Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 105^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 105^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “What’s Love Got To Do With It”, performed by 🎙 Tina Turner. 

Theme & Lyrics ✍

“What’s love got to do, got to do with it? / What’s love but a secondhand emotion?”  Those lyrics are simply ICONIC.  Who better to sing iconic lyrics than an icon herself? What’s surprising is how old 🎙 Tina Turner was when 🎵 “What’s Love Got To Do With It” materialized – nearly 45 years old! This beloved no. 1 hit was a big part of her comeback on 💿 Private Dancer, an album that found the versatile, 🏆 Grammy-winning musician embracing pop/rock. Speaking of Grammys, for “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” Turner won two: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and more prestigiously, Record of The Year.  “What’s Love Got to Do With It” was certified gold by the RIAA, while the parent album, Private Dancer, has been certified quintuple platinum.

“What’s love got to do, got to do with it?

What’s love but a secondhand emotion?

What’s love got to do, got to do with it?

Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”

Besides the timeless chorus, what makes “What’s Love Got To Do With It” so epic? It all starts with Tina Turner, whose vocals are phenomenal.  She sings smoothly in the verses, packing more of a punch on that anthemic refrain.  Beyond her pipes, the production, with its smooth, 80s palette of sounds (guitars, keys/synths) is pretty sweet – the definition of what we call a vibe in the 2020s.  It serves as the perfect soundtrack for this love-oriented track.  Of course, “What’s Love Got To Do With,” which was penned by 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Terry Britten (also produces) and 🎼 ✍ Graham Lyle, is well-written.  The lyrics stand out first and foremost (“You must understand though the touch of your hand / Makes my pulse react / That it’s only the thrill of boy meeting girl” or “It may seem to you that I’m acting confused / When you’re close to me / If I tend to look dazed I’ve read it someplace / I’ve got cause to be”) but even harmonically, it’s unique.

Final Thoughts 💭

Interestingly, 🎵 “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was offered to many others before it landed in the hands of Tina Turner.  Thank God it ultimately did land in Turner’s hands because it was made for her – PERIOD.  It’s hard to imagine anybody not named Anna Mae Bullock singing this one!

🎙 Tina Turner • 💿 Private Dancer • 🏷 Parlophone • 📅 1984

Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 105 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash,  The Musical Hype, Parlophone]