Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, Tina Turner is a music icon. While Tina Turner’s musical career has seen many peaks and valleys since it began in the 1960s, she has come to be known by many as the Queen of Rock & Roll.
Tina Turner married Ike Turner (who gave her the stage name Tina Turner) in 1962, and found her first success as part of the Ike and Tina Turner review.
After their split in 1976 (they legally divorced in 1978), Tina Turner began a solo career. While she had remained a successful stage performer, it wasn’t until the 1980s that she achieved true mainstream stardom. In 1984, Private Dancer, considered by many to be Tina Turner’s comeback album, was a major hit, selling over twenty million copies.
Along with her singing career, Tina Turner has appeared in several movies, including Tommy (1975), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
In 1993, Tina Turner made a cameo appearance in What’s Love Got to Do With It, a biography of her life and career. The film was based on I, Tina, a book written by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder (of MTV News fame).
Here is a list of Tina Turner’s top ten songs, both as a solo artist, and while performing with Ike Turner.
1. What’s Love Got To Do With It
Released: 1984
Chart Success: #1 on the US charts, #1 on the R&B; charts, #3 in the UK
2. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
Released: 1984
Chart Success: #2 in the US, #1 on the R&B; charts, #3 in the UK
3. Typical Male
Released: 1986
Chart Success: #2 in the US, #3 on the R&B; charts
4. Proud Mary
Released: 1971
Chart Success: #4 on the US charts, #5 on the R&B; charts.
5. Better Be Good to Me
Released: 1984
Chart Success: #5 in the US, #6 on the R&B; charts
6. The Best
Released: 1989
Chart Success: #6 on the US charts, #5 in the UK
7. Private Dancer
Released: 1985
Chart Success: #7 in the US, #3 on the R&B; charts
8. I Don’t Wanna Fight
Released: 1993
Chart Success: #9 in the US, #7 in the UK
9. What You Get Is What You See
Released: 1987
Chart Success: #13 on the US charts
10. It’s Only Love (a duet with Bryan Adams)
Released: 1985
Chart Success: #15 in the US, #12 in Canada
Song Trivia
* “What’s Love Got to Do With It” is considered Tina Turner’s comeback song. Interestingly, Tina Turner disliked the song at first, and almost didn’t record it.
* In 1985, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” won several Grammy awards, including Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
* “We Don’t Need Another Hero” is from the soundtrack for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which starred Mel Gibson. Tina Turner also appeared in this movie.
* Guitarist Jeff Beck performed on “Private Dancer.
* Mike Knopfler, from the group Dire Straits, wrote “Private Dancer.
* A year before the Tina Turner version was released, Bonnie Tyler (best known for the 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) also did a version of the song “The Best.” It did not enjoy the same kind of success.
* “Proud Mary,” which was written by Jeff Fogerty, was originally released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. Elvis Presley and Leonard Nimoy (who played Mr. Spock on original Star Trek series) also did versions of the song.
* “I Don’t Wanna Fight” was featured in What’s Love Got To Do With It, which portrays the sometimes physically abusive relationship between Ike and Tina Turner.
* In 1985, “Better Be Good To Me” won the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Reference:
- TinaMania.comSongFacts.comInternational Tina Turner Fan Club
