Ike and Tina used to perform this song in their live show, and included it on the 1965 live album, The Ike and Tina Turner Show, Vol. 1. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” is a country song that was popularized by Ray Charles in the ’50s and subsequently covered by all sorts of people. Willie and I recently got to see Solomon Burke in concert, and he did a great version of this tune, with the whole audience singing along.
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a natural for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. I can imagine the audience swaying along as the band played the simple teardrops-falling melody and the Ikettes sang the familiar lyrics. But of course, the Revue was more entertaining than all that, and Tina amped it up to an anguished pitch with her raw vocals. It’s a cathartic number.
Ikettes: Those happy hours
Tina: Right NOW, I WANNA TELL YOU about those happy hours
Ikettes: That we once knew
Tina: Mmhmm, YEAH YEAH! THAT we once knew
Ikettes: So long ago
Tina: YEAH YEAH! Well I REMEMBER, I remember that it was SO long ago
Ikettes: Still makes me blue
Tina: And it still ma-a-a-akes me blue
Ikettes: They say that time
Tina: I KNOOOOW. . .And I KNOW, I said I KNOW, I KNOW, that they say that TIME
Ikettes: Heals a broken heart
Tina: Oh yeah, IT HEALS, IT HEALS A BROKEN HEART
Ikettes: The time stood still
Tina: BUT TIME TIME TIME has stood still
Ikettes: Since we’ve been apart
Tina: Oooh. . .YEAH YEAH! Since we’ve been, since WE’VE been APA-ART!
This is a stunning performance, she almost makes me sweat. I have got to get my hands on these live albums. I’m just living on scraps of live recordings right now.
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