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She was simply the best, and these moments prove it! Join us as we count down the most unforgettable moments from the barrier-breaking queen of rock 'n' roll. From record-breaking world tours and Grammy-winning performances to her iconic film roles and trailblazing cultural impact, no one did it quite like her. Which moment is your all-time favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00What do I have for you this evening?
00:02The show is a recap of my work done in the past.
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the times when Tina Turner
00:13showed us why she was the barrier-breaking queen of rock and roll music.
00:23Number 20. Gravity-defying stunts.
00:26Known for her athleticism and incredibly physical performance style, Tina Turner was also apparently
00:32fearless.
00:46Modeling for photographer Peter Lindbergh in 1989, a photo of Turner holding onto the Eiffel
00:51Tower with one hand made for a dramatic image for her Foreign Affair single.
00:55Behind her, you can see the skyline of Paris hundreds of feet below.
00:59This kind of daring behavior was still present at the time of her farewell tour.
01:03In recent years, a clip of a 69-year-old Turner running and dancing along a massive catwalk
01:08in high heels has stunned the internet.
01:11She seems to be doing this without even a harness for safety.
01:13Even years after her final performances, people are still shocked at how fearless she was.
01:18Love it.
01:20All right.
01:23One more time.
01:25If you want to see more iconic moments from your favorite pop stars, hop onto the Ms. Mojo
01:3024-7 livestream.
01:31Scan the QR code on screen to join us live for non-stop pop culture fun.
01:35We're gonna do the finish.
01:38Nice.
01:40You're off!
01:47Although the icon herself only appears in the very last sequence, the 1993 biopic starring
01:53Angela Bassett and Lawrence Fishburne had a profound impact on Tina Turner's legacy.
01:57Like her own co-authored book, I, Tina, what's love got to do with it tells the story of her
02:02tumultuous early career and marriage.
02:03You seem very calm and accepting about the bad times with him and even seeing those clips,
02:09you take it pretty calmly.
02:12I'm past it.
02:13It's been 16 years since I haven't been with Ike.
02:16And the movie and the book is bringing me back to the past of something that was really
02:20awful.
02:21My life is wonderful at the moment.
02:23Turner helped the filmmakers and Bassett with the movie's many dance sequences.
02:26However, she also wasn't shy about voicing her issues with various scenes and moments
02:31left out of the screenplay.
02:32I never wore that.
02:34Oh, great.
02:39Despite that, the Oscar-nominated film has done a lot to share her story, in all its heartbreak
02:45and triumph.
02:46They don't make biopics like this anymore.
02:48You must try to ignore that it means more than that.
02:53Oh, what's love got to do with it?
02:58Number 18.
02:59A scintillating duet with David Bowie.
03:01We're gonna do this one together.
03:12For years, Tina Turner praised David Bowie for helping her keep her recording contract
03:16when the label was intending to drop her in the mid-70s.
03:19They would eventually collaborate on the 1984 track, Tonight.
03:23Luckily for us, their palpable chemistry is on display in the live music video for the song.
03:28I will love you till I die.
03:32I will see you in the sky tonight.
03:38Their connection on stage is so strong.
03:40In fact, it's been said that their connection continued offstage.
03:44Bowie speaks something into Turner's ear mid-performance that we can't hear, but her fits of laughter
03:49seem to suggest something incredibly naughty.
03:52Turner's personal assistant at the time later confirmed what we all assumed.
04:08Good surprise, huh?
04:15Tonight, live from the Beacon Theater in New York City, VH1 presents Divas Live 99, a concert for VH1 Save
04:25the Music.
04:26The second edition of VH1's Benefit Concert begins in deservedly epic fashion.
04:31As the program starts, the camera closes in on a limousine approaching the Beacon Theater.
04:36Only the high heels and legs of the first performer are visible.
04:39The camera tracks with her as more of her is revealed.
04:42Suddenly, it's Tina Turner sweeping through the theater lobby like a goddess.
04:46The packed theater is full of adoring fans, and the camera follows her in a continuous motion all the way
04:52to the stage.
04:53It's an incredibly ambitious opening setup, but it's one that the regal and undeniable queen of rock and roll absolutely
04:59nails.
05:12Number 16.
05:13Going out on her own terms.
05:15At the end of her 24-7 tour in 2000, Tina Turner vowed it would be her last.
05:20We are so glad she didn't keep her word.
05:36Between 2008 and 2009, she did her last 90 shows for grateful North American and European audiences,
05:43and even recorded the show for posterity.
05:45There's something to be said for leaving when you're still at the top of your game.
05:49And if this series of shows was any indication, she was still the queen.
05:53Her 50th anniversary tour was a massive success, earning awards and over $100 million in ticket sales,
06:00cementing her status as a music legend.
06:02Not that there was any doubt.
06:04I want you to sing it with an attitude.
06:15I'll show you what the attitude should look like.
06:22With 1995's GoldenEye, Tina Turner joined the ranks of Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, and Carly Simon in sharing the Bond
06:29song legacy.
06:30However, few themes were as sleek, seductive, and darkly sensual as Turner's electronic slow jam.
06:36See reflections on the water, no more than darkness in the depths.
06:44Billboard described her performance as feline, and that pretty much covers it.
06:48Penned by U2's Bono and The Edge, GoldenEye sent Turner to the top of the charts in several countries.
06:54No time for sweetness, but a bitter kiss will bring him to his knees.
07:01Only a handful of artists have had the honor and privilege of singing a James Bond theme.
07:05It's almost like a Lifetime Achievement Award all its own.
07:08Turner's entry in that catalog ranks among the very best.
07:23Number 14, her first unofficial solo track.
07:27I was excited about singing a different type of song.
07:30I was excited about getting out of the studio on my own.
07:33Oh, it was a freedom to do something different.
07:37Tina Turner famously found more success in Europe than in her home country of the United States.
07:42That was true as early as 1966, when one of her most enduring hits was notoriously underplayed in America.
07:49Written and produced by powerhouse industry titan Phil Spector,
07:53River Deep Mountain High was early proof that Tina's voice and talents were the whole show.
08:08Despite the song still being credited to Ike and Tina Turner, he contributed virtually nothing to the actual track.
08:14In fact, Spector forced Ike to stay away from the studio so she didn't have to battle him for control.
08:19While it isn't technically her first solo single, it certainly feels like a sign of things to come.
08:24I love you, I love you, I love you.
08:29I love you, I love you, I love you.
08:36Number 13, performing with Beyonce at the 2008 Grammy Awards, the 50th annual Grammy Awards.
08:42The glamour, the soul, the passion, the strength, the talent.
08:49Ladies and gentlemen, stand on your feet and give it up for the Queen.
08:57Three years after Beyonce paid tribute to Turner at the Kennedy Center Honors,
09:01the ascending pop diva joined her on stage at the 2008 Grammys.
09:05After a barn burner of a performance, Turner capped off her medley of career-defining hits with Proud Mary.
09:10Beyonce joined her, doing the full original choreography.
09:14If you come down to the river, bet you're gonna find some people who live.
09:20Don't have to worry, if you got no money, people on the river are happy to live.
09:26Despite it being over 35 years since releasing her version,
09:29to say Turner went toe-to-toe with Beyonce would be an understatement.
09:33This wasn't a passing of the torch.
09:35This was a veteran simply sharing the stage with an acolyte.
09:38Hold it, hold it, hold it on the river.
09:44Hold it, hold it, hold it on the river.
09:49Number 12. Steaming up Live Aid with Mick Jagger.
09:52Live Aid.
09:53You put me on the knee.
09:57Please, baby, please.
10:00I know you like the tea.
10:02Organized in 1985 to benefit famine relief,
10:06the Live Aid concerts were a monumental performance event for its time
10:09that was played out over two arenas in both London and Philadelphia.
10:13Tina Turner and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger lit up the stage at the stateside venue.
10:18You look so big.
10:19Every time I see your face, you grab me in the street.
10:23I see the shock.
10:25Woo!
10:27Apparently, the heat these two generated performing State of Shock
10:30and It's Only Rock and Roll But I Like It was just too much.
10:33Jagger tore off his own shirt,
10:35and at the performance's climactic moment,
10:37ripped Turner's leather skirt off,
10:39revealing only her leotard and world-famous legs.
10:41It's a moment so steamy and sensual that it became an instant legend.
10:45I only rock and roll but I like it.
10:51I only rock and roll but I like it.
10:53Number 11.
10:54Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
10:57It gives me great pleasure to be able to introduce
11:02a duet who were most important in the history of our music.
11:10In 1991, the Cleveland-based Hall of Fame Museum and Foundation
11:14chose to honor Ike and Tina Turner for their contributions to rock and roll history.
11:18At the time, she passed on attending in person.
11:21For reasons that any real Turner fan knows,
11:23she wanted to maintain her distance from her troublesome acts.
11:26I never get a chance to talk to anybody.
11:28I know you talk.
11:29We talk when you're not up there.
11:32It took 30 years for them to wise up
11:35and recognize her for the groundbreaking latter half of her career as a solo artist.
11:39Her 2021 induction made her one of the few artists
11:42to be entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
11:44If they're still giving me awards at 81, I must have done something right.
11:50Yeah, this is mine.
11:51Only, I don't care if you're now.
11:54Number 10.
11:55From backing vocalist to lead singer
11:58In his autobiography, Ike Turner recalled heading to the studio to record A Fool in Love,
12:03which he'd written for singer Art Lasseter.
12:05However, Lasseter was a no-show.
12:08So, one of the backing singers, Anna Mae Bullock, or Little Anne, offered to step up instead.
12:25Initially, Turner only planned on using Bullock's vocals as a placeholder until Lasseter returned.
12:31However, the demo reached the president of the R&B label Sue Records,
12:35who was so impressed by what he heard that he gave Turner a $20,000 advance.
12:40When I recorded the song, A Fool in Love, Ike took it to New York,
12:45Juggy Mary of Sue Records.
12:47He said, why don't you keep it with the girls for us? I like it.
12:50Ike then gave the young vocalist a new stage name, Tina Turner.
12:54A Fool in Love became a hit, soaring straight to number two on the hot R&B sides chart.
13:00Got me laughing when my heart is in pain
13:03Oh, now I must be a fool
13:06Number 9.
13:07Shining a Spotlight on Nutbush, Tennessee
13:10Anna Mae Bullock grew up in the unincorporated rural community of Nutbush in Haywood County, Tennessee.
13:16In 1973, she and Ike took us on a musical tour of the neighborhood with their hit,
13:21Nutbush City Limits.
13:22And they really sell it, don't you think?
13:24A church house, gin house
13:28Schoolhouse, outhouse
13:30On highway number 19
13:33But people keep the city clean
13:35The song charted worldwide, even peaking at number one in Austria, and became a certified silver track in the UK.
13:43It even inspired a line dancing trend that's still popular in Australia.
13:464,084 punters boot scooted their way to the record books, performing the largest city limits dance routine, some more
13:54coordinated than others.
13:56It was one of the final songs the duo recorded together, and Turner would re-record the number numerous times
14:02as a solo artist.
14:03Needless to say, her voice put Nutbush on the map.
14:06Now, those are some powerful vocals.
14:10And I'm not for a city lover
14:13Not for a city
14:14Number 8
14:15Speaking out about her relationship to help others
14:18After leaving Ike in 1978, Tina opened up about the violence she had experienced in their relationship.
14:24I didn't exist, but I survived it.
14:28And when I walk out, I walk.
14:30And I didn't look back.
14:31The singer was praised for breaking the silence on such a serious issue.
14:35She first opened up about her experiences during an interview with People magazine in 1981, becoming one of the first
14:42big names to address the previously taboo subject.
14:46At that moment, Tina became a voice and a beacon of hope for women everywhere who were enduring similar situations.
14:53My life with Ike was one that a lot of maybe people are familiar with, husbands that practice brutality.
15:01She's often credited with giving others the courage to speak up, too.
15:06The worst parts of your life has been an inspiration.
15:09We have 50,000 letters downstairs from women who have also been through it and survived.
15:15Tina did it.
15:15So can you.
15:16Let's celebrate.
15:17This is reflected through the many tributes that poured in after her passing in May 2023.
15:23Number seven, recording Private Dancer in just two weeks.
15:27We've all been there.
15:28You have an insanely tight deadline, and you simply cannot imagine how you will ever meet it.
15:33You keep your mind on the money, keeping your eyes on the wall.
15:41What if we told you that Tina Turner recorded an entire album in a fortnight?
15:45What's love got to do, got to do with it?
15:49I knocked that album out on two beats in the studio.
15:52What's love got to do, done, finished.
15:54As the story goes, her label, Capital, was keen to jump on the success of her previous hit, Let's Stay
15:59Together,
16:00and asked her to assemble the album under tight time constraints.
16:07Let's stay together.
16:10Well, she did, and it became one of her most successful albums.
16:14It was a worldwide hit, earning her multi-platinum certifications and four Grammy Awards.
16:20Just think about that next time the pressures of a quick turnaround start to get to you.
16:24We know we will.
16:32Number six, a big screen icon.
16:35We all know Tina Turner is a music icon, but did you know that she tried her hand at acting,
16:40too?
16:41And she was good.
16:42Fans of The Who's Tommy might remember her powerful performance as the Acid Queen.
16:47I'll show him what he could be now.
16:50Just give me one now.
16:55She also had a small role in Last Action Hero in 1993.
16:59However, perhaps her most notable role was as Auntie Entity in 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
17:06You might also be familiar with the song playing over the film's credits,
17:09We Don't Need Another Hero, proving that Turner was a triple threat and a force to be reckoned with.
17:15We Don't Need Another Hero, we Don't Need Another Hero, we Don't Need To Know the Way Home, all we
17:25want is watch beyond the thunderdome.
17:30And, as we previously noted, she also sang the title song for the 1995 James Bond movie, GoldenEye.
17:37GoldenEye, you'll do what I please.
17:41GoldenEye, no time for sweetness.
17:44Now that is one impressive resume.
17:48Number 5.
17:48A Next Level Grammys Performance
17:50Few artists can simply take to the stage without glitz, glamour, or theatrics, and rely on their voices to make
17:57their performance soar.
17:58What's love but a second-hand emotion?
18:03What's love got to do, got to do with it?
18:07But in 1985, anyone watching the Grammy Awards witnessed magic in the making.
18:12Turner's powerhouse vocals and effortless charisma made this performance of What's Love Got to Do With It one for the
18:18ages.
18:18Oh, I've been thinking about my own projection.
18:23Scares me to feel this way.
18:27Then, Grammy's executive producer Ken Ehrlich recalled planning the iconic moment.
18:32He suggested they go minimal and have Turner perform onstage solo since, quote,
18:36if Tina Turner couldn't hold her own onstage, who could?
18:39Touché.
18:41What's love got to do, got to do with it?
18:44Who's here on my way?
18:47I'm here to wear it.
18:49The audience's standing ovation was more than deserved,
18:52as was the Best Pop Vocal Award she took home that night.
19:02Number 4.
19:03The first black female artist on the cover of Rolling Stone.
19:06On November 25, 1967,
19:10Rolling Stone put Tina Turner on the cover of their magazine.
19:13This was a significant moment for music, culture, and women,
19:17particularly women of color.
19:19Let me hear you say,
19:25Not only was Turner the first woman to grace the magazine's cover,
19:29but she was the first black artist ever to be given this honor.
19:32The magazine described her as, quote,
19:34an incredible chick, and told their readers, quote,
19:37Tina Turner is worth sitting down and paying close attention to.
19:41You're simply the best.
19:46Better than all the rest.
19:48Needless to say,
19:50they could not have been more spot on.
19:58Of course,
20:00Turner would continue to break the mold throughout her career,
20:02but more on that soon.
20:04Number 3.
20:05The Queen of the Comebacks.
20:07After leaving Ike,
20:09Tina rebranded as a solo artist.
20:11And so, in the 1980s,
20:13she ushered in one of the greatest comebacks in music history.
20:16My Private Dancer album,
20:18no, I don't consider it a comeback album.
20:21Tina had never arrived.
20:23It was Tina's debut for the first time,
20:25and this was my first album.
20:27We already talked about her commercially successful album,
20:30Private Dancer,
20:31and her Grammy award-winning What's Love Got To Do With It.
20:34But would you believe that, aged 44,
20:36she finally achieved her one and only Billboard Hot 100 number one with the famous track?
20:41At 44, Tina released her biggest solo hit,
20:44and her career skyrocketed,
20:46selling more than 200 million records.
20:48Now that's how you make a comeback.
20:50And it's proof that there's no real timeline for achieving one's goals or hitting milestones.
20:56Turner's success only continued after that,
20:58and of course,
20:59she is still up there among the best-selling recording artists.
21:02But a sweet old-fashioned notion
21:06What's Love Got To Do
21:08Got To Do With It
21:09Number 2
21:10Breaking 2 Guinness World Records
21:13The 80s really were a high point for the icon,
21:16who, as we just stated,
21:18made the comeback of all comebacks.
21:20When we were together
21:25Everybody was so great
21:29In 1988,
21:30she embarked on her Break Every Rule world tour.
21:34180,000 people came to watch her at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium,
21:39thus breaking the then-record previously set by Frank Sinatra
21:42for the largest paying audience for a solo performer.
21:45We got to arenas,
21:46we eventually fulfilled her dream,
21:48and filled the stadiums.
21:50That concert in Rio,
21:53there's 186,000 people there.
21:55Then, in 1990,
21:56Turner set out on her Europe-only
21:59Foreign Affair The Farewell Tour.
22:01The tour drew in roughly 3 million spectators
22:04across the continent,
22:05once again breaking a record,
22:07this time previously set by the Rolling Stones.
22:19We can't think of many artists
22:21more deserving to be inducted
22:23into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
22:25Twice.
22:35Before we continue,
22:36check out this single from Sound Mojo's album Balance,
22:39classical music reimagined as rock,
22:42hard rock, and metal.
22:43Check out the full track and album below.
22:46Born in the sunlight,
22:48born in the rain,
22:51life is a rhythm,
22:53running through veins.
22:57Yeah!
23:00Number 1.
23:01Rolling on the River and Into Our Hearts
23:03Originally a Creedence Clearwater revival track,
23:07it's fair to say that most people
23:08would associate Proud Mary with Tina Turner.
23:21Her version, recorded with Ike in 1971,
23:25added a level of funk that still makes us leap out of our seats whenever we hear it.
23:29It became her signature track and a quintessential part of her live performances.
23:33We could easily create a list of her best Proud Mary performances,
23:37with the live Wembley and her 1997 SNL renditions vying for the top spot.
23:42I left a good job in the city
23:53The Best, initially written by Bonnie Tyler,
23:56is another example of how Turner's unrivaled vocals and style
24:00elevate covers into iconic status.
24:03To put it plainly,
24:04she was simply the best.
24:19What's your favorite moment from the Queen of Rock and Roll?
24:21Tell us in the comments.
24:27We'll see you next time.
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