Ike Turner is denied a day

Ike Turner will have the stage, but not the day, when he performs in St. Louis in September.

Mayor Francis Slay has turned down a request to make Sept. 2 “Ike Turner Day.” The 75-year-old singer is scheduled to perform that day at the Big Muddy Blues Festival.

Cathy Smentkowski, an aide to Slay, said that when the request “was brought to the mayor’s attention, he did not feel comfortable issuing it.” She declined to elaborate.

“We were only looking to celebrate his contributions to the music industry. Many entertainers have checkered pasts,” festival director Dawne Massey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He helped put St. Louis rhythm and blues on the map.”

Turner’s past troubles include a 17-month stint in jail on a 1990 drug conviction. He won a Grammy for his 2006 album, “Risin’ With the Blues.”