Thursday 1 September 2022

a second-hand emotion (10. 102)

Originally written for Cliff Richard and offered to Phyllis Hyman and Donna Summer, Tina Turner’s rendition of the song, released as the lead single on the first of May from her solo album Private Dancer, climbed to the top of the charts in America on this day in 1984, holding the number one spot for three weeks, becoming the second biggest song of the year (number one was “When Doves Cry” by Prince) and garnering three awards at the 1985 Grammies. In addition to its inclusion on the soundtrack of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, it is the namesake of Turner’s 1993 biography. Not surpassed until 1999 with Cher’s scoring a number one hit with “Believe,” Turner, then forty-four-year-old, held the record for oldest female singer to make this accomplishment on the US Billboard Hot 100.