In 1984, at the age of 44, Tina Turner finally scored her first #1 hit with “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” It had been a long time coming. She first achieved success with her ex-husband, Ike, in the 1960’s. After spending many difficult years in this abusive personal and professional relationship, she finally left him in the middle of a tour in 1976. She then worked incessantly, partly because she needed to pay off her debts to the concert promoters of the 1976 tour, but failed to have a significant impact as a solo artist.
The justice served by finally having a #1 single after so many years of struggle and perseverance act as the main thematic element of this interview with Lisa Robinson. Besides the substantial amount of information about her story and her newest album, Private Dancer, this interview is worth a listen if only to share in Turner’s excitement in finally having made it to the top.
00:00 – How Tina stays in shape and maintains her voice 01:41 – Her first number 1 single / eventual justice 02:25 – Thoughts on her competition 03:10 – Never having doubts 03:47 – Her dream 04:45 – Finally performing her own songs 05:07 – Why she was able to make a comeback album 06:03 – Why the album was the best one she ever made 06:52 – Appeasing different generations of fans 07:55 – The importance of breaking free of Ike 09:18 – Changing her career direction towards rock and roll 09:58 – Writing her own songs: using her inspirations and experiences 11:19 – How she started writing 11:51 – The racism still present in America vs. Europe 13:10 – “Private Dancer” by Mark Knopfler 14:04 – Initial impressions of “What’s Love Got To Do With It” 16:04 – Acting / the two sides of Tina Turner 18:03 – A ride through the charts with “What’s Love Got to Do With It” 19:32 – What set “What’s Love Got To Do With It” apart from the competition 20:58 – Not knowing what makes a hit record 22:05 – Reminiscing about an old live recording 22:41 – Videos as a contributing factor to her success