Tina Turner: The Five Best Songs From The American Pop Icon

A selection of American pop icon Tina Turner’s most memorable hits:

– ‘Proud Mary’ (1971) –

With her husband Ike Turner, Tina found fame with her gospel-influenced version of “Proud Mary,” which had been released by the Creedence Clearwater Revival two years earlier.

The duo’s version of the song, with its famous refrain about a Mississippi steamboat “rolling, rolling on the river”, was more rocking and raunchy than the original, earning them a Grammy.

Tina continued to perform the piece when she became a solo artist and it would become one of her signature sounds.

– ‘What does love have to do with it?’ (1984) –

Another of Turner’s defining songs, this was his only US number one and earned him four Grammy Awards, also providing the title for the 1993 Oscar-nominated biopic of his life.

Its release marked her establishment as a successful solo artist following her professional and marital separation from Ike in 1976.

A track on his fifth solo album “Private Dancer”, the song had been turned down by Cliff Richards and Donna Summer before Turner picked it up.

Lyrics like “Who needs a heart when a heart can break” took on deeper meaning following revelations in the 1990s of his abuse during their marriage.

– ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ (1985) –

The song is the title track of the post-apocalyptic film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” by Mel Gibson in which Turner plays the ruthless blonde leader of the community, Aunty Entity, clad in chain mail.

She wears an Amazon-esque outfit for the video for the choral piece, which warns against false hope and oppression.

– ‘The Best’ (1989) –

Turner’s version of the Bonnie Tyler original released a year earlier was the biggest hit from her “Foreign Affair” album.

Retitled “Simply The Best”, it was used to promote the Australian rugby league in 1990, the video features the players of the day with an unforgettable style Turner.

It became a classic sports anthem, sung at baseball and football games around the world.

– ‘Golden Eye’ (1995) –

In a sign of her status as a pop megastar, Turner was tapped to perform the coveted title song for the James Bond film “Golden Eye,” written by Bono and U2’s The Edge.

In the music video for the song, which became a Top Ten hit in many countries, Turner’s signature white dress highlights her image as the glam diva of pop.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)