Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name (as requested) | Alline Bullock |
| Full / other names | Ruby Alline Bullock (later used the surname Selico; sometimes seen spelled Aillene) |
| Born | December 1, 1936 |
| Died | September 4, 2010 |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, manager/organizational role within the Ike & Tina Turner revue; brief manager of early Ikettes |
| Notable songwriting credit | “Funkier Than a Mosquita’s Tweeter” (recorded on Workin’ Together, 1970) |
| Family ties | Older sister of Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock); daughter of Zelma and Floyd Bullock; aunt to Tina’s children |
| Public net worth | No reliable public estimate available |
I want to take you backstage — dim lights, a battered suitcase of records, cigarette smoke like a silver curtain — and introduce Alline Bullock the way I’d introduce a character in a film I can’t stop watching. I’ve read the notes, traced the dates, and felt the small, stubborn silhouette behind a legend: she’s not the loud lead on stage, but she’s the steady hand that tightens the mic stand before the riff.
Early life and family rhythm (1936–1950s)
Alline was born December 1, 1936, into a family that moved through the American South like a tight harmony, with parents Zelma and Floyd shaping a household where music and hard work met at the kitchen table. I imagine the house as a living metronome — arguments and gospel, scraps of melody, sisters shifting roles like dancers in a practiced routine. Anna Mae, who later became Tina Turner, was the younger sister who would take the spotlight; Alline was the older one who pushed the door open and nudged the stage lights on.
A family table helps me tell this in numbers: three central figures (mother, father, two sisters prominently remembered), a birth year (1936), and a death year (2010) — tidy facts, but they only suggest the life in between.
The business mind and the songbook (1960s–1970s)
Alline’s fingerprints are on the business and creative machinery that kept the revue moving. She stepped into roles beyond a backstage silhouette: managing itineraries, sorting disputes, and at times shepherding the Ikettes after line-up shake-ups. She wrote — quietly and with attitude — tracks that found their way onto records. Her best-known songwriting credit, “Funkier Than a Mosquita’s Tweeter,” sits on a 1970 record and later swells into other artists’ repertoires; when Nina Simone sings a song you wrote, you’ve done something that reverberates.
Here’s a concise ledger of the professional milestones I care about when I tell her story:
- 1970 — songwriting credit for a track on Workin’ Together.
- Management role — brief stewardship of Ikettes lineup and administrative work for the revue.
- Songwriting and business contributions — recurring across late 1960s–early 1970s releases.
If you like to imagine movie titles, Alline’s segment would be “Behind the Mic: The Quiet Operator.”
Family portrait — who they were, in brief
Family is a ledger of faces and songs. Below is a simple table that introduces each family member and how they fit into Alline’s life — short, human entries like the ones I’d press into a program.
| Name | Relationship to Alline | One-line introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Zelma (mother) | Mother | The matriarch whose household set the tempo for two daughters who would find fame. |
| Floyd (father) | Father | The steady, working presence — the kind of figure you picture in sepia photographs. |
| Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner) | Younger sister | The electric, world-facing star who carried the family name onto stadium marquees. |
| Evelyn Juanita Currie | Half-sister | A relative whose early death cast a shadow that the family remembered for years. |
| Tina’s sons (Craig, Ike Jr., Michael, Ronnie) | Nephews | Next-generation notes — Alline’s role as aunt extended into the family’s modern chapters. |
| Selico (surname used later) | Possible married name | A later surname Alline used; public records suggest this change though full details remain private. |
Later life, public mentions, and the quiet ledger (1980s–2010)
Alline lived in the orbit of celebrity without becoming tabloid currency — the difference between the echo and the echo-maker. She remained a figure in obituaries and family recollections when she died on September 4, 2010. Social mentions tend to be affectionate and archival: photos, family recollections, and fans tagging her into Tina Turner timelines; her presence is often a humanizing footnote in headlines otherwise devoted to bigger-than-life names.
Her public wealth — the kind tabloids love to guesstimate — isn’t part of the record. If you’re the sort who tracks estates or probate filings, you’ll find silence instead of spreadsheet drama; Alline’s legacy reads more like ledger entries in song credits than dollar signs.
What she leaves behind — in one cinematic sentence
If Alline Bullock were a film camera, she’d be the one rolling when the star forgets her line — capturing the small, decisive act that lets the scene soar.
FAQ
Who was Alline Bullock?
Alline Bullock was a songwriter and behind-the-scenes organizer connected to the Ike & Tina Turner revue and the older sister of Tina Turner, born December 1, 1936, and passed September 4, 2010.
What songs did she write?
Her most recognized songwriting credit is “Funkier Than a Mosquita’s Tweeter,” which appeared on a 1970 album and later drew attention through covers by other artists.
Did she manage the Ikettes?
Yes — she briefly took on management responsibilities for the early Ikettes and worked on the business side of the revue.
Was she married?
She later used the surname Selico, and some public records indicate that surname change, though mainstream biographical accounts do not offer detailed documentation of a marriage.
How is she related to Tina Turner?
Alline was Tina Turner’s older sister and a steady presence early in Tina’s career, both personally and professionally.
Is there public information about her net worth?
No reliable public estimate of Alline Bullock’s personal net worth is available; most public attention focuses on her songwriting credits and family connections.
When did she die?
Alline Bullock died on September 4, 2010.
Are there photos and social mentions of her?
Yes — she appears in family photos, fan posts, and archival mentions across social platforms and tribute pages, usually in the context of Tina Turner’s broader story.
