What's Love Got to Do with It (song)

"What's Love Got To Do With It"
Single by Tina Turner
from the album Private Dancer
B-side	"Don't Rush the Good Things"
Released	June 4, 1984
Format	Cassette single, 7" single, 12" single
Genre	Pop rock, R&B
Length	3:50
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Terry Britten, Graham Lyle
Producer	Terry Britten
Certification	Gold (RIAA)Silver (BPI)
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Help!" (1984) "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1984) "Better Be Good to Me" (1984)
Music sample What's Love Got To Do With It

"What's Love Got To Do With It" is the second single (after "Let's Stay Together") released from Tina Turner's fifth solo album Private Dancer. In Europe, it was the third single following Turner's cover of The Beatles' "Help!". "What's Love Got To Do With It" became Turner's most successful single.

Turner had previously released two solo albums while still with her husband and musical partner Ike Turner. She split from him in 1976 and divorced him in 1978. Following the divorce, she released two more solo albums, both of which failed on the charts. However, "What's Love Got To Do With It", from her fifth solo album, reached the top five in both the United States and United Kingdom. The music video was directed by Mark Robinson. The song ranked #309 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It also ranked #38 on Songs of the Century. It was the 17th best-selling single of 1984 in the UK. In 1993, the song's name was used as the title for What's Love Got To Do With It, a biographical film about Tina Turner's life. The song was originally recorded by UK pop group Bucks Fizz, whose version remained unreleased until 2000.

In 2012, "What's Love Got To Do With It" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Background

This song was originally written for Cliff Richard, however the song was rejected. The song then was offered to Donna Summer, who has stated she sat with it for a couple of years but never recorded it. Some months before Turner recorded the song, British pop group Bucks Fizz were newly offered it. Member Jay Aston requested to sing lead on the track after hearing the demo, but was told by the producer that it was unsuitable for a female lead vocal. The group went on to record it in February 1984, but sung by male member Bobby G. Aston recalls that the demo was very similar to the eventual Tina Turner version, but their finished version was in a very different style. It was intended for possible inclusion on their next album I Hear Talk but was shelved when Turner released it first. The Bucks Fizz version went unreleased until it was included on a re-issue of their Are You Ready album in 2000. The Original Bucks Fizz went on to include the song in their reunion concert tour in October 2009.

Chart information

Up until the release of "What's Love Got To Do With It", Tina Turner had not had a top ten single since the early 1970s. The single went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks, becoming Turner's first and only solo number-one hit in America. It peaked at #3 on the UK singles chart. Tina Turner, along with then-husband Ike, first charted in the United States in 1960 with the single "A Fool in Love". "What's Love Got To Do With It" went to number-one in the US on September 1, 1984, 24 years afterward. Another notable fact is that Turner was 44 when the song hit number one, making her the oldest solo female artist to place a number-one single on the US Hot 100. (Grace Slick, who is older than Turner by about one month, hit #1 in 1985 and 1987 with "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", respectively, but she was not a solo act on those recordings but instead a member of Starship). In 1999, Cher at age 53 became the oldest solo female to have a US number-one hit when "Believe" hit the top position in America.

Versions and remixes

• Album version – 3:50
• Extended 12" Remix – 5:45

Music video

The video features Turner walking down the street engaging with the public, intercut with scenes where she is singing directly to the viewers. The video was shot in New York City during the summer of 1984. The music video also features Sleepaway Camp 2's Pamela Springsteen as a street dancer.

Awards

The song received three awards at the 1985 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Turner's live performance of the song at the Grammy show was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.

The music video for the song claimed a prize at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1985 for "Best Female Video".

In 2012, "What's Love Got To Do With It" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In popular culture

The song was also used on the 1980s cop show Miami Vice season one episode "Calderone's Return Part II".

In a Sex And The City season four episode the song's title was parodied as "What's Sex Got To Do With It".

Chart performance

Chart (1984)	Peakposition
Australian Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	4
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Top 100 Chart	10
German Singles Chart	7
Irish Singles Chart	4
New Zealand Singles Chart	3
Norweigen Singles Chart	10
South African Singles Chart	2
Spanish Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	4
Swiss Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart	3
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US R&B Singles Chart	2
US Adult Contemporary	8
US Dance Club Songs	21

End-of-decade charts

End of decade (1980–1989)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	20

Chart (1996)	Peakposition
UK Singles Chart
Billboard Hot 100	32
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	36
Billboard Hot Rap Singles	5
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	27 2

Warren G version

"What's Love Got to Do with It"
Single by Warren G featuring Adina Howard
from the album Supercop
Released	September 10, 1996
Format	Vinyl, Cassette, CD
Recorded	1996
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:17
Label	MCA/Interscope
Writer(s)	Terry Britten, Graham Lyle, Warren Griffin
Producer	Warren G
Warren G singles chronology
"Do You See"(1994) "What's Love Got to Do with It"(1996) "I Shot the Sheriff"(1997)

"What's Love Got to Do with It" is the title of a song by American artist Warren G and Adina Howard from the Supercop soundtrack. The song both sampled and interpolated the chorus of Tina Turner's classic 1984 song of the same name, though Warren G replaced Turner's original lyrics with his own. "What's Love Got to Do with It" became a hit, making it to 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Warren G's third top-40 single, as well as 5 on the Hot Rap Singles. While a success in America, the single found greater success in the UK where it made it to #2 on the UK Singles chart.

Music Video

A music video was produced to promote the single, featuring footage of Warren G and Adina Howard performing the song, with clips from the film "Super Cop".

Single track listing

A-Side

1. "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (Album Version)- 4:17
2. "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (Clean Radio Version)- 4:17

B-Side

1. "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (Acapella)- 4:15
2. "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (Instrumental)- 4:15

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peakposition
Australia (ARIA)	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	5
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)	11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	29
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	14
France (SNEP)	9
Germany (Media Control AG)	3
Ireland (IRMA)	7
Italy (FIMI)	14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	9
New Zealand (RIANZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	6
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	2
Billboard Hot 100	32
Billboard Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs	36
Billboard Hot Rap Singles	5
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	27

Cover versions

• Rapper Warren G and R&B singer Adina Howard released a remake in 1996. It reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• CKBE-FM David Tyler

• "Weird Al" Yankovic sampled this song as a part of "Hooked on Polkas" in 1985.

• Trombonist Ray Conniff recorded the song for an album in 1985.

• In 2001, Cliff Richard recorded the song for his album Wanted.

• Reggae performer Sylvia Tella recorded a very different working of the song in 2003.

• US singer Tiffany recorded a version for a various artists tribute album in 2004.

• In 2009, American Idol's Season 8 Lil Rounds sang this song for "The Year They Were Born" Week.

• Jaron and the Long Road to Love have performed the song in a few concerts.

• The Gossip have performed this song live.

• The song is featured in the stage musical "Priscilla Queen of the Desert".

• In 2011, it was given a new and updated version by Naima Adedapo in Season 10 of American Idol, also for "The Year They Were Born" Week.

• In February 25, 2013, Dianna Agron featuring A House For Lions sang this song for You, Me & Charlie Concert.

References

Preceded by "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr.	Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Tina Turner version) September 1, 1984 - September 15, 1984	Succeeded by "Missing You" by John Waite
Preceded by "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single September 10, 1984	Succeeded by "Careless Whisper" by George Michael
Preceded by "Twisted" by Keith Sweat	RIANZ (New Zealand) number one single (Warren G version) October 18, 1996 - November 15, 1996	Succeeded by "Wannabe" by Spice Girls