A towering tribute to Tina Turner now stands in her Tennessee hometown.
On Sept. 27, a 10-foot bronze statue of the music legend was unveiled during a ceremony in Brownsville, near Nutbush, where Turner went to school as a child. The unveiling coincided with the 10th annual Tina Turner Heritage Days, a celebration of her life and legacy in the community.
Crafted in clay and cast in bronze by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, the piece shows Turner with her signature hairstyle and a microphone in hand. The project, which took a year to complete, was funded by more than 50 donors — including Ford Motor Company, which contributed $150,000.
The statue now stands near the Tina Turner Museum at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. The museum opened in 2014 inside the restored Flagg Grove School, the one-room schoolhouse where Turner studied as a teenager.
Brownsville Mayor Bill Rawls Jr., who first announced the project in 2023, told TMZ at the time, “When Tina stepped on stage, she owned it. We want this statue to represent that passion. Tina was an inspiration to the entire world. She showed the people of Brownsville [that] no matter where you start, you own your story about where you end up.”
Turner, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” passed away on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83 following complications from long-term illnesses. With classics like “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” she cemented her place in music history. Over her career, she sold more than 150 million records, earned 12 Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice — first in 1991 alongside Ike Turner, and again in 2021 as a solo artist.
