What's Love Got to Do with It

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"What's Love Got to Do with It"
Single by Tina Turner
from the album Private Dancer
B-side	"Don't Rush the Good Things"
Released	June 4, 1984[1]
Format	Cassette single 7" single 12" single
Genre	Pop/R&B
Length	3:50
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Terry Britten Graham Lyle
Producer	Terry Britten
Certification	Gold (RIAA) Silver (BPI)[2]
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Help!" (1984) "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1984) "Better Be Good to Me" (1985)
Music sample What's Love Got to Do with It

"What's Love Got to Do with It" is the second single released from Tina Turner's breakthrough solo debut album, Private Dancer. In the UK and Continental Europe it was the third single, following Turner's cover of The Beatles' "Help!". The song is widely credited for the huge success of the Private Dancer album itself. "What's Love Got to Do With It" is arguably Tina Turner's most popular and successful single, becoming her first number-one hit in the United States and establishing Tina Turner as a mainstream Pop and Rock artist, while also reaching number one in Australia and number three in the UK. In 1993, the song's name was used as the title for What's Love Got to Do With It, a biographical film about Turner's life leading up to the actual release of the song. The music video was directed by Mark Robinson. It is ranked #309 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It also ranked #38 on Songs of the Century. It was the 17th best-selling single of 1984 in the UK.

Chart information

Tina Turner had not had a top twenty single in thirteen years, and Capitol Records did not expect the song to turn out to be the hit it became. The song was originally written for the R&B singer Phyllis Hyman. "What's Love Got to Do With It" went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained there for three weeks, becoming Turner's first number one hit. Billboard ranked it as the number two single of 1984. Tina Turner's first single ("A Fool in Love" with her husband Ike) had charted in 1960, and she achieved her first number-one single on September 1, 1984, which set a new record from the longest span between an artist's first charted record and first number-one single (a difference of 24 years, to the exact week). It also established another record, as Turner was 45-years-old when the song went to number one, making her the oldest artist to place a number-one single on the Hot 100. Both records were broken however, by Aerosmith in 1998 and Cher in 1999. She was the oldest female to have a number-one single until Grace Slick (with Starship) broke the record twice (in 1985) with "We Built This City" and 1987 with "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"). Cher later broke Slick's record in 1999.

Versions and remixes

• Album Version - 3:50
• Extended 12" Remix - 5:45

Music video

The video features Turner walking down the street, intercut with scenes when she's singing directly to the viewers. The video was shot in New York City.

Awards

The song was honored with several awards welcoming Turner's comeback, including the Grammy Awards of 1985. The music video for the song also claimed a prize at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1985, as the "Best Female Video".

The 1985 Grammy Awards

• Record of the Year
• Song of the Year
• Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Other versions

• Around the same time Turner recorded the song, UK pop group, Bucks Fizz also recorded it. This was in February 1984 (although they had been given the song some months earlier). It was intended for possible inclusion on their next album I Hear Talk but was shelved when Turner released it first. This version (sung by a male) went unreleased until 2000.

• Weird Al Yankovic sampled this song as a part of Hooked on Polkas.

• In 1996, Warren G recorded a version of the song, with Adina Howard singing the chorus. The video featured Jackie Chan.

• In 2001, Cliff Richard recorded the song for his album Wanted.

• In 2009, American Idol's Season 8 Lil Rounds sang this song for "The Year They Were Born" Week.

Chart performance

References