The Lorenzo’s Tina Turner Suite commemorates the rock icon’s escape and rise to super-stardom

DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

Tina Turner’s portrait hangs in the lobby of the Lorenzo Hotel, located across I-30 from downtown Dallas. That’s because on July 3, 1976, hotel staff there saved the singer’s life.

The legendary singer died May 24 at her home in Switzerland following a lengthy illness, and the world mourned for the woman known as the undisputed queen of rock and roll, who was born in 1939 and grew up as Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tenn., then survived years of abuse at the hands of her first husband, Ike Turner.

The city of Dallas plays a pivotal role in her escape from the abuse and her first steps toward a solo career like none other.

Tina and Ike were on tour and were in Dallas that night in 1976 for a concert. But in the limo on the way to the Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas, Ike beat up Tina — again.

When they checked into that hotel, no one questioned the bruises on her face. But Tina had finally had enough.

That night she waited until Ike fell asleep, then she slipped out of the hotel room and ran for freedom. She had just 36 cents in her pocket.

She ran across I-30 itself, almost getting hit by a truck, to what was then a Ramada Inn. Akard Street, where the Lorenzo is located, has an overpass today. But it’s not clear if that overpass had been built yet in 1976. Even if the overpass were there, it might not have been accessible because City Hall, on the downtown side of Akard, was just under construction.

Despite her bruises, the hotel manager recognized Tina and gave her a room on the 11th floor. She remained in hiding there for three days. The manager even posted a guard at her door and sent up soup because she was too bruised to eat solid food.

Even though Tina arrived at the hotel with less than a dollar in her pocket, three days later she had the money necessary to get back home. Where did that money come from?

Al Deberry, managing director of the Lorenzo, said they don’t really know where the money came from. But they do know Ike was out searching the town for her after he woke up and discovered her missing.

“We assume family sent her money through Western Union,” he said. “And she got back to California.”

Deberry said Tina Turner left the hotel grateful for the care she received and promised to pay the hotel back. Old records from the Ramada don’t exist anymore, but Deberry said he assumed she had, indeed, repaid the debt. He does know she had never stopped back at the hotel during visits to Dallas.

Ike and Tina Turner were married in 1962. She filed for divorce on July 27, 1976, less than four weeks after her stay in Dallas. The divorce wasn’t finalized until 1978 because Ike fought it every step of the way.

She asked for little in the divorce, and the only thing she got out of the 14-year-marriage was her name — Tina Turner — the stage name that Ike had trademarked when he first hired her as his lead singer for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue in the late 1950s. At the time, he figured if she didn’t work out, he could replace her with another Tina.

Tina Turner didn’t begin her solo career immediately; that began with the 1984 release of her first solo album, Private Dancer.

The hotel has been renovated and upgraded since its Ramada Inn days and is now known as the Lorenzo Hotel. That room on the 11th floor where the music legend hid out all those years ago is commonly referred to as the Tina Turner Suite or, more formally, the Escape Suite. It’s decorated to commemorate the rise to superstardom that began with Tina’s escape from an abusive relationship that night in Dallas.

Deberry said each room in the hotel is decorated differently, and, in 2020, they redecorated the 11th floor suite where she stayed to honor Tina Turner. It opened during the height of the pandemic. Albums, photos, pillows and more adorn the room to pay tribute to the rock icon.

People not staying in the Escape Suite can still get a glimpse of the hotel’s place in history with the portrait that still hangs proudly next to the main entrance.