TINA TURNER
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
CAPITOL RECORDS
WRITTEN BY TERRY BRITTEN AND GRAHAM LYLE
PRODUCED BY TERRY BRITTEN
ORIGINALLY RELEASED MAY 1984
PEAKED AT # 1 FOR 3 WEEKS in September 1984
When Rock & Soul legend Tina Turner's current manager Roger Davies asked her what did she want to do with her solo career, she informed him that she didn't want to record any Blues songs and she didn't want to sing 'my man did my wrong or I'm down songs.' She told him that she wanted to do Rock and Roll and she wanted to record ballads and songs about romance. Well after scoring a international silver hit with her version of Al Green's classic "Let's Stay Together," Tina began to work on her breakthough solo album, and was excited about doing the type of songs she wanted, but when Davies, played her the demo for "What's Love Got To Do With It," she freaked. She didn't want to record any Pop songs, and she didn't want to do any songs that was light weight.
"Roger would play that song, and I would go run and hide in a closet and say 'get that song away from me" she said on VH-1's Behind The Music. Turner gave in, and not only did the song become a huge hit, it became her first number 1 hit, as well as a favorite among her fans, who showed their support by giving the sexy ageless legend a classic.
What makes this classic song are the flutes, guitar, bass, synsersizers, harmomica adding a smooth combination of R&B, Pop, Reggae and New Wave and the way background singers Teesa Niles and Britten blend with Turner's soulful vocals. This song also caputred Turner's ability to sing in mid range and to sing powerful without screaming, giving the fans the opportunity to showcase her ability to sing, and phrase properly.
Listening to this song brought back memories of me doing the routine from Tina's classic video in front of my grandmother's house the time it was on the top of the charts, and I know that this classic will bring back many memories to those who wanted to be in love, and for those who loved seeing Tina enjoying the success that she worked hard for.
UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
The song was originally written for the late Phyliss Hyman
As mentioned earlier, Tina didn't like the song at first. Her manager Roger Davies had to convience Tina meet the song's co-writer Terry Britten, who also co-penned the single "Show Some Respect." When Tina learned that his all-time favorite song was her self-penned classic "Nutbush City Limits," she has a change of heart. She told him that she wanted to record the song in a higher key.
Tina learned that the single topped the Pop charts when she was at a signing session at Tower Records in Greenwich Villiage. She Roger told her the news, she and the crowd went crazy and screamed for joy. She also made history twice with that song;
She had become the first artist to have a # 1 single during the same week, when her debut single " A Fool In Love" entered the charts 24 years earlier. She had also became the oldest female to score a # 1 single, until her friend Cher scored with her Award winning hit "Beleive" 15 years later.
Rapper Warren G and singer Adina Howard redid this song in 1996.
In 2005, Rapper/Actress/Singer Queen Latifah performed this classic when Tina was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005
This review is dedicated to my mother who used to play this song whenever we went shopping and to the memories of my grandmothers Clythia Dorsey and Angie Chisolm, who both loved the Queen of Rock and Soul
2 comments:
Ra Shawn, you stamped your feet in it. I have always been a Tina Turner fan as she is one of my sheroes. You make me really want to buy her autobiography, I, TINA, which was published in 1986 and a controversial read because she revealed that ex-husband Ike Turner physically abused her for years. I remember when her album PRIVATE DANCER debuted 25 years ago because either my grandmother or my aunt bought it from the Wiz on Jamaica Avenue and New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard). Tina reminded me of my grandmother's co-worker, Miss Alberta Leonard, who had the same sass and no-nonsense attitude. "What's Love Got to Do With It" is one of my favorite songs of all time and I cannot believe how time flashed by quickly after 25 years. Wow! Ra Shawn, I am happy you are commemorating this milestone in popular culture and you are one of the gatekeepers who are keeping Tina's legacy alive. Thank you!!!
No problem. I love Tina Turner and she's my Shero as well. I remember the first time I saw her and I couldn't beleive how beautiful she looked and sounded. I still remember doing the routine to her video for What's Love Got To Do With It in front of my late grandmother's house in Queens at the age of 13. Her music has inspired me in life. I love how she chosed not to be typecasted because of the color of skin; she let the world know that Blacks are capable of singing other genres of music besides R&B. I remember this bougie Black bitch tried to criticize me for doing a presentation of Tina at a Black history program, but when one of the other kids' mothers came to my defense, she copped an attidue and walked away. I'm glad I did that essay
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