Raymond Hill was the father of Tina Turner’s eldest son, Craig Turner who committed suicide in 2018. Tina Turner’s youngest son, Ronnie Renelle has been reportedly discovered dead aged 62 in his Los Angeles home on Friday, reported TMZ.

Who was Raymond Hill?

Raymond Earl Hill was born on April 29, 1933, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His parents, Henry and Ollie Mae Hill ran cafes in Clarksdale. His father also ran a juke joint that presented Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Nighthawk. Hill started to play the saxophone in childhood. 

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In the late 1940s, he joined Ike Turner’s bands with drummer Billy Gayles, his friend. He was a regular tenor saxophone player in Turner’s first recording sessions at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951, which produced the R&B classic “Rocket 88.” It is credited to Hill’s fellow saxophonist and singer Jackie Brenston. It reached no.1 on the R&B chart and has often been known as “the first rock and roll record.”

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The saxophonist took an exit from Turner in 1952 after a conflict over payments. However, he still continued to perform on some of Turner’s records. He also kept working as a session musician at Sun and other local labels. 

In 1955, he backed to work in Turner’s band on a full-time basis. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1957 he got into a relationship with the band’s new singer Anna Mae Bullock. Then known as Little Ann was later renamed, Tina Turner. She gave birth to her eldest and Hill’s child, Craig at the age of 18. The child later took the surname Turner. 

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Before Craig’s birth, Hill broke his ankle and left the band. He stayed with Jackie Brenston in St. Louis, while Ike Turner and his band moved to California. 

He died of heart failure aged 62 in Clarksdale on April 16, 1996. His son with Tina Turner, Craig Raymond Turner committed suicide in 2018 aged 59 at his Studio City House.