Long Live Tina Turner!
(Source: metro UK)
A day after publishing my last post, the legendary Tina Turner passed on to higher glory. I needed to swiftly reflect on her music this week, as the news of her passage stirred waves of nostalgia from the 1980s which engulfed and overwhelmed me, once again. Even though at the ripe age of 83, a transition is inevitable, but still, I felt saddened and my heart was heavy. For she was outstandingly incredible and a musical treasure. One that would always be remembered.
(Source : Vogue)
When I remember Ms Turner, my childhood replays itself right before me like a film on reel. It feels like yesterday! The first time I saw her was on the USA for Africa music video for the song, “We are the World”. It must have been either 1985 or 86. As she stepped to the microphone to croon, “ We’re all a part of God’s great family”, this little 4 year old was magnetized by her striking looks - by that mane of hair which conjured the image of a lion in my mind’s eye. Her boisterous and energetically delightful voice spoke to my soul.
Clearly, Ms Turner was already a mature woman in her mid-40s, but she won a fan that day. The woman from the Silent Generation impressed the little girl from the novel Millennial generation, who had just been born. I loved her authenticity, distinctiveness and essence. I loved her intense personality and zest for life. I loved her fashion flair. I loved her dance moves. I loved her famous legs. And, my, oh, my, I loved her music!
I had no business listening to and appreciating such mature content about life, love and pain. But, I am glad I did! It was edifying and inspirational. She was like that Aunt, whose counsel and company you preferred to your mother’s because while your mother is too uptight, her presence on the other hand, promises liberation and wisdom.
Thanks to music television and radio in those days, one was privy to the music from the US. It was through these mediums that I discovered more of her songs. Her voice was unique and recognizable, when it came on the radio. The most popular was her catchy signature tune “What’s love got to do with it?”. That song was B-I-G and loomed through the airwaves. I used to wonder, “How could any one exist without a heart?” and “Why is love a second-hand emotion?”. As far as I was concerned, that song was ambiguous but I did not understand the depths until later. Warren G would sample it in the 1990s under the same title, featuring Adina Howard. However, it was not my favourite Tina Turner song, which happened to be multiple, by the way.
(Source: laut.de)
My favourite Tina Turner songs include “Private Dancer”, “Typical Male”, “What You Get Is What You See”, “Better Be Good To Me”, “On Silent Wings”, “Steamy Windows”, “Paradise Is Here”, “Let’s Stay Together, “The Best” and the James Bond soundtrack, “Golden Eye”. Indeed, every song on her catalogue is superlative and the chords/ instrumentation were impeccable, high energy, high impact, high vibrational, uplifting and top-notch. Ms Turner did not entertain mediocrity. She belonged to the epoch that prioritized talent and excellence in music production and performance. Those indeed, were the days!
Ms Turner’s songs showcased the patriarchal world and its many facets. “Private Dancer” espoused on the world of adult entertainment and female commodification. Women’s existence as objects of male pleasure and titillation, in exchange for economic rewards form the lyrical crux of this song. The video was eerie and dark, just like most music videos of the 1980s. Like “Billy Ocean’s “Loverboy”, The Jackson’s “Torture”, Kool & the Gang’s “Misled”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Ray Parker, Jr’s “Ghostbusters”, Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me”, Shalamar’s “Dead Giveaway”, etc. Creepy and horror-themed mise-en-scènes were quintessentially 80s.
“Better Be Good To Me”, one of my top 5 Tina Turner songs, is an order which must be obeyed and reflects the mindset of a quality woman, one with high values, standards, boundaries and high expectations in her relationships. That woman has a generous heart, but she also expects reciprocity. This song holds immense relevance in a cultural epoch where women were conditioned to give and never expect male benevolence. Where women were ashamed to voice their needs and desires. Times have apparently changed, since then. With the ubiquity of social media, women are awakened to the realization that they are not unworthy of respect, goodness and kindness.
Regarding male psychology and stereotypes, I always felt that “Typical Male” was the prelude to “What You Get Is What You See”. Both songs provide a young girl some theoretical insights on the superficiality of the world of men which has remained unchanged since 1986, when both songs were released. These songs are a female protective ammunition for proper social navigation. Many women-folk writhe in pain and anger brewed by their ignorance of male psychology. They get caught in the web of an imaginary one-sided love relationship which leaves them gutted. Had they listened to Ms Turner, no heart would be broken.
Speaking of heartbreaks, Ms Turner had some, but the public would be intimated about the magnitude after the film What’s Love Got To Do With It was released in 1993. Having seen the film the following year, I then understood the lyrical context of the song. Even though, Ms Tina would downplay that fact in an interview she granted CBS News in 1984.
Her relationship with Erwin Bach, quite clearly mended that brokenness. Mr Bach loved the hurt away in a relationship highly romanticized by the German press. Following her demise, the news headlines mirrored this notion with titles like: (Stern) “Tina Turner: der Mann, der sie glücklich machte” [The man who made Tina Turner happy], (Bunte) “Auf Ike Turner’s Gewalt folgte mit Erwin Bach die große Liebe” [Ike Turner’s violence made way for Erwin Bach, the love of her life], (Münchner Merkur) “So schön war die Kölner Liebesgeschichte von Tina Turner und Erwin Bach” [Tina Turner and Erwin Bach’s Cologne love story was so beautiful].
The German society adored Ms Turner and her music is on regular rotation in radio stations. Like Donna Summer, before her and Chaka Khan, who had resided in Mannheim in the 1990s, Ms Turner lived in Cologne (or Köln in German), the home city of Erwin Bach and found in Germany a safe haven. She would find a sense of tranquility away from home. But what exactly robbed her of peace?
Her life’s canvass was painted with the brush of unconventionality. Her abandonment of a toxic marriage coincided with the second wave of the feminist movement. It was not the norm to walk away from an abusive marriage. In the black cultural conceptualization, a good woman was one who self-sabotaged, endured maltreatment and disrespect, remained consistently dutiful and well-mannered amidst domestic abuse. It behooved her to preserve her toxic marriage at all cost, including her life. On the other hand, the bad woman insisted on self-preservation and fairness. She insisted on the validation of her humanity by her husband and society. She insisted on being seen and heard. And for these reasons, she was shamed and found despicable and unworthy of emulation. By all means, Ms Turner was a bad woman.
She was also unconventional due to her upturn of ageism. She proved that age is just a number. In popular culture, a woman was deadbeat and undesirable after 30. She had no business dancing, twisting, enjoying life, gaining recognition and major successes at 45 like Ms Turner. She had no business walking bra-less with pointed nipples, wearing outlandish hairstyles, high-heels, mini skirts and short dresses at 60. While society yelled, “Tina Turner should please comport herself and behave her age. Why is she prancing around like some little kid, showing them legs?”, like there was some biologically programmed guide on behavioural patterns for each age group, Ms Turner retorted like Obama “Yes, I can”, and she did. She was a bad mama jama.
Her departure from the black-identified blues, jazz, r&b, soul and gospel genres, to an affiliation with “that” white people’s music or “rock n roll” and those “skinny” rockers like David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart earned her a backlash and cancellation. Her identification with Buddhism further created a schism and intensified the alienation from her Christianity-wired community. For them, she was not black but a white loving coon and a disappointment to black people.
In opting for a authentic path, the direction she derived the most joy, Ms Turner’s sense of peace evaporated in the US. Her departure was backgrounded by identity conflict and identity politics. Her non-identification with the conventional trajectory would lead to a permanency. Nonetheless, she was loved in Europe. She had resided in England, Germany, France and finally, Switzerland. The emblem of her physicality may be lost, but for as long as her music which embodies timelessness is played and enjoyed by all and sundry, something beautiful remains.
(Source: Wikipedia)
MY TYPICAL TINA TURNER PLAYLIST:
"Better Be Good To Me" Private Dancer (1984).
"Private Dancer" Private Dancer (1984).
"I Can't Stand The Rain" Private Dancer (1984).
"What's Love Got To Do With It" Private Dancer (1984).
"Let's Stay Together" Private Dancer (1984).
"Typical Male" Break Every Rule (1986).
"What You Get Is What You See" Break Every Rule (1986).
"Paradise Is Here" Break Every Rule (1986).
"Steamy Windows" Foreign Affair (1989).
"I Don't Wanna Lose You" Foreign Affair (1989).
"Look Me In The Heart" Foreign Affair (1989).
"The Best" Foreign Affair (1989).
"I Don't Wanna Fight" Soundtrack to the Film What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993).
"GoldenEye" Soundtrack to James Bond’s GoldenEye (1995).
"On Silent Wings" Wildest Dreams (1996).
"Something Beautiful Remains" Wildest Dreams (1996).
