Like Tina Turner no one ever. The rock and soul icon, who died yesterday at the age of 83, lived at least three lives: in the 60s she was a singer with a phenomenal voice and too exuberant to be compressed into the duo with her abusive ex-husband Ike; in the ’70s she was an exceptional soloist who finally took her rightful place in the pantheon of rock; in the 80’s she was an R&B and pop artist reaching even greater heights. And we haven’t even begun to account for the life and music of an unbeatable symbol of resilience and talent. Long live the queen of rock’n’roll. Here are 15 songs to remember her.
Ike and Tina Turner have been setting the St. Louis club scene on fire for some time when, in the summer of 1960, they debuted on the national scene with this killer single. Ike and the Kings of Rhythm grind a scorching groove, while Turner sings with seductive intensity about giving herself over to a man who dominates her. The lyrics portray a woman in pain, yet the singing seems to suggest that Tina is in control of the situation. She punctuates the performance with heart-pounding screams, mixing blues and gospel, battling pain with a strength that will soon make her one of rock’n’roll’s most distinctive voices. It’s a nice business card and the world notices it, and how: A Fool In Love is the hit that decrees the success of Ike and Tina Turner. (JD)
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine
1961
Marriage to Ike is a nightmare of abuse, but in this R&B gem, the artist paints one of the most compelling portraits of monogamy imaginable. Yet it’s not hard to sense subtle doubt (or even sweet menace) in the way she sings “if your love is half as sincere as mine, it’ll be fine.” (BH)
River Deep, Mountain High
1966
Phil Spector sees the Ike and Tina Turner Revue in a Hollywood club at a time when their recording career is stalling after a handful of R&B hits churned out in the early ’60s. Spector has a titled piece River Deep, Mountain High, he’s sure it’s a hit and wants Tina to sing it, forbidding Ike from attending the sessions. “I’ve done it 500,000 times,” Tina said. “I was soaked in sweat, to sing it I had to take off my shirt and stay in my bra.” In the end River Deep it barely makes the Top 100, but remains one of his most notable performances.
Funkier Than a Mosquita’s Tweeter
1970
Written by Tina’s older sister, Alline Bullock, Mosquita is best known in the interpretation of Nina Simone. Hers, which she has Mosquitoes with the “o” in the title, was so successful that later printings of Tina’s version were spelled Nina. But don’t let a statement cover outshine the original. Mosquita was released on the album Workin’ Together by Ike & Tina from 1970, next to the cover of Proud Mary and a couple of Beatles songs (Get Back, Let It Be). Turner demolishes the driving funk beat with her vocals and there’s nothing more fitting than her singing “you’re just a dirty old man” with her husband who is making her life hell at the time. (AM)
“We never do something nice and simple,” Turner says at the start of his landmark reimagining of this Creedence Clearwater Revival hit. It starts in half time before exploding into frenetic R&B rage. His interpretation is so crazy that the author of the song, John Fogerty, fears that the world will forget that he wrote the piece. (BH)
In the early 70s, the creative and sentimental partnership with Ike Turner gave Tina a lot of problems. “I wanted to do something that would help us get out of the crisis and so I decided to try writing songs,” she said years later. “I started with the topic I knew best: my life.” The result is Nutbush City Limitsa great song in which R&B meets country-rock, «a perfect marriage between rural and urban, countryside and city, Tina and Ike», as Francesca Royster writes in Black Country Music. This creative triumph for the singer signaled that Ike & Tina’s days were numbered. In addition to being the first song Tina wrote, it also gave a taste of Tennessee roots that she would explore a year later on her first solo album. (JAB)
In the years preceding Ike’s definitive abandonment, Tina began to assert herself as a soloist. In 1974 she released her debut album Tina Turns the Country On! then off to London to film the big screen adaptation of the Who’s ambitious rock opera Tommy. She plays the Acid Queen and receives critical acclaim for her energetic and sanguine performance. In her character-related song, Turner’s performance is wild and electrifying, making the most of the tense (and slightly scary) atmosphere of meeting the young pinball phenomenon who is the protagonist of the story. In the same year it came out Tommy, Turner has released another solo album inspired by his role in the film. (BS)
Let’s Stay Together
1983
Tina Turner’s career wasn’t doing too well when the UK’s Heaven 17 invited her to sing on their 1982 hit Ball of Confusion. It was her first foray into the world of synth pop and was a hit in Europe attracting the attention of the Capitol label. Turner signed and returned to the studio with Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware to record a re-read of the Al Green classic Let’s Stay Together. The piece entered the charts of half the planet, paving the way for the arrival of Private Dancer. It can therefore be said that Let’s Stay Together it was the song that relaunched his career. (AG)
What’s Love Got to Do With It
1984
Written by the English Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, What’s Love Got to Do With It it was scrapped by Cliff Richard and Donna Summer before Tina Turner got her hands on it. She was 46 years old and for the industry she had exceeded her moment of maximum splendor by a decade. Tina instilled in every word of the song the heartbreak and pain of her life, and millions of people empathized with the song taking it to the top of the charts around the world in one of the most sensational comebacks in rock history. “It’s not rock ‘n’ roll or even R&B,” Turner told Rolling Stone right after the boom. “It’s a little of both.”
Mark Knopfler had written Private Dancer for the Dire Straits album Love Over Gold, but felt uncomfortable singing the lyrics, as it was from the point of view of a stripper doing what she had to to get paid. A couple of years later she pitched it to Tina Turner and the rest of Dire Straits recorded it with her (although Jeff Beck is on guitar, not Knopfler). “I’m your private dancer, I dance for money,” she sings, delving into her innermost depths to reach the highest notes. “I’ll do what you want.” The pain (and even a little pride) that she poured into those words is still excruciating, given that she plays a character who is coming to terms with her career: “Tell me, do you want to see me do it again? shimmy?”. Turner sang it with such conviction that it made it a chart hit. (KG)
Originally recorded by New Yorkers Spider, who released it in 1981, it was transformed by Turner into a personal statement, a request for respect made with the bravado of a rock star and with his story of struggle and resilience inside. Better be good to me helped make it more exciting Private Dancer and was awarded a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance in 1985. (JD)
We Don’t Need Another Hero
1985
Beyond Thunderdome 1985 is usually considered the weakest chapter of the original trilogy Mad Max. But no one disputes the interpretation of Tina Turner in the role of the evil Aunty Entity. And even better was her contribution to the soundtrack, ie We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) that could be heard in the credits. It was another Top 5 hit, another piece in his ever-growing legacy, and a concert fixture until his last tour of 2009. (AG)
After Private Dancer came the huge success of Break Every Rule. The album opens with Typical Male, a sparkling pop-rock in which the protagonist falls in love with a lawyer and then realizes that he is the same as all the other men who desire her. Phil Collins is on drums, the 80s pop sound has something kitsch, Turner’s playful and sexy charm inflames souls. It was an instant hit, her second single to top the US Hot 100. (BS)
Bonnie Tyler, that of Total eclipse of the hearthe engraved The Best a year before Tina Turner. It’s a remarkable performance, and yet it didn’t make the charts. When Turner did it again for Foreign Affair poured his passion into the words of authors Mike Chapman and Holly Knight. She changed keys and placed a bridge and a sax solo played by Edgar Winter, turning the song into the megahit it should have been in the first place. After so many years, the way she sings “you’re better than anyone I’ve met” is still creepy. When Tina Turner paid a compliment, she meant it. (KG)
I Don’t Wanna Fight
1993
For the 1993 biopic soundtrack What’s Love Got to Do With It, starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, Turner took a ballad originally written by 60s British pop star Lulu and turned it into her latest hit in America. Lulu didn’t write the lyrics with Turner in mind, of course, yet she captured the spirit perfectly in a sort of sequel to What’s Love Got to Do With It?. “I’m getting stronger,” Turner sings, “we’ve got to stop pretending, I can’t live like this.” (AG)
From Rolling Stone US.