Tina Turner “We Don’t Need Another Hero” charted

We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) Tina Turner

Writer(s): Terry Britten, Graham Lyle (see lyrics here) Released: July 8, 1985 First Charted: July 5, 1985 Peak: 2 US, 3 CB, 3 GR, 3 RR, 3 AC, 3 RB, 29 AR, 3 UK, 11 CN, 13 AU, 9 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 37.2 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Tina Turner was born in Tennessee in 1939. She became a well-known singer in a duo with husband Ike Turner in the 1960s, known for R&B hits like “River Deep, Mountain High” and their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” She famously left Ike in 1976 because of his abusiveness and cocaine addiction. It looked like the end of her career, but in 1983 she launched what some have called the greatest comeback in rock history. After a top-30 hit with a remake of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” in 1983 she went all the way to #1 with “What’s Love Got to Do with It” the next year. It was one of three top-10 hits and five top-40 songs from her top 10, multi-platinum album Private Dancer. She was 44 years old at the time of the album’s release – “a dinosaur by industry standards (for women, at least).” SF All told, she landed thirteen top-40 hits as a solo act from 1983 to 1993. The real test for that longevity and chart success would come in how she followed up Private Dancer. In a move that surprised people, she took a role alongside Mel Gibson in 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the third in the series of apocalyptic-themed movies. She contributed two songs to the soundtrack – “the sprawling and majestic” AMG “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and “One of the Living.” The former reached #2 and the latter got to #15. “Hero” played over the end credits of the movie. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It won the Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The songwriters, Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, also wrote “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” Resources: AMG All Music Guide review of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/19/2023.

Tina Turner topped the charts with “What’s Love Got to Do with It”

What’s Love Got to Do with It Tina Turner

Writer(s): Graham Lyle, Terry Britten (see lyrics here) Released: May 1, 1984 First Charted: May 19, 1984 Peak: 13 US, 13 CB, 2 RR, 8 AC, 2 RB, 51 AR, 3 UK, 13 CN, 11 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.4 UK, 1.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 105.8 video, 447.46 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Ike and Tina Turner were an active recording duo from 1960 to 1976 scoring notable R&B and pop songs with “River Deep – Mountain High” and their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” The pair married in 1962 and after years of spousal abuse, Tina left with “36 cents, a gasoline charge card and the clothes she was wearing.” FB After their split, Tina little success with solo releases in the latter half of the ‘70s and it looked like her career might be over. However, in 1983 a remake of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” was a surprise #3 R&B hit and top 30 pop song. It launched what some have called the greatest comeback in rock history. The follow-song, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” went to #1 on the pop charts, making Tina – then 44 – the oldest solo female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100. WK It also set a record for the longest time between the first chart entry by an artist (Ike & Tina Turner’s “A Fool in Love” in 1960) and first #1 hit. SF Billboard ranked it the #2 song of 1984, only behind Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” The song was written from the point of view of someone who enjoys the physical aspects of a relationship, but doesn’t want the emotional attachment. Before it fell in Turner’s hands, it was offered to Cliff Richard, Phyllis Hyman, Donna Summer, and British pop group Bucks Fizz. The latter recorded it in 1984, but didn’t release it after Turner’s became a hit. She initially balked at recording the anti-love song but her manager, Roger Davies, was convinced it would be a hit. SF Turner “invests the song with one of the most passionate vocal performances of her career.” AMG Mark Millan of the Daily Vault called it “three minutes and 48 seconds of pop perfection.” WK People magazine noted that the song had “the characteristic flair and energy that have made Tina the envy of every singer this side of Aretha.” WK The song took home Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. MTV gave her the Best Female Video award for the song in 1985. The song was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Tina Turner AMG All Music Guide review by Stewart Mason FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 593. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/26/2020; last updated 10/28/2022.