9:30 a.m. Dec. 13
Like a scratchy '45, a revolving restaurant spun atop the rock n' roll Holiday Inn in Hollywood, Ca.. It seemed like the right place to meet Ike Turner in the autumn of 1988. He had just graduated from an 11-day stay at the Schick Shadel Hospital in Santa Barbara where he was undergoing sodium pentothal and shock treatment for his 18-year cocaine addiction.
Life was no holiday for this cornerstone of rock n' roll.
Turner died Dec. 12 at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76.
He leaves Jerry Lee Lewis and Phil Spector as the last ornery men in rock n' roll.
Turner and I talked over tall glasses of Coca-Cola and chicken wings in the hotel lounge. "I'll tell you: in 1982 I stuck a Magnum in my mouth and snapped it," Turner said. "But I'm glad it didn't shoot. Maybe next time I won't be quite as fortunate. (He grinned). I don't know if I was fortunate or not. I feel pretty good about myself now.".............
Dave Hoekstra has been a 
