He was 76. Turner’s death was confirmed by his manager, Scott Hanover. He did pass away this morning, Hanover said. There has been no official announcement of the cause of his death, but TMZ.com reports that Turner died in his sleep at his San Marcos, California, home. Turner, who, along with Tina, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, released his last solo album, Risin’ With the Blues, in 2006; the effort won a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the St.

Louis Walk of Fame in 2001.

(See photos of Ike Turner from over the course of the rock and roll legend’s career right here.) While his contributions to the world of music have been largely overshadowed by his personal turmoil (documented in the 1993 Tina Turner biopic, What’s Love Got to Do With It ), Turner was a true rock and roll pioneer, having released what many consider to be the first rock and roll song, Rocket 88 (albeit under the name of his band’s singer, Jackie Brenston His Delta Cats), in 1951.

Izear Luster Turner Jr. was born in 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He formed his first band while still in high school, and by the late ’40s had assembled an outfit dubbed the Kings of Rhythm - the group recorded Rocket 88, although authorship of the song has been disputed. The song became a hit and the Kings went on to work with such legendary blues musicians as Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and many others.

Turner and the group continued performing and recording throughout the 1950s, with Tina joining the group late in the decade and ultimately marrying Turner in 1958. In the ensuing years the Ike Tina Turner Revue built up a strong following, scoring several hits in the 1960s and becoming a top live draw.