”
Ike Turner Jr., and friend Mary Ellis at a memorial service for his father in 2007.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
A musician, producer and sound engineer, Turner was pulled into the music business by his father when he was 13.
“My father took me out of [the] house and out of school and I traveled [with them],” Turner said in a 2017 interview on “The Bobby Eaton Show.” “That wasn’t no easy work.”
In that same interview, he also shared the role his mother Tina played in the instruments he picked up in his youth.
“My first instrument was drums, until my mother started making me break my drums down every day,” he said. “The piano was always there in the family room, so I started playing piano. I play guitar and bass. Everything except horn because horn used to make me dizzy from blowing air.”
Turner was one of four children associated with Ike Sr. and Tina Turner’s famed union, which ended with the latter filing for divorce in 1974 (finalized in 1978). The couple performed together from 1960 to 1976 as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but their musical achievements were often overshadowed by the former’s abuse.
Born in 1958 to Ike Turner Sr. and Lorraine Taylor, Ike Jr. and his brother Michael were adopted by the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” singer upon her marriage in 1962 to their father. Their siblings also included Ronnie and Craig.
“Tina raised me from the age of 2,” Ike Jr. told the Mail on Sunday in 2018. “She’s the only mother I’ve ever known.”
Over the years Turner had commented a number of times on his estrangement from his mother since his parents’ divorce. In 2018 he said he had not spoken to her in nearly 20 years.
Turner was preceded in death by both of his parents and two of his siblings. His father died in 2007 of a cocaine overdose and Tina died in 2023 after a long illness. Craig Turner died by suicide in 2018 and Ronnie Turner of complications related to late-stage cancer in 2022.
Los Angeles County agreed to pay $20 million Tuesday to the family of Noah Cuatro, a 4-year-old Palmdale boy who was tortured to death by his parents in 2019.
The case brought intense scrutiny of the county’s child welfare system after it was revealed that the Department of Children and Family Services had failed to remove Noah from his parents despite a court order.
DCFS had been given 10 days to get Noah away from his parents and seen by a doctor after multiple reports of neglect and abuse, The Times previously reported. The department ignored the order.
He died less than two months later, right before his fifth birthday. His parents later pleaded no contest to murder and torture charges.
“He always begged me not to send him to his parents,” said Eva Hernandez, Noah’s great-grandmother. “I tried to explain to him so many times, but he didn’t understand. He’d take his little hands and look into my eyes and say, ‘Don’t make me go there.’”
Eva Hernandez cries while remembering her great-grandson Noah Cuatro as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors prepares to approve a $20-million settlement to his family.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Hernandez sued DCFS in 2020, alleging the department had failed her grandson and should have intervened to keep him safe. Cuatro had been under the supervision of the agency from the time he was born because his mother had been accused of fracturing his half sister’s skull.
The child welfare department said since Noah’s death they’ve hired thousands of social workers to decrease caseloads and retrained social workers on interviewing techniques and use of forensic exams.
“It is DCFS’ hope that this resolution gives Noah’s family a sense of peace,” the department said in a statement. “DCFS remains committed to learning from the past, improving its work, and operating with transparency.”
At the time of his death, Noah remained under supervision by DCFS despite more than a dozen reports to the child abuse hotline and police from callers who believed that he and his siblings were being abused.
Attorney Brian Claypool, who represented Cuatro’s family in the lawsuit, said Noah’s death was a direct result of the county failing to follow the court order to remove him from his parents. A Superior Court judge had agreed to remove him after a social worker filed a 26-page request with the court, citing evidence of abuse.
“The county really blew it with the removal order. There’s no excuse for them not to have picked up Noah,” Claypool said. “The most shocking, upsetting part of this case is when I took the deposition of the social worker in the case and the two supervisors, none of the individuals read the petition of all the abuse that was submitted to the court. That was inexcusable.”
Eva Hernandez holds a photo of her great-grandson Noah Cuatro.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Noah’s parents initially called 911 on July 5, 2019, saying their son had drowned in a swimming pool of their apartment complex, but authorities grew suspicious after finding the boy unconscious and dry in the apartment. Doctors later found bruises across his body and signs of “mottling” around his neck.
County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Palmdale, called his death a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
“While nothing can undo the harm he suffered, today’s $20 million settlement awarded to his surviving siblings and grandmother provides some measure of support as they continue to heal,” she said in a statement. “Noah’s life was not in vain. His case has reinforced the need for ongoing review of child welfare cases, stronger partnerships with our schools, and a stabilized DCFS workforce to better protect children in the Antelope Valley. Noah leaves behind a legacy — he will not be forgotten.”
His great-grandmother, Hernandez, said she still thinks of him every day.
“I know that he’s not suffering anymore,” she said.
FROM competitiveness to narcissism – if Noel and Liam have what it takes to patch things up, you have no excuse!
WITH the whole world watching, the Gallagher brothers have been taking to the stage for the Oasis reunion tour – and off the back of their 16-year feud, have proven sibling reconciliation is possible for anyone (though the jury is still out on Princes William and Harry. . .).
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Just because you have the same parents, it doesn’t mean you had the same experience growing up
One of the most impactful relationships you will ever have is with a sibling, who can be a best friend and confidante from day one to the end.
But the dynamic is complex.
Just because you have the same parents, it doesn’t mean you had the same experience growing up.
Likewise, you can share DNA, but not the same outlook on life or values.
Fallouts will occur, and that can lead to long-held feuds.
In fact, one study found 28% of people had experienced at least one estrangement episode with a sibling.*
“Our siblings have known us in our formative years in deeply intimate ways, sharing baths, bedrooms, road trips and battles over broccoli,” says Ali Ross from the UK Council for Psychotherapy.
“During this time, there’s a tension between them being your closest allies and greatest threats.”
How do you navigate tensions when they reach boiling point, or bring up long-standing resentments that are now having a big impact?
“Those conversations can be painful and difficult, especially if this is unprecedented for you in your relationship,” says Ali.
Rhasidat Adeleke teases ‘brother-sister duo’ for 2028 Olympics in exciting training video
“But they can also be helpful to establish a new way of relating as siblings. It can also be a relief to name the elephant in the room, or to expose that you’ve been misinterpreting something and dispel long-held assumptions.”
But sometimes forgiveness feels impossible, and the healthiest thing to do is to walk away.
Exhausting, right? Often it’s just light-hearted banter, but if micro-aggressions are thrown around by your sibling, it can put a strain on your relationship.
“The truth is, people like to be in charge of their narrative and identity – and the way people see themselves within the family, or when compared to siblings, can challenge both those things,” says Ali.
“It is how much you want to buy into that game.”
WHAT NEXT?
When you feel the competitive urge, acknowledge it’s just a reflex, then redirect your energy.
“If you’re casting judgements about a sibling without attempting to understand what it’s like to live their life, challenge yourself to genuinely, compassionately understand them better, then do this for yourself,” says Ali.
He suggests imagining a version of yourself that doesn’t have a sibling to compete with. What would you care about?
“Once you understand the context, the desire to compare and compete diminishes,” he says.
Fallouts will occur, and that can lead to long-held feuds
The Narcissistic Sibling
However much you want to forge a stronger relationship with your sibling, the reality is that sometimes it’s near-impossible.
Does it feel like they won’t take any responsibility for their actions, and don’t seem to be capable of any empathy for you or your viewpoint?
“These are signs of narcissistic behaviour,” says Ali.
“But rather than writing your sibling off as a narcissist and trying to change this other person’s way of being, it is more empowering to understand what you are encountering, what that means for you, and to consider how you are going to navigate that.”
“If they don’t, do you really want to have a relationship with them?
“The answer may be hard and upsetting, but it means you can move forward from a more informed position,” says Ali.
There’s a tension between them being your closest allies and greatest threats
Ali Ross
The Peter Pan Sibling
Some people might describe your sibling as a “free spirit”, but you only see them as a big kid.
Ali suggests thinking about why your sibling’s Peter Pan energy irritates you so much.
“Do you feel like you got too old, too soon, or took on more responsibility and feel resentment?” says Ali.
Perhaps you took on caring responsibilities for other family members.
“Ask yourself honestly if there are feelings of being a martyr on your part,” says Ali.
“Have you rushed straight in to put out the fire before anybody else smelled something was burning?”
WHAT NEXT?
Try telling your sibling how much you are struggling.
“Say something like: ‘This is the burden I’m carrying, and you’re not helping,’ and follow it up with some actual strategising to prompt a practical shift,” Ali says.
Our siblings have known us in our formative years in deeply intimate ways, sharing baths, bedrooms, road trips and battles over broccoli
Ali Ross
The Controlling Sibling
Is your sibling overbearing or dictatorial? It’s likely to come from a fear of being vulnerable, says Ali.
“They’re taking power in a situation because they can’t bear the idea of not being in control. However, this feeling is often buried so deep that your sibling won’t recognise it for what it is.”
People under control can end up feeling resentment, but may be too oppressed to express their true feelings.
WHAT NEXT?
“Be aware that calling it out is a threat to their control in itself,” Ali warns.
“It is why they are likely to double-down on their control, or find another insidious way to try to resume or re-establish control.
“It is much better if the controlling person is left to try to figure it out for themselves, and you spend as little time as you can in their orbit.”
It can also be a relief to name the elephant in the room, or to expose that you’ve been misinterpreting something and dispel long-held assumptions
Ali Ross
The Disengaged Sibling
Of course, not all siblings are close.
Or perhaps you once were, but can’t make sense of how your friendship fizzled out.
“Too often, we draw conclusions too early, then base our response on that,” says Ali. There can be a multitude of reasons why your sibling is being elusive.
“Let’s say someone has been abused or neglected in some way [by the family], and they just want out. You cannot force someone to confront something if they do not want to, and you need to respect their space.”
Maybe you’re their problem, in which case, are you ready for some criticism?
“It might be that you are both very different people, and they’re just not that interested in having a relationship with you.
“This will hurt, but at least you’ll hear it for what it is and know what you are dealing with.”
WHAT NEXT?
It’s a tricky conversation, especially if it comes after years of distance.
“Say to them: ‘I feel sad that we don’t have much of a relationship, as far as I see it, and I don’t know why that is. Do you want to feel closer, because I do?’” says Ali.
“You can then try to suggest ways you can bridge that gap or, even better, leave it with them.”
