50 Greatest Singers Of All Time 15. Tina Turner

I’ll never forget the first time I saw [Tina] perform,” said Beyoncé. “I never in my life saw a woman so powerful, so fearless.” Turner started touring with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue almost half a century ago; her breakthrough was their blazing 1971 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary,” which included the declaration that she never does anything “nice and easy.” “She was so direct, so raw,” says John Fogerty, who wrote the song. Age has only deepened the ache and grit in her powerhouse cries and moans during her long career as a solo artist. Melissa Etheridge said that Turner’s voice defies classification. “You can’t say soul, R&B, rock & roll,” Etheridge said. “She’s all of it! She can squeeze passion from any line.”