During my recent trip back to St. Louis I finally had the pleasure of eating at Sweetie Pie’s, the soul food restaurant that Robbie Montgomery runs. Robbie is one of the original Ikettes, a talented lady who had the sense to leave the group fairly early on and got steady work with lots of other [...]
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tina’s Theme!
Forget about “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” this is the most iconic song on the album.
It was written by Holly Knight, who is the rock talent behind “Love Is a Battlefield” and Tina’s later hit “The Best.” (She also wrote Rod Stewart’s “Love Touch,” that ’80s hit with the video set [...]
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
When I was a kid listening to my mom’s Private Dancer cassette in the living room, I remember loving this song best. I was also a fool for the Pointer Sisters’ “Automatic” so I guess chilly electronic keyboards + strong female vocalists was just my thing back then.
Listening to it now, it strikes me [...]
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I know the secret combination!
It’s Tina’s birthday today, so in her honor I thought I’d write up a few songs from her fabulous solo album, Private Dancer. If you haven’t listened to it in a while, I recommend a revisit. It’s still powerful–whatta comeback!
Anyway, the song I want to highlight first is “I [...]
Last night I was doing a crossword by Merl Reagle, my favorite. The theme was Combo Cuisines.
Clue: Former rock duo’s favorite Mexican-Japanese eatery?
**
Answer: Ay Cantina Tuna
This is one of my favorites from the 1965 live album. It’s a cover of a brilliant Ray Charles song from the ’50s, specifically it’s a cover of Ray’s live version of “A Fool for You.” (His studio version is quite a bit more polished, less sad and bluesy.)
Oh man, this is such [...]
This is one of my favorite songs on these live recordings, mostly because it showcases Tina’s voice really nicely. Besides being included on The Ike & Tina Turner Show – Live Volume 2 LP, “It’s All Over” was released as a single with “Finger Poppin’” in 1964.
Your guess is as good as mine [...]
Live! The Greatest, Wildest Show of All
The Ike & Tina Turner Show
Soul and Rock That Do Not Stop
Yes, thanks to the excellent stock at Offbeat Music, I finally own the 1965 Ike and Tina live albums. (Originally two separate releases, volumes I and II are combined on one CD, released in 2006 by Warner [...]
One thing that this project has taught me is that I much prefer the Ike and Tina music of the ’60s over their work in the ’70s. For the most part, their ’70s rocker stuff grates on my ears. Tina’s voice starts reminding me more and more of Ann Wilson on “Barracuda” (one [...]
Poor Kent Records, they did not get much good material out of Ike and Tina when they signed them in the early ’60s. At this time Ike, the canny businessman that he was, was maximizing profits by recording all over the place, pumping out songs for several labels. They released two LPs on [...]