Updated

Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 9

Bonnie Tyler Dies at 75 in Portugal After Illness That Followed Emergency Intestinal Surgery

Updated

Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 9

Bonnie Tyler Dies at 75 in Portugal After Illness That Followed Emergency Intestinal Surgery

Q: How did a surgical mistake create one of the most iconic and powerful voices in rock history?

Bonnie Tyler’s signature voice was shaped by vocal-cord surgery that went wrong in recovery, leaving her with the husky rasp that became one of rock’s most recognizable sounds. In the late 1970s, after early success and heavy gigging, Tyler developed vocal nodules and underwent surgery in 1977. Doctors told her to remain completely silent for six weeks so her vocal cords could heal properly. But during that recovery period, she broke the instruction and screamed in frustration, an incident she later described in her autobiography. At a follow-up appointment, the specialist warned that she may have caused permanent damage. That damage altered the texture of her voice, deepening it and giving it the raw, gravelly edge that soon defined her sound. Rather than ending her career, the change became her artistic trademark. The effect was heard almost immediately. Her 1978 hit “It’s a Heartache” showcased the newly roughened tone, and it helped set her apart in a crowded pop-rock field. Songwriter Jim Steinman later built on that dramatic vocal power in “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” the 1983 global smash that turned Tyler into an international star. So the “mistake” was not the surgery alone, but the combination of surgery and her failure to follow post-operative vocal-rest advice. What could have been career-ending instead created the passionate, weathered voice that made Bonnie Tyler famous worldwide.

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 9

Bonnie Tyler died unexpectedly at 75 in a Portugal hospital, her family said, after treatment for an illness linked to emergency intestinal surgery in Faro in May.
The Welsh singer was later placed in an induced coma; her family said she died Wednesday night while still being treated.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" defined her career — the 1983 hit spent 4 weeks at No. 1, has more than 1 billion streams and its video has topped 1 billion views.
Tyler, born Gaynor Hopkins, earned 3 Grammy nominations, represented Britain at Eurovision in 2013 and received an MBE in 2023 after a career spanning nearly 50 years.