In the spoken introduction to their famous song “Proud Mary,” Tina Turner promises listeners that she and her husband, Ike Turner, will bring “nice and easy” things to the song, but she promises to be a rough end. “A promise made by the singer over and over again for decades, with the song becoming inextricably linked with the player Anna Mae Bullock born in Nutbush, Tennessee, in 1939.
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The song was written by the frontman for Creedence Clearwater Revival
Although few still associate “Proud Mary” with Tina’s growing arrangement and horny arrangement from the 1970s, the song was written by Clearwater Creedence Revival frontman John Fogerty on the day he received the release papers. he enlisted from the army in 1967. In a celebratory way, he started playing the guitar and his blues-rock hymn was born.
“I left a good job in the city and then a number of good lines came out to me immediately. I had the chord changes, the little chord where it says, ‘Mary Proud keep on burnin’ / ‘Mary Proud keep on burnin,’ ”Fogerty remembers Bad Moon Rising: An unofficial history of the revival of Clearwater Creedence by Hank Bordowitz. “By the time I hit ‘Rolling, roll, roll on the river’, I knew I had written my favorite song. He shook me inside. ”Released in early 1969, the song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Leaving a stable but low-paying job, the theme of “Proud Mary” bids farewell to the city and embarks on a “riverboat queen” trip where the people are “happy to ”Even“ if you didn’t get money. ”The song reflects on the new life found on the river; the promise of similar companionship and the opportunity to be reborn as an individual with a life on the ever-moving river.
Ike and Tina Turner in 1975
Photo: David Redfern / Redferns
Ike and Tina successfully covered “Proud Mary” and other songs
Ike and Tina began covering “Proud Mary” on stage, retelling the song that Tina had loved since they first heard it on the radio in 1969. Tina and Ike blew the rendition original at Fogerty for a grittier, funkier version that perfectly matched earthy Tina. then a loud shout.
As an opening act for the Rolling Stones in Europe and again for the 1969 U.S. band tour, Ike and Tina immediately found the appeal of their cover versions of songs such as “Proud Mary,” ” The Beatles’ Come Together and Clachan had an “Honky Tonk Women” for an audience.
Released in 1971, Ike and Tina’s rendition of “Proud Mary” was the second single from their album. Workin ‘Together (1970). It was ever recorded and was included in the lucky LP. While cutting the record, the duo still needed more songs when Tina suggested recording a few things they were currently enjoying on stage.
“And that’s how ‘Proud Mary’ came about,” said Tina Rolling Stone in 1971, recounting how they had heard an earlier rehearsal program of the song leading them to reconsider their recent events. “Ike said, ‘You know, I forgot all about that tune. ‘And I said that we would do it, but that we would change it. So in the car Ike plays the guitar, we just kind of jam. And we were just breaking into the black version of it. ”
Tina Turner played in 1971
Photo: David Redfern / Redferns
Following the success of “Proud Mary,” the relationship between Tina and Ike deteriorated
“Proud Mary” Ike and Tina sold over a million copies, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B card in 1971, just two years after the first revival Creedence Clearwater. Backed by the hip-swiveling backing singers of the Ikettes, the song became a staple of their live shows and won the Grammy Award for best group R&B voice performance in 1972.
His success would involve Tina writing the semi-autobiographical “Nutbush City Limits” (1973), one of Ike and Tina’s last songs – which had been together from the late 1950s – as two actors. By the time “Proud Mary” was recorded, Ike’s substance abuse problems had escalated, as well as the use of physical violence against his wife.
In 1976, shortly after embarking on a physical change while on her way to a hotel in Dallas, Tina escaped from her predicament. A mother of four went into hiding at a friend’s house before slowly beginning to rebuild a new life with nothing but her acting name as alignment. Their divorce was terminated in 1978 and Tina would never again meet in public with Ike, who died in 2007 of cocaine overdose at age 76.
Tina Turner in 1969
Photo: Jack Robinson / Hulton / Getty Images Archive
Tina went on with a one-on-one career
In the late seventies and early eighties Tina formed small clubs and hotels as she created a new professional and personal life. Al Green’s cover of “Let’s Stay Together” (1983) was an unexpected hit and led to the recording and release of the album Private dancer (1984), in which the anonymous track as well as “What is love to do with it. Platinum has been tested five times in the United States and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Tina was no longer an act of nostalgia just trading on tours in the past, Tina became a global wonder, packing fields and stadiums with new and old fans who came to take honor to her ongoing personal journey as well as her growing musical ability. But the songs of the past have been as much a part of Tina ‘s work on stage as ever, mixing covers such as “Proud Mary” among her latest songs.
“Proud Mary” would be the main staple of her live shows – often the last song before encores – up to and including her farewell tour culminating in a final live bow at Arena Sheffield UK on May 5, 2009.
There is no doubt that what the song represents for Tina has changed with time and circumstances, but “Proud Mary” has been a visual link to her five-year career and her influence on stars. contemporary music survives. Beyoncé played the classic track in 2005 when Tina was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC “I will never forget the first time I saw you perform,” said Beyoncé in her speech. look up at Tina sitting in the balcony. “I have never seen in my life such a powerful, frightening, beautiful woman.”
In 2020, Tina was asked by Haute Living magazine to play a word club game, saying what came to mind when she remembered her famous song titles. “The Best” was about “proving power.” “Private Dancer” is about “dreams come true. ”And“ Proud Mary ”? Tina had only one word for the song that has lasted almost all her life: “Freedom.”