RIP Tina Turner

The undisputed Queen of Rock-n-Roll.....RIP Tina Turner.

Her influence began almost immediately, showing young ladies the far boundaries of what was possible in the music business. Tina's career spanned from roughly 1960 until well into the 2000s, and every generation was profoundly impacted by her voice, her music, her style, and her sheer force fighting against all odds.

Performing & recording with Ike Turner & his Kings of Rhythm in the late 1950s, she exploded onto the airwaves with her debut single "Fool in Love" in 1960.

Ike & Tina were arguably the hottest live act in the world from that time forward, charting multiple funky hits like "Nutbush City Limits" and "Proud Mary"...some 20 hit songs in their 15 years together, with 7 Grammy nomination (and one win), multiple critically acclaimed tours, and a career that would land them both Kennedy Center Honors, Grammy Hall of Fame, Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame inductions, and more.

Tina then had a rough run through the late 1970s (after having left Ike in 1976 with only 36 cents in her pocket), playing Vegas, doing TV variety shows, and finally getting back on tour. She released several albums, but had no meaningful airplay or chart success. But 1981 opening slots on tours of Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones helped push her back into the spotlight. Which brings us to 1983....

1983 was the year Tina recorded what would become her 1984 release, "Private Dancer". The first song was released in late '83, a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", and immediately charted in 11 countries, peaking at #1 in the US. Tina Turner was back, and the buzz it created helped launch one of the biggest comebacks in music history with one of the biggest albums of the decade.

"Private Dancer" featured 9 songs and ultimately 7 of those were released as singles, driving the album to chart in 13 countries (ALL in the top 10, with 4 countries seeing it take the #1 spot and 9 countries achieving platinum status), a sold out tour that also saw a world record for attendance for a solo artist, and 4 Grammy wins.

On a high, Tina appeared in "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" and released two highly acclaimed songs for the movie, with both charting as singles "We Don't Need Another Hero" (peaked at #2) and "One of the Living" (peaked at #15).

By 1995, she had added a James Bond theme song to her credit (the song "Golden Eye"), and while her chart success in the US toned down after that, she continued a string of hit songs across Europe & Canada, even after she had released her final studio album in 1999. However, she continued releasing compilation and live albums for another decade, to chart, commercial, and critical success.

All in all, Tina Turner (following a career that saw multiple TV appearances, fifteen movies, dozens of albums, dozens more hit singles, and world tours) garnered 3 AMA awards, 12 Grammy Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, one Cyprus and one Essence Award, shares the world record (with Pat Benatar) for most wins for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy, a Guinness World Record, inducted twice into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, and so many more!

Let's take a look at some of her music!

"Proud Mary" CCR (1969)/ Ike & Tina (1971)

intro:
C - A - /C - A - /C - A G / F - D - /

verse:
D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /
D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /

pre:
A - - - /A - - - /Bm - - - /Bm - - -

chorus:
D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /D - - - /

"Better Be Good to Me" (1984)

capo @3

verse

C - - - /F - - - /C - - - /F - - - /

C - - - /F - - - /C - - - /F - - - /

repeat as necessary

chorus

C - - - /F - - - /C - - - /F - - - /

C - - - /F - - - /C - - - /F - - - /

C - - - /F - - - / C - - - /C - - - /

"We Don't Need Another Hero" (1985)

verse

B - - - /F# - - - /B - - - /F# - - - /

E - - - /F# - - - /C# - - - .C# - - - /

pre

E - - - /F# - - /C#m - - - /C#m - - - /

E - - - /F# - - /C#m - - - /C#m - - - /

F#  E F#/

chorus

E - F# - /F# - E F#/E - F# - /

F# - E F# /E - F# - /C#m - - - /

"GoldenEye" (1995)

verse:
Fm - - - /Bm - - - /Fm - - - /Fm - - - /
Fm - - - /Bm - - - /E - - - /C#7 - - - /
repeat

chorus:
Em - - - /Em7 - - - /Em6 - - - /Emb6 - - - /
Em - - - /Em7 - - - /Em6 - - - /Emb6 - - - /
Bm - - - /Em - - - /Bm - - - /Em - F#7 - /
Bm - - - /Em - - - /Bm - - - /Em - F#7 - /
Fm - - - / (NC) - - - /


Note: The chords featured for the chorus are simplified for one instrument, though the strings often run opposing chromatic lines (weaving in "The Bond Theme"), creating more complex chords.