Favorite Tina Turner Recordings

I'm sure most of us were saddened by the recent passing of Tina. Though I had known she was ill, it was still a shock when she finally transitioned. Like so many of the greats who have left us, I never imagined a world without Tina.

My earliest Tina memory was my parents taking me to see the SOUL TO SOUL film. To this day, I can remember seeing this wild woman singing the title track while bopping with the Ikettes. I also had the memory of Ike and Tina performing I SMELL TROUBLE stuck in my mind for many years.

While I was out shopping today, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT came over the pa system and it made me think of my favorite Tina recordings.

From the Ike and Tina days, my favorites [aside from the hits] are:

THE REAL ME [Sue)
IT'S CRAZY BABY [Kent]
SOMEBODY [SOMEWHERE] NEEDS YOU [Loma]
EVERY DAY I HAVE TO CRY [Philles]
YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED [Pompeii]
ONLY WOMEN BLEED [Fantasy]

Tina solo:

LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED
OVERNIGHT SENSATION
PARADISE IS HERE
WITHOUT YOU
GAME OF LOVE
EDITH AND THE KINGPIN

Just saw online that Tina Turner has passed away peacefully at her home in Switzerland. I waited for a few news bureaus to report, so this seems true.

Rest in Peace & Power, Ms. Turner. You gave us everything you possibly could. You have an incredible legacy to be passed down the ages.

https://www.bbc.com/news/65669653

Soulful Detroit's own Shaun Murphy has a new album ready to drop. Release date isn't until the first week of June, but autographed albums are now available. Lets all wish this extremely talented singer all the best with this new offering.
https://shaunmurphyband.com/store/

From BestClassicBands.com-

The “Queen of Disco,” Donna Summer, is the subject of a new documentary coming in May 2023. The film, Love To Love You, Donna Summer, from HBO Documentary Films, is directed by Oscar® and Emmy®-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams [Life Animated, HBO’s The Apollo] and Summer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano. Described as an “unexpected and intimate portrait,” the documentary will have its theatrical world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. It will then have its television debut in May on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max. An advance clip is not yet available.

Summer was in the right place at the right time when she teamed with producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and had her first hit with the erotic international smash, “Love to Love You Baby,” in 1975 for Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records. The full, moaning 17-minute version of the title track took up the entire first side of the album. After a few missteps, she returned to the top of the charts with “I Feel Love.” More hits arrived in subsequent years: “Last Dance,” her shocking cover of the Jimmy Webb song, “MacArthur Park,” and “Heaven Knows.”

When the disco diva’s the two-LP set, Bad Girls, was released on April 25, 1979, the only surprise was why it took nearly two months to reach #1, which it did for the first of six weeks on June 16. Its three humongous pop and dance floor hits include the great #2 “Dim All the Lights” and a pair of #1s: the title track and “Hot Stuff.”


From the Feb. 3 announcement: Shaped by Summer’s own reflections, the memories of close family, friends and colleagues, and filled with the sounds of Summer’s songs, Love To Love You, Donna Summer is an in-depth look at the iconic artist as she creates music that takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany, to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York, to worldwide acclaim, her voice and artistry becoming the defining soundtrack of an era. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off the stage, the film features a wealth of photographs and never-before-seen home video footage – often shot by Summer herself – and provides a rich window into the surprising range of her artistry, from songwriting to painting, while exploring the highs and lows of a life lived on the global stage.



Summer died on May 17, 2012, of lung cancer, at just 63.

Because of the amount of content, the year 1973 is being divided into three threads.

This is Part II:
May - August

______________________


Billboard’s Hot 100/ Top 40
Chart #18
May 5, 1973

Number of singles reviewed this week: 172!!
last week: 119

including:
Soul:
SMOKEY ROBINSON - SWEET HARMONY [4:10] -producers:Smokey Robinson & Willie Hutch; writer: W. Robinson Tamla 54233. Smokey's soft voice is showcased on his first solo effort which is dedicated to his former Miracles associates. There is a soft, silken quality to the total production.Destined for pop crossover play

EDDIE KENDRICKS - DARLING COME BACK HOME [3:10] producer: Frank Wilson, Leonard Caston; writers: K. Wakefield, F. Wilson, K. Errisson. Tamla 54236F. The former front man for The Temptations is heard pleading for the return of his woman, with the massage [sic] underscored by a sweet arrangement. The single should gain pop recognition as well.

Tamla is double-barreling this week releasing two singles, both by long time artists trying to get a foothold as solo performers. Maybe this time out.

Meanwhile, it's a Stevie Wonder week, as he enters the nation's Top 5 with Motown's hottest single, also on Tamla. The Temptations peak and suddenly drop from the Top 10. Gladys Knight and the Pips have two records charting while the J5 appear to struggle. Brother Michael hops onto the Hot 100 [as this week's highest debut 45] to help out. Adding it, and with no drop offs, Motown has six charting 45s.
_____________

The Top 10:

Week three for Dawn's TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLD OAK TREE at #1. War's CISCO KID pressing hard again at #2. Stevie Wonder closing in at #4 with a bullet from #6 with YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE. The typical two new entries , this time by Dobie Gray with DRIFT AWAY at #6 from #11 . It is Dobie Gray's only time in the Top Ten, he came close in 1965 with THE IN CROWD, which was the last time he charted Top 40, peaking at #13. Also his first week in, at #10 from #15, Edgar Winter [and group] with the instrumental FRANKENSTEIN, titled such for the way their much longer performance song's parts had to be chopped and sewn together into something short and cohesive enough to be a single.

The Top 40:

Motown:
Four records from Motown are on the Top 40:

^YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE - Stevie Wonder now Top 5 with a bullet at #4 spot from #6.
MASTERPIECE - Temptations sudden reversal downward to #11 from #7, the song's peak.
NEITHER ONE OF US [WANTS TO BE THE FIRST TO SAY GOODBYE] - Gladys Knight & The Pips drops from #12 to #22.
^ HALLELUJAH DAY - Jackson Five up one to #27 from #28.

off: none
__________

Biggest mover in the Top 40: 11 places:
DANIEL - Elton John at #14 from #25

Six entries, 5 US, 1 UK, 2+Top 10 bound+, 0 PI related, 0 Motown, 0 by proxy
Highest Debut:
STEAMROLLER BLUES/FOOL Elvis Presley #30 up 14 from #44 [98th Top 40 Hit]

+PLAYGROUND IN MY MIND+ - Clint Holmes #32 up 11 from #43 [One Hit Wonder]
IT SURE TOOK A LONG LONG TIME - Lobo #36 up 9 from #45 [4th Top 40 hit]
+I'M GONNA LOVE YOU JUST A LITTLE MORE BABY+ - Barry White #37 up 20 from #57 [*First Time Artist]
I CAN UNDERSTAND IT -New Birth #38 up 4 from #42 [*First Time Artist]
BLUE SUEDE SHOES - Johnny Rivers #40 up 2 from #42 [Fifteenth Top 40 hit]


The Hot 100:

Eight newbies: 2 Top 40 bound, 1 first time to chart on the Hot 100, 0 Philly International related, 1 Motown, 0 by proxy
Highest debut:
third tier:
#84 - WITH A CHILD'S HEART - Michael Jackson

#88 - HEY YOU! GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN - Dramatics
#94 - MONSTER MASH - Bobby 'Boris' Picket
#95 - YOUR SIDE OF THE BED - Mac Davis
#97 - SO VERY HARD TO GO - Tower Of Power
#98 - A LITTLE BIT LIKE MAGIC - King Harvest
#99 - DUELING TUBAS - Martin Mull
#100 - WORKING CLASS HERO - Tommy Roe

_____________

Motown:
debuts:
one
1st week: WITH A CHILD'S HEART - Michael Jackson #84 DEBUT
2nd week: DADDY COULD SWEAR, I DECLARE - Gladys Knight & The Pips #71 up 7 from #78 -

offs:
none
_____________

NEW! --- The Motown singles found on Billboard's BUBBLING UNDER THE HOT 100. Many will go on to break into The Hot 100 while others won't.

BUBBLING UNDER THE HOT 100:

#105 - BAD WEATHER - Supremes - last week: #105
#106 - TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE SUCH SWEET MUSIC - Spinners - DEBUT
#OFF - MA- Rare Earth - last week: #110

****

Third very good week in a row for:
Bell Records
with three titles still in the Top 5.
At #1 is Dawn's TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLD OAK TREE.
LITTLE WILLIE by The Sweet is #3 from #5 with a bullet, and Vickie Lawrence's former #1, THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA, still strong at #5.
Add to that, Bell also has the #1 and #2 singles in the UK. For the first time in ages that chart and the Hot 100 have the same song in the #1 position, Dawn's TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLD OAK TREE. At #2 on Bell is Gary Glitter's HELLO HELLO I"M BACK AGAIN.

****
Also a very good week for:
Split titled charters
A few years ago, 45s with split credits were common. The split was either due to a medley of songs as the title, or a 45 getting play with both its A and B sides.This week, side-by -ide on the Top 40 are examples of both. At #29 is a medley of two songs from The Who's rock opera TOMMY by The New Seekers, PINBALL WIZARD/SEE ME FEEL ME, and at #30 is the double sided hit, STEAMROLLER BLUES/FOOL, by Elvis Presley. Double-siders have been regular for Elvis since the early years, even until now, but the trend in general has all but faded. Barbra Streisand is another artist who often splits her 45s.
There are no other splits on the entire Hot 100 and like the way of the doo doo bird , these may be final examples. Something to keep an eye out for.



Texas born Lawrence Darrow Brown or "Dobie Gray" [a take-off of the popular TV character, Dobie Gillis] had limited success through the sixties, most notably being first to record a Motown tinted arrangement [by a young Gene Page] of THE IN CROWD in 1965 that went to #13 , with a Ramsey Lewis remake going to #5 later that same year.
A failed release of DRIFT AWAY by artist John Henry Kurtz fell into the hands of Dobie Gray when its' author, Mentor Williams, brother of Paul Williams, produced Gray's first Decca album in Nashville, where Dobie Gray will move to permanently.