Blast from the Past: Tina Turner!

We've just about reached the end of the 80s (and beyond) divas, and my next Blast from the Past may have to transition to another subject for a while. But before we jump ship, there's one more name to add to the parade of stars featured here over the last many weeks. I was a fan of all of these stars--Pat Benatar, Cher, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Madonna--from the first hit song they had (or that I was old enough to have heard, in the case of Cher). Tina Turner is a different story.



Being a late 60s baby (and thus one of the oldest of the Gen-Xers), I was first introduced to Tina Turner by 70s-era variety shows, such as Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie. She was like the black Charo or something. To me, she just didn't register as the diva she'd been since the 60s. In the days of three channels on the TV and no internet, I wasn't likely to find out either.



Anyway, I graduated in high school in 1984, the same year that Tina Turner had her outta nowhere supernova of a comeback. With What's Love Got to Do With It? she set MTV, top 40 radio and America on fire. Her album, Private Dancer also made hits with You'd Better Be Good to Me and the title tune. It also is one of those rare albums that is good all the way through.  She followed that with a co-starring role in Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome as Auntie Entity. That produced two more hits, We Don't Need Another Hero and One of the Living.



The next album, Break Every Rule, was a hit too, with Typical Male, Two People and What You Get is What You See. There were really only two more hits, The Best--an anthem for Tina if ever there was one--and I Don't Wanna Fight, which was from the movie based on her autobiography, I, Tina. But even though her second act run of hits isn't all that long, it was enough to cement her as a permanent Diva in the icon stratosphere. She appeared with countless other rock stars and event concerts, and then retired. But I'd still love to see her come back.