It's only love ... love ... love for Tina

It's always a blow to lose an icon, someone beloved who we've appreciated since childhood. And that hits harder for some celebs than others because we haven't realized their impact on our lives until hearing the sad news. That's what it was like with Tina Turner.

Tina's an absolute legend in our time and a queen. She had legs and she knew how to use them. Her lore features tales about how she influenced others -- she brought out Mick Jagger's trademark strut and swagger when they played on the same bill in the '60s -- and how other icons assisted her -- as the story goes, David Bowie abetted her '80s return to superstardom by ensuring she wasn't dropped by Capitol Records. But those stories, embellished upon over the years, remain totally befitting of Tina's stature.

Upon watching the wonderful 2021 documentary Tina, it's evident she could never get totally free of the metaphorical shackles placed upon her during her relationship with abusive ex-husband Ike Turner. She was asked about it all the time in interviews. Tina thought writing a book on the subject would put an end to such questions, but because legions of women who had gone through similar circumstances identified with her, Tina still was besieged by the media for comments about what she went through. The trend continued with the release of the Oscar-nominated biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It, and again when Tina: The Tina Turner Musical hit Broadway.

With that in mind, the Sestras are presenting five favorite moments and five songs that remain ingrained in our brains by the indomitable force of nature who was born Anna Mae Bullock but whom the world came to know for being, in her resounding words, simply the best.

Sestra Paige's five seminal Tina moments:

1. River Deep, Mountain High
Phil Spector wrestled control from Ike Turner to fulfill his vision of putting Tina on top of his trademark Wall of Sound production for "River Deep, Mountain High" in 1966. It was baffling to the legendary troubled producer when the song didn't hit big in America, only climbing to No. 88 on the charts, although it was hugely popular in England and the rest of Europe. Following that, a disillusioned Spector withdrew from the music industry for a couple of years. Time has been much more kind to the song, and it now rightfully looms large in Tina's legend. Twenty-one session musicians, including Darlene Love, Glen Campbell and Leon Russell were recruited to produce the massive orchestration. In Tina, she recalled the glory of finally being able to sing in a completely different manner than what she was doing on the Chitlin' Circuit. Years later, she told Rolling Stone that during the recording she belted out the song about 500,000 times, ending up drenched in sweat and singing in her bra because her shirt was soaking wet. We can hear, and feel, all of that in the finished product.

2. The Acid Queen
The first time I saw The Who's Tommy in the '80s, I was like, what the heck is going on here? And the second, and the third, until I guess it eventually clicked for me. But what I recognized straight away was what a force Tina was as the Acid Queen. That much was undeniable. And perhaps it did serve as the gateway for eventually understanding the entire rock opera. With a queen that dangerous yet that seductive, one would be pretty much powerless to resist, right? Tina really gave everything she had to the role, she was fearless no matter what was asked of her -- and some really peculiar things were asked of her. And it was equally unsurprising that a decade later, she would wind up being crowned yet again when a whole new generation of fans was enchanted when Tina took on her role of Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Just in case you didn't know, there were two versions of her namesake's song, one for the Tommy soundtrack and one rerecorded for her album Acid Queen.

 

3. The Prince's Trust Rock Gala (10th Anniversary)
My tastes started shifting away from American Top 40 in the late '80s, and around this time, I found two Prince's Trust concerts on VHS. The 1986 show had a cavalcade of stars -- Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, etc. -- for the 10th anniversary of the charity event. Tina's the one blowing everyone else away. The video starts with her belting out "Better Be Good to Me" with the all-star band, and it's a performance of unrelenting power. Then Tina performs "Tearing Us Apart" with Clapton -- one of my all-time fave E.C. songs. She awakens the often-reserved Eric, inspiring him to impassioned vocals and solos. Tina returns at the end of the show to sing "Get Back," and the camera catches McCartney's view. Joy and perhaps a modicum of intimidation spread across his face as Tina struts and ponies across the stage in her black tank top, shimmery red mini-skirt and high heels. Which musician would be fearless enough to share the microphone with Paul? Tina, of course! Her vocals pretty much bury everyone else's, and at one point, Paul cheekily warbles, "Tina, I hear you!"

 

4. Break Every Rule Tour
The Tina moment in time I'd most like to revisit is the one I'm least able to do. I saw Tina play live once -- on Nov. 14, 1987 at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. I was living on campus at the time, so it was just a stroll up the street to see the legend. Tina's dream was to sell out football stadiums (something women were just not doing in that arena) -- and she set a world record a couple months later when 188,000 fans turned out for her Rio de Janeiro show. In Tampa, she sold out a basketball arena, and all I remember is that it was glorious. The setlist was: What You Get Is What You See, Break Every Rule, I Can't Stand the Rain, Typical Male, The Acid Queen, Girls, Two People, Back Where You Started, Better Be Good to Me, Addicted to Love, Private Dancer, We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), What's Love Got to Do with It, Help!, Let's Stay Together, Proud Mary, Show Some Respect, It's Only Love, Overnight Sensation, Nutbush City Limits and Paradise Is Here. But I've taken some solace in the fact that her Live in Europe release the following year largely includes the setlist in the same running order. I bought that on cassette when it came out, so it was as long ago as it feels.

5. Ally McBeal
I am a huge Ally McBeal fan, and truth be told, Season 3 wasn't the strongest of the show's five seasons. But one major selling point for the schizo middle season was "The Oddball Parade" with Tina's appearances at the law firm's favorite watering hole anchoring one of the episode's stories. Not only was Tina performing at the bar for a few nights, but there was also a contest to be her backup dancer at the final one. Tina opens the show with a soulful version of "A Fool in Love," and then Ally (Calista Flockhart) and Elaine (Jane Krakowski) prep for the auditions. One would think there's no way hyper-talented songstress/dancer Elaine would lose out to Ally, but the show's not called Elaine Vassal, is it? There are some fun cutaways to Tina during the auditions, which utilized "Proud Mary" riffs to weed out the competition, and Tina chuckles heartily at some of the more outrageous contestants. Eventually, Ling (Lucy Liu) helps Elaine save face, and even though Ally doesn't get to be buddy buddy with Tina, she does live out her dream ... until she starts having McBeal-ian fantasies during Tina's otherwise jaunty performance of "When the Heartache Is Over."

Sestra Leah's five favorite Tina songs:
I don’t have a personal memory of Tina Turner. I didn’t see her perform live in concert. I didn’t meet her at comic cons celebrating Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Most shockingly, there are no Tina songs soundtracking key moments in my life. But Tina entertained and inspired people; her decades-long legacy is a true example of that. 

 

1. It’s Only Love: I find it amusing that my favorite Tina song is actually a Bryan Adams song. It's included on his 1984 album Reckless, which was released six months after Tina’s comeback album Private Dancer. There’s a live version that was recorded during Turner’s Private Dancer Tour in 1985 that gives me goosebumps. “Tryan” (or “Bryna?”) are having so much fun during that song. If they toured together when I was an adult, then I’m sorry I missed it.

2. Let’s Stay Together: Tina included a cover of Al Green’s classic love song from 1971 on the Private Dancer album. I used to wonder whether she was singing it to/for someone specific. Have you read the lyrics? They’re desperate, emotional, optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. I hope she just sang it because she loved Al’s song. That’s why I sing it.

3. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome): I was late to the Mad Max party. Really late. Like “Fury Road looks go so I’ll start watching them” late. Fury Road was released in 2015. I finally started watching the four movies in 2020. (Blame COVID. Or thank you, COVID. Your call.) The third movie, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, was released in 1985 with Tina curiously cast as a ruthless ruler in a post-apocalyptic world. (And her name Aunty Entity sounds so benign.) The soundtrack consists mainly of Maurice Jarre’s movie score, but Tina sang this song which played over the end credits. Of course, it ended up being one of her most popular chart hits and still gets frequent airplay. Fun fact: Tina’s saxophonist is Tim Cappello, who most Gen Xers recognize from 1987’s The Lost Boys, in which he performed a live version of The Call’s "I Still Believe." Definitely my favorite scene in that movie.

4. Typical Male: Tina definitely seemed to favor the same writers when she got onto the Capitol label. Terry Britten and Graham Lyle received writing credit for "What's Love Got to Do with It," "We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" and this song, which was included on Turner’s Break Every Rule album in 1986. (They wrote a bunch of other Tina songs, but that’s for someone else’s list to cover.) This is a nice feel-good tune which will have your head bopping and your toe tapping before you even realize it.

5. I Don’t Wanna Fight: In 1993, Tina’s story was released as a major motion picture starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike. The movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It, performed well at the box office and resulted in some well-deserved acting awards and nominations for its stars. Since it's based on Tina’s autobiography, her input and cooperation were essential. She sang this song for the movie which, surprisingly, was not originally written for her. Doesn't it feel like the perfect ending to that chapter of her life? This song reminds me of "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos. To simplify its history, Eric Clapton wrote it about Pattie Boyd, a woman he loved who was married to his friend, George Harrison. You can hear the desperation and pain in the lyrics in the 1970 recording. Flash forward to 1992. A more mature, world-weary Eric Clapton performed "Layla" live for MTV Unplugged. That version shows how Slowhand evolved and the tale just became a mellow, matter-of-fact bookend to his life’s trauma. The following year, in 1993, Tina accomplished the same vibe with "I Don’t Wanna Fight." She not only survived, she persevered.