St. Louis mayor rejects proclaiming 'Ike Turner Day'

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Mayor Francis Slay has turned down a request to honor Ike Turner, the legendary musician who has publicly admitted hitting his former wife, entertainer Tina Turner.

Slay was asked to make Sept. 2 "Ike Turner Day" in St. Louis, the same day Ike Turner is scheduled to perform at the Big Muddy Blues Festival here.

"We were only looking to celebrate his contributions to the music industry. Many entertainers have checkered pasts," Dawne Massey, the festival's director, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He helped put St. Louis rhythm and blues on the map."

Bridget Brennan, executive director of the St. Louis Healthy Marriage Coalition, was among those who called Slay's office to protest.

"We believe there is a zero tolerance for any kind of violence," Brennan said. "We would not want to honor someone who has publicly stated they have hit their wife."

Cathy Smentkowski, an aide to Slay, said that when the request "was brought to the mayor's attention, he did not feel comfortable issuing it." She declined to elaborate.

Ike and Tina Turner both have stars on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Once a fixture of the nightclubs around St. Louis, he met Tina at a show in East St. Louis, Ill. The pair married and toured together before ending their tumultuous relationship in the late 1970s.

In 1993, Ike Turner was depicted as a violent and abusive husband in a movie about Tina Turner's life, "What's Love Got To Do With It."

In his 1999 autobiography, Ike Turner disputed the movie's characterization of him, though he admitted to drug use and hitting his wife.

Ike Turner, now 75, continues to make music. His album, "Risin' With The Blues," won a Grammy for 2006.

Scott M. Hanover, a manager at Thrill Entertainment Group, which represents Ike Turner, said it's a "shame" Ike Turner's troubled history still follows him.

"People are living in the past," Hanover said. "They don't know the man I know. This ain't 1962."

Word that the mayor was considering honoring Ike Turner reached an e-mail list maintained by the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, which applauded the mayor's decision to reject the request.

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Information from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com