MusicThe artist who taught Mick Jagger how to command an audienceFriendship between music icons began in the 1960s and continued through the decades, including the legendary collaborative performanceBy Editorial Staff

Mick Jagger is one of the references when talking about rock frontmen and performers in general. Famous for his disposition even at an advanced age and his unique way of dancing on stage, the singer of Rolling Stones learned to move with one of the best. In the 1960s, it was not uncommon to find him watching performances by Tina Turner.

In biography Tina Turner: My Love Story (2018) (via Far Out Magazine), the singer narrates her first interactions with the then young singer of Stones. During the period, Jagger praised the way Tina and his ballerinas danced and then he tried to learn some steps.

She says:

When I finally saw Mick Jagger for the first time, he was standing on the side of the stage. Later, he appeared in the dressing room and said, ‘I like how you girls dance’. He was a little strange back then. We put him in our group and taught him how to do the ‘pony’ (dance step). To this day, Mick likes to say, ‘My mother taught me to dance’, but I know the truth.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone USA available in the book The Masters: Conversations with Dylan, Lennon, Jagger, Townshend, Garcia, Bono, and Springsteen (2023), by Jann S. Wenner, Mick Jagger cites the influence and even compares Tina to another great artist. The vocalist of Rolling Stones he said:

I was influenced by her. A lot of female performers are static – or they certainly were in the 60s. They did their best, but they weren’t like Tina. She was like a female version of Little Richard and responded to the public.”

Tribute and recognition

When Tina Turner passed away in May 2023, Mick Jagger published a message on social media confirming once again the help he received in his youth. On his profile on X, the singer wrote:

“I am so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented singer and performer. Tina she was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”

I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner.
She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her. pic.twitter.com/TkG5VrdxXO

—Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) May 24, 2023

Mick Jagger and Tina Turner together

In 1985, Jagger and Turner performed together at one of the most remembered events in music history: the Live Aid. The duo sang “State of Shock” – originally recorded by Mick and michael jackson – and “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”of the Stones.

The occasion is also remembered for the moment when the Tina is removed by the singer. The so-called Queen of Rock and Roll also told about this in her biography (via website Igor Miranda):

Mick and I could never stand there and just sing – that wasn’t us. We had to do something. He looked at me. I was wearing a tight black leather blouse and skirt. I could see a mischievous idea forming. ‘Does that skirt come off?’ he asked mischievously. ‘What?’, I replied scared… ‘I’m going to take off your skirt’. I asked him why, but it was too late to talk, Mick had already made up his mind. It wasn’t like some random guy took my skirt off. He was a boy I had known for a long time.”

The friendship remained over the years. Turner he even declared that Jagger was his famous “crush”.

The singer toured with Stones in 1966, even when she was part of the duo with her then husband, Ike Turnerand in 1981, as a solo artist. Tina also appears in the documentary Gimme Shelter (1970), which shows a British tour of the United States in 1969.

Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.