NEW York - Rock and soul singers, civil rights activists and political leaders mourned Tina Turner on Wednesday as a trailblazing artist whose music and life epitomised resilience, determination, heart and the power to not only survive but thrive over five decades in the music industry.

“Tina would have so much energy during her performances and was a true entertainer,” Magic Johnson, the former star of the Los Angeles Lakers, wrote on Twitter.

“She created the blueprint for other great entertainers like Janet Jackson and Beyonce and her legacy will continue on through all high-energy performing artists.”

As news spread of Turner’s death, at 83, in Switzerland, many said her life story was an inspiration as she overcame abuse during her marriage to Ike Turner and emerged as a star on her own, with the release of her solo album, Private Dancer, in 1984.

“This woman rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of abuse, a derailed career, and no money to a renaissance like I’ve never seen in entertainment,” Sherrilyn Ifill, the former president of the NAACP Legal Defence Fund, said on Twitter.

“She became fully herself and showed us all how it’s done.”

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, who toured with Turner in Britain in 1966 and then in the United States in 1969, in a series of concerts that helped introduce her music to white audiences, said that he was “so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner.”

“She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer,” Jagger wrote on Instagram.

“She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”

Actress Angela Bassett, who was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got To Do With It, said in a statement: “How do we say farewell to a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the w...