Memorial Day - Remembering My Father and Tina Turner #MusicMovesMe

 It's Monday, Memorial Day in the United States, and it's time for music.

Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and Yours Truly.

Why not join our music loving folks?  It's so easy. All you have to do is join the linky above with a music post that contains at least one music video.  No music video? Your post may be removed, or may be labeled *NO MUSIC*.     

Today is "Memorial Day songs remembering those in general, or a particular person who served.  Pick songs you think that person might have enjoyed, or songs that make you think of your fallen hero."

I am also going to pay tribute today to Tina Turner, who passed away on May 24 at the age of 83.

I am fortunate enough not to have knowingly known anyone who died in combat, but I did know a number of people who served in time of war, including my father.  Others, like my mother, worked in wartime industries to support the war effort.  Although my father did return from his World War II service, unlike some 405,399 of his fellow soldiers, he did return with a service connected disability.

My father originally was not accepted for service in World War II but was inducted into the Army Air Corp in 1942.  He served as a MP and as an airplane mechanic, but suffered a head injury in 1945 which left him suffering from seizures the rest of his life.

To honor my father, here are several World War II era songs he certainly would have known.

Vera Lynn and her cover of As Time Goes By.  This song was written in 1931 but became famous through the movie Casablanca in 1942.

Bing Crosby and The Andrew Sisters "Don't Fence Me In" from 1944.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - the Andrew Sisters.

Now, a tribute to Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee in 1939.  After she met Ike Turner, she became a vocalist in his band, and eventually married him. Her first recording was made in 1958.

Let's fast forward now to modern times and a Tina Turner rerecording of her first release, 1960s A Fool in Love. This song highlights just how powerful her voice is.

Perhaps the song she is most famous for, Ike and Tina Turner's 1971 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary.  You'll need to click on the video to watch it on You Tube, but I liked this live performance.

Tina Turner's 1984 cover of What's Love Got to Do With It, her first (and only) #1 hit on the Billboard charts.  At this point of time, Tina Turner was the opening act for Lionel Richie.

Tina hid for years that her first husband, Ike, was terribly abusive (besides being heavily involved with drugs -in fact, he died from an overdose in 2007) and she left the marriage with literally 34 cents to her name, running for her life.  In the divorce proceedings, she asked for only one thing:  the name she had recorded under with Ike:  Tina Turner, the name the music world knew her by.

She worked hard to build a solo career without Ike, and also, eventually became an advocate for abused women.  Sadly, her health deteriorated in the past few years.  She died in Switzerland, where she had lived with the man she called her "first husband".  Thankfully, her second marriage was the total opposite of her first.

In 2021, Tina Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On May 24, 2023, Tina Turner was inducted into Rock and Roll Heaven.  May she forever rest in peace.

And that is a nostalgic wrap.

Join me again next Monday for another episode of Music Moves Me.