Al Green fans thought it was weird. When Tina Turner was relaunching her career in the early 1980s, or rather when she was being introduced to a whole generation of fans who saw her as a new soul voice, the singer made a slight reversal in the order of the verses of what was already a classic song , “Let’s Stay Together”. In the original, the great Al Green began with the brazen declaration of love: “I’m so in love with you” and then said that he would do whatever the object of his affection wanted.
Tina Turner thought it best to start by reminding that true romance is always a great construction: “Let me say, since, baby, since we’ve been together.”
Either she was part of the partnerships or she was out. At least, that’s what the artist, who shone for two decades prior to this success, made clear and just didn’t go any further by recounting a hitherto underreported tale of emotional abuse with her husband and music partner Ike Turner.
She’s had enough. And he was born again. Behind this hit was a team of producers who never had the success they helped build for Tina. The British Electric Foundation better known as BEF, which later became the brilliant Heaven 17 had a moderate look at the English electronic music scene 40 years ago when they invited the singer to take part in a compilation entitled ‘Music of Quality and Distinction ‘ exclaimed. Vol. 1″.
It was there that Tina recorded “Ball of Confusion”, a Temptations song, and the result was so good that BEF invited Martyn Ware to produce another track for her, “Let’s Stay Together”. A star was born there.
In sweet revenge for her relatively early fall to stardom, Tina Turner rode the wave of the first wave of female artists who felt empowered to take the reins of their own careers, including Madonna.
Few have shone as brightly as Tina. At a time when “empowerment” wasn’t even officially a word, she had the autonomy to choose her repertoire, decide on her touring and eventually even film appearances.
As a biographer of Elza Soares, I can only confirm the parallel some obituaries draw between the two greatest singers. And also reiterate that our diva was a huge admirer of Tina Turner.
Perhaps what the two had in common was curiosity. A woman from R&B and rock! persuading her to turn to electronic music might have been easier than you might think as she loved to experiment. Few people listened, but in 2009 she released an album of exclusively Buddhist and Christian prayers.
This openness enabled her to collect amazing world successes. And he didn’t stop recording or performing until his health became a hindrance. In this renaissance, my career as a music journalist wasn’t even a project. I was just a fan. I didn’t go to his historic 1988 performance at the Maracanã, but I saw his concert in São Paulo on the same tour. And the memory I have is that I was completely hypnotized.
During my time at MTV in the 1990s, Tina was in the stratosphere of fame and I had hopes of meeting her, if not here then on one of our coverages in the US. That was not the case. The path was to stay that very fan who saw in her an energy that few artists I met in hundreds of interviews had. And that we, also a bit like Elza Soares, thought she would always be with us.
If the reversed lines of “Let’s Stay Together” taught me anything, it’s that love and admiration don’t need a schedule. It just takes someone to make you feel “brand new” and the promise of a strong connection will always be there. “People brake” and then “turn around and shut up,” she sang. We fight and then make up. But you never really say goodbye.