Who was Tina Turner’s eldest son’s father? All about Raymond Hill

Tina Turner's life and career were filled with remarkable highs and lows. While she continues to be one of music's most recognizable and famous icons, her personal life was also filled with unfathomable tragedy, including the death of her two sons, Craig and Ronnie Turner.

Craig Raymond Turner was Tina's firstborn of her four children and was born prior to her marriage to Ike Turner. His biological father was Raymond Hill, a gifted yet unrecognized musician, and one of the pioneers of the early rock and roll genre.

Raymond Hill was born in the small town of Clarksdale, Mississippi, similarly called the birthplace of the blues. Hill had an early aptitude for music, especially the saxophone.

Tina Turner’s real name was Anna Mae Bullock. She was born on November 26, 1939. In some of her early years she lived in Nutbush, Tennessee.

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In his teenage years, Hill began playing for Ike Turner and his famous band, the Kings of Rhythm, and was known as one of the stars of the band. Hill's expressive saxophone can be heard on several landmark records, including Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats' “Rocket 88” (1951), a song often labeled by rock historians as the first genuine rock and roll record.

According to a report by Memphis Flyer, Hill's explosive saxophone solo was one of the highlights of "Rocket 88," and it launched both Turner and his band into the careers that they would follow. While Hill may not be as recognizable a name as other pioneers, his contribution to rhythm and blues is firmly established in the chronicles of American music history.

Raymond Hill's relationship with Tina Turner and later life

In the mid-1950s, while Ike Turner’s band was becoming popular in the region, Hill began to date a young Anna Mae Bullock, who would one day be best known as Tina Turner.

At that point, Anna Mae was a teenager who lived in Nutbush, Tennessee, but occasionally sang with the Kings of Rhythm before joining the band. Hill’s and Anna Mae’s short relationship produced a child, Craig Raymond Turner, in 1958.

Hill and Tina did not last very long together because Hill eventually left the band and returned to Clarksdale. In 1962, Tina married Ike Turner, who adopted Craig. Craig grew up amid Tina's turbulence with Ike, and this turmoil, she later disclosed, profoundly affected her children.

After leaving the band of Ike Turner, Hill remained active performing and recording and is said to have played on songs with Junior Parker ("Mystery Train") and Jessie Hill ("Ooh Poo Pah Doo"). He also worked briefly as a DJ on Clarksdale's WROX radio station where he would perform live and was well-known as one of the most popular musicians in the area.

Hill's career was certainly rich but comparatively modest next to the superstars he worked with and after some time he moved back to Clarksdale where he played locally with his wife Lillie Hill until he passed away in 1996.

Although the name Raymond Hill may not be familiar to listeners of popular rock and roll music, he still had a considerable amount of impact. As an early saxophonist and founding member of the Kings of Rhythm, he was instrumental in fashioning a sound that would inspire many generations of future musicians.