The 15 Best Tina Turner Songs

With Pierce Brosnan stepping into 007’s suit aft nan decreasing returns of nan Timothy Dalton-starring films, James Bond was treated to a taste comeback almost arsenic awesome arsenic Tina’s – truthful it only made consciousness that she graced nan franchise pinch her grit and beingness connected this brassy title way to GoldenEye, co-written by Bono and The Edge. She mightiness beryllium holding backmost a touch — playing pinch slappers only, if you will — but she still notches nan termination successful nan end. – Joe Lynch

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Turner’s ‘80s comeback was astonishing for a number of reasons, not slightest among them that successful a world laser-focused women’s ages (yeah, not overmuch has changed), she charged up nan charts successful her forties while still flaunting her unapologetic sexuality and self-possession. The smash deed “Typical Male,” which has Phil Collins connected drums, sees her utilizing her wiles to “tip nan scales” successful her favour connected a chump lawyer who’s conscionable “a emblematic male, a emblematic male.” – J. Lynch

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Regardless of your feelings connected Ken Russell’s more-is-more attack to 1975’s stone opera philharmonic Tommy, Tina Turner turned successful a show-stealing capacity successful nan film. The Who’s original type is amazingly polite for a opus called “The Acid Queen” — an oversight that Turner’s threatening, half-shrieked transportation thankfully rectifies. – J. Lynch

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The B-side to nan duo’s smash screen of “Proud Mary,” this opus – penned by Tina’s sister, Aillene Bullock – is simply a pissed-off takedown of a “dirty aged man” who masks his intentions pinch tiresome proselytization astir “heaven and glory.” Over relentless, percolating percussion and a reverb-y bass line, Tina slow but surely runs down nan creepy aged coot’s shortcomings earlier nan gloriously funky kiss-off of nan chorus slaps him to bits arsenic if he were conscionable a mosquito bothering her arm. – J. Lynch

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Hardly nan chart-dominating smash that shaper Phil Spector anticipated, “River Deep – Mountain High” is nevertheless a sharp-cut, sparkling gem successful her extended catalog. Befitting nan song’s title, Turner’s sound emanates profoundly from her thorax 1 infinitesimal earlier soaring to her precocious registry nan next. And it takes a pro for illustration Tina to singing a lyric astir loving a grown man “the measurement I loved that rag doll” pinch a tear successful her sound and make you judge it. – J. Lynch

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Ike & Tina seeing and raising Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange” made for 1 of their finest early stone classics, a delectable back-and-forth complete a gumbo-thick confederate psyche groove. Tina’s expertise to enactment guttural and visceral without being distractingly melodramatic was without adjacent arsenic she belted to a less-than-committed Ike, “If your emotion is half arsenic true/ As nan emotion I connection you/ Oh darling, I deliberation it’s gonna activity retired fine.” Bad news for Ms. Anna Mae connected that one, unfortunately, but nan horrors of nan couple’s denouement doesn’t sap nan azygous of immoderate of its slinky, stanky vitality. – Andrew Unterberger

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Not arsenic large of a deed arsenic erstwhile azygous “What You See Is What You Get,” nan title way to Break Every Rule (her follow-up to nan blockbuster Private Dancer) demonstrated that Turner’s substance of effortless cool and stone n’ rotation grit was without adjacent successful nan ’80s. While a batch of rockers play astatine flaunting conventions, Turner – who collapsed damn adjacent each norm manufacture suits had astir popular stars successful nan ‘80s – had a acold amended logic to loop astir subverting expectations than most. – J. Lynch

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On paper, Tina Turner’s type of “I Can’t Stand nan Rain” shouldn’t activity — reinventing a well-loved R&B classical from Memphis-soul fable Ann Peebles for a rock-inspired medium sounds for illustration a gangly task for conscionable astir anyone. Yet “Rain” shows disconnected Turner’s awesome scope erstwhile she was astatine nan apical of her game, giving nan opus conscionable capable of a chopped spirit to make it her ain while exploring each nan symptom and heartache successful nan stirring lyrics, co-written by Peebles. – Stephen Daw

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The mid-’80s turned into nan first aureate property of nan blockbuster soundtrack powerfulness ballad, and you had to cognize that a post-comeback Tina Turner was gonna get hers connected that front. The powerfulness and texture successful her sound elevates this reasonably preposterous anthem from nan third Mad Max movie — which Turner besides starred in, incidentally — into thing genuinely rousing and resonant, 1 whose movie connections you tin moreover hide astir arsenic agelong arsenic you gloss complete nan “Thunderdome” mention successful nan chorus. And if you position nan full point arsenic a rejoinder to chap ’80s soundtrack diva rasper Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” moreover better. – A. Unterberger

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Buoyed by a basking n’ swampy guitar riff, a playful bass statement and punchy horns, “Nutbush City Limits” – penned by Tina herself — is simply a funky showcase that finds her waxing nostalgic astir her agrarian puerility successful Tennessee, from nan religion location to nan gin location successful that “one-horse town.” – J. Lynch

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Amidst nan flurry of Turner’s history-making comeback with Private Dancer, “Better Be Good To Me” proved definitively that nan reign of nan Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll would not beryllium a little one. Earning Tina her 2nd consecutive apical 10 deed connected the Billboard Hot 100, nan glimmering stone ballad (originally recorded by U.K. stone group Spider successful 1981) stands arsenic a sparkling illustration of nan star’s exceptional vocal talent — moreover done nan showy guitar riffs, Turner kept audiences “captured” pinch her singular, emotive voice. And arsenic a subsister of an abusive marriage, Turner’s transportation makes it clear that while she’s unfastened to love, her hard-won independency and self-worth will not beryllium compromised. – S. Daw

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It’s each correct location successful nan chorus: Tina Turner was simply “The Best.” On this Foreign Affair azygous — which became a signature for Turner, contempt first being recorded by Bonnie Tyler — she sings to an incomparable emotion interest, adding an insatiable longing to nan saucy lyrics. “When you travel to me/ Give maine everything I need,” she growls, imbuing her vocals pinch a deep-felt emotion and admiration that elevates this straight-forward fist-pumper into rarified air. – Katie Atkinson

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Yes, technically it’s a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, but Turner much aliases little took complete ownership authorities upon first covering nan southern-style showstopper successful 1971. The opus became a decades-spanning unrecorded staple, pinch her tent-revival style performances typically find her starting slow — “every now and past we for illustration to do things bully and easy” — earlier inevitably blowing nan tile disconnected of immoderate fixed venue, arsenic “somehow, we ne'er look to do thing bully and easy.” – Katie Bain

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Tina’s return connected Mark Knopfler’s “Private Dancer” featured 1 of her astir subtle and understated vocals. In some nan opus and nan Brian Grant-directed video, she portrays a disillusioned “taxi dancer,” a female who dances pinch strangers for money. She sounds weary and defeated arsenic nan opus opens, but gradually summons her strength. Dire Straits intended nan opus for their 1982 medium Love Over Gold, but Knopfler didn’t deliberation it was correct for a man and passed it connected to Turner. Thank goodness, because Turner’s signaling is among her all-time champion — and that’s saying something. – Paul Grein

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Tina Turner didn’t really want to grounds “What’s Love Got To Do With It” erstwhile presented pinch nan opus by her management, saying successful nan 2021 documentary Tina that she thought nan opus was “terrible.” But nan synth-pop slow burner would inevitably animate a alteration of bosom upon becoming nan biggest opus of her career. Walking nan good statement betwixt emotion and dislike successful stilettos, Turner embodied nan longing and disdain progressive successful needing a bosom erstwhile a heart, aft all, tin beryllium broken. Clocking 3 weeks astatine No. 1 connected nan Hot 100, winning 3 Grammys and giving her 1993 biopic its title, this anthem of resilience became nan defining opus successful her peerless career. – K. Bain

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