Watch: Gayle King’s Final Interview with Tina Turner — A Farewell Conversation Filled with Grace, Strength, and Serenity

In what would become one of her most profound and emotionally charged interviews, Gayle King sat down with Tina Turner at her tranquil home overlooking Lake Zurich, Switzerland. The legendary performer—then 79 years old and long retired from the stage—opened up about her extraordinary life with unflinching honesty, warmth, and wisdom. Conducted after King’s departure from her role as host of CBS Mornings, the conversation felt less like a traditional interview and more like a personal farewell between two women who had both built their lives around truth and resilience.

🌅 A Life Reimagined in Switzerland

The setting was serene: Turner’s sun-drenched estate by the lake, where the rock icon had lived since becoming a Swiss citizen. Far removed from the whirlwind of fame, Turner appeared at peace—her laughter gentle, her reflections deeply personal.

“When I sit at Lake Zurich in the house that I have, I am so serene. No problems,” she told King. “I had a very hard life. But I didn’t put blame on anything or anyone. I got through it, and I’m a happy person.”

This spirit of acceptance, honed over a lifetime of transformation, defined the tone of the interview.

🎤 From Nutbush to the World Stage

Born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, Turner’s story began in hardship. She grew up in a broken home, yet her determination and magnetic stage presence propelled her from obscurity to global fame.

She vividly recalled meeting Ike Turner for the first time at a St. Louis nightclub:

“I thought he was the ugliest person I’d ever seen,” she laughed. “But then I saw him on stage and thought, ‘Oh, wow, I wanna sing with that band!’”

Ike would soon rename her “Tina Turner” and shape her early career. Their partnership produced timeless hits like Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High, with Tina’s fiery dance moves and raspy vocals redefining performance art in the 1960s and ’70s.

Even so, Turner revealed that she initially struggled to accept her voice:

“In the beginning I didn’t like it. I thought it was kind of ugly because it didn’t sound like Diana Ross. But later I realized—it sounds like the guys. It’s strong.”

Her distinctive tone would go on to become one of the most recognizable sounds in rock and soul history.

💔 Survival and Reinvention

The conversation took a deeply personal turn as Turner revisited her tumultuous relationship with Ike. She described how admiration turned to abuse, explaining, “He was cruel because he depended on me. He didn’t like that he had to depend on me.”

After years of violence and control, Turner finally walked away—with only 36 cents and a gas station credit card.

“I felt that I’d had enough—just enough. Now it’s time to go out the door,” she recalled.

Rebuilding her life from nothing, Turner’s comeback in the 1980s remains one of the greatest in music history. With the help of producer Roger Davies, she recorded What’s Love Got to Do with It—a song she initially disliked. It became her first No. 1 hit at age 44 and earned her four Grammy Awards, cementing her status as a solo superstar.

❤️ Love, Healing, and Acceptance

In her later years, Turner found deep happiness with Erwin Bach, a German record executive she met in 1986. Their relationship, marked by mutual respect and devotion, became her true love story.

“When you get to California, I want you to make love to me,” she said she told him boldly. “I knew what I wanted.”

The two married in 2013, a ceremony she called her first real wedding. Years later, when Turner suffered kidney failure, Bach donated one of his kidneys to save her life—a gesture she initially resisted but ultimately embraced.

“In Buddhism, you’re taught that you live and you die. It’s something that’s accepted,” she reflected, underscoring her spiritual calm.

🌧️ Loss and Reflection

King gently asked about the loss of Turner’s son, Craig, who died in 2018. Turner’s voice softened:

“I think Craig was lonely. That’s what I think really got him more than anything else. I have pictures all around of him smiling, and I think he’s in a good place.”

Her words, filled with heartbreak yet serenity, illustrated the balance of pain and peace that defined her later life.

✈️ The Final Curtain

Turner officially retired in 2009, following her 50th Anniversary Tour, and never looked back.

“I got on that plane, Gayle,” she said with a laugh. “I took a deep breath and I said, ‘It’s over.’ And I’m glad it’s over. They can go watch the videos!”

That sense of closure—a blend of humor, humility, and relief—captured the essence of Turner’s journey. From the fiery stages of the 1960s to her tranquil lakeside sanctuary, she had come full circle.

🌟 A Farewell Conversation for the Ages

For Gayle King, this interview was more than an assignment—it was a spiritual bookend to a career defined by empathy and connection. Her ability to draw out Turner’s honesty and grace gave viewers a rare look into the heart of a woman who had turned suffering into art and pain into power.

As the cameras faded, Turner sat by her window, gazing at the still waters of Lake Zurich—a living symbol of peace earned, not given.

“I have everything,” she said simply. “I have peace.”

With that, the interview—and Gayle King’s era on CBS Mornings—closed on a note of timeless dignity. Two women, each at the pinnacle of their respective legacies, shared a quiet truth: that strength is not found in never falling, but in rising—again and again—with grace.