The week of September 14, 1985, found John Parr hanging on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion).’
Just behind it was another soundtrack song, Tina Turner’s ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)’ from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Parr may have won the Billboard battle, but he didn’t play a post-apocalyptic warlord in his movie, as Turner did in hers.
It took six years and two more solo albums, but Tina Turner finally had her post-Ike breakthrough success with 1984’s Private Dancer. The album went 5X platinum in the U.S. and was a top five hit in countries all over the world. It rocketed her to international stardom and led to a string of successful albums through her last studio release in 1999.
Private Dancer features the first — and only — #1 hit of Turner’s career in ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It,’ as well as a #5 hit in ‘Better Be Good to Me.’ The title track, written by Mark Knopfler, made it to #7.
Tina Turner released her first two solo albums — Tina Turns the Country On! and Acid Queen — while still recording with Ike Turner. But in 1976, the two split for good after he beat her up in a Dallas hotel. Turner fled to a Ramada Inn across the street, carrying only “36 cents and a Mobil card,” and was given a room by the understanding manager. This event is dramatized in the great 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do with It.
Tina was granted a divorce in 1978, after which she released her third solo album and first without the influence of Ike. If life were a movie, that album — Rough — would have been a massive success. Alas, none of its singles charted, though the album was well-received by critics.
Tina Turner released four solo albums between 1974 and 1979, both before and after her split from the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Those releases met with tepid results critically and commercially.
That all changed with 1984’s Private Dancer, an album that launched Turner to international superstardom and marked a departure from her R&B roots toward a much poppier sound. Recorded in England with a rotation of producers, the album spent nearly 40 weeks in Billboard’s top ten and went 5X Platinum in the U.S.
Today I wrap up my look at the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and though I’ve presented the lineup in alphabetical order, I was still able to save the best (or at least the most deserving) for last.
Tina Turner has been a member of the Rock Hall since 1991 as part of Ike & Tina Turner, but she has been eligible for a solo slot since the Hall of Fame began. And while she did have a prolific career alongside her abusive husband, she reached much greater heights on her own. This induction has been a no-brainer for more than 30 years.
Meet Me In Montauk 