Joy Drop: remembering rock ‘n’ roll legend Tina Turner and her Canadian connection

Hello friends! I am still reeling from the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. My visit to Calgary was punctuated by a day trip to Banff and Lake Louise with my husband, Mark.

The air quality in Calgary was rough due to the wildfires, but the heavens opened up the day we went, giving us this magnificent theater of geological grandeur.

Another version of greatness is basketball star Laeticia Amihere. The first Canadian woman to dunk is an NCAA champion who was drafted into the WNBA this year and plays for the Atlanta Dream.

I interviewed her last year for my podcast and she is a gem. This piece about her brought me a lot of happiness:

I came across this amazing story of Miss Iris Davis, a British woman who saved more than six hundred cats from the rubble after the London Blitz in 1941.

As you know, I love cats and I felt compelled to share this beautiful furry story with you.

On a heavier but still joyous note, I wanted to mention the loss of rock ‘n’ roll legend Tina Turner. She died at the age of 83 after leaving such an incredible mark on the world and on music.

I have always been a fan of Tina Turner and not only because her life is one of resilience and celebration, but because seeing her on stage encouraged me to fall in love with that genre.

Although we know that black women have contributed greatly to rock ‘n’ roll, that’s not always where they’ve been amplified. But Tina Turner owned the stage. She collaborated with the greatest artists of all time and completely blew me away with any performance.

The joy she exhibited as she sang and danced and was who she was is something I’m grateful to have witnessed.

As a child, I remember when I first saw the It’s just love video of his phenomenal duet with Canada’s Bryan Adams. He was mesmerized. She was so natural and her chemistry was electric. They remained close friends and continued their collaborations as the years passed.

I knew all his songs by heart (I still do). She sang with such intensity and sincerity. I’ve followed her career my entire life and feel tremendously lucky to have been alive in an era where she was gifting us with her genius.

I even remember CBC using his song. Simply the best as part of a playoff montage in 1990 when The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup.

My brother recorded it on our VHS recorder and we watched it hundreds of times.

It has many famous songs, but this one in particular transcended art and sports and remains an anthem to greatness, the score notwithstanding.

Cover versions of his songs have also peaked at pivotal moments in Canadian television history, including on the award-winning Schitts Creek in two different scenes.

She will be so, so missed.

I hope your weekend is electric and full of connections with family and friends.