A statue of Tina Turner has been revealed in the rural Tennessee community where she grew up.
On Sept. 27, the unveiling of the 10-foot statue happened during a ceremony at a park in Brownsville, which is near a community named Nutbush where Turner attended school as a child. It occurred as part of the 10th annual celebration of her life in the area, named Tina Turner Heritage Days.
The statue, sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, features Turner with her iconic hairdo and a microphone in her hand.
Sculpted by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, the effigy reportedly took a year to complete and came to life thanks to more than 50 donors — including Ford Motor Company, which donated $150,000.
If you want to see the sculpture in person, it can be found near a museum that honors Turner at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. The location opened in 2014 inside the renovated Flagg Grove School, which was the one-room building where the singer attended classes in Nutbush when she was a teenager.
The statue was originally announced in 2023 by Brownsville Mayor Bill Rawls Jr., who broke the news to TMZ. "When Tina stepped on stage, she owned it. We want this statue to represent that passion. Tina was an inspiration to the entire world," he said. "She showed the people of Brownsville [that] no matter where you start, you own your story about where you end up."
Turner passed away on May 24, 2023 at 83 years old due to complications from long-term illnesses. Known as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, she was responsible for classic songs like “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.”
In total, she sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 12 Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — the first time in 1991 with her ex-husband Ike Turner, and then on her own in 2021.
