What’s Love Got To Do With It

“What’s Love Got To Do With It” was a pop/R&B song sung by American singer Tina Turner, and appeared on her fifth solo album “Private Dancer”, and was Turner’s most successful single ever.

“What’s Love Got To Do With It” was written by English-Australian songwriter Terry Britten and Scottish singer-songwriter Graham Lyle, and produced by Britten. Britten originally offered the song to singer Cliff Richard, who turned it down. It was then given to American singer, songwriter and actress Phyllis Hyman, who wanted to do the song but Artista Records head Clive Davis did not allow her to go through with it. The song was then given to Donna Summer, who had stated that she thought about the track for a few years, but never ended up recording it. A few months before Turner recorded the song, British pop group Bucks Fizz were offered it, but deemed the vocals to be unsuitable for a female lead, which lead male group member Bobby G to record the lead vocals in the band’s version of the song.

The music video for “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was released in 1984 and directed by Mark Robinson. The video features Tina Turner walking down various streets interacting with the public and dancing with street dancers. The video was uploaded to YouTube in March 2009, and as of mid September, the video has 97.7 million views and almost 600 thousand likes.

Release Date: 1st May 1984

Songwriter/s: Terry Britten & Graham Lyle

Producer: Terry Britten

Label: Capitol

Music Video Release Date: 1984

Music Video Director: Mark Robinson

Chart Rankings, Certifications, Accolades & Awards: In its year of release, “What’s Love Got To Do With This” charted at #1 in Australia, #4 in Austria, #20 in Belgium, #1 and #7 on various charts in Canada; #26 in Finland, #21 in France, #7 in Germany, #4 in Ireland, #10 in the Netherlands, #3 in New Zealand, #10 in Norway, #2 in South Africa, #6 in Spain, #4 in Sweden, #8 in Switzerland, #3 in the UK Singles charts, #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100; #8 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, #21 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs and #2 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The track is certified Gold in the UK and the US, as well as Platinum in Canada. “What’s Love Got To Do With It” is ranked #309 on Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list, as well as ranking at #38 on the “Songs of the Century” list. In 2012, the song was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame, and won three awards at the 1985 Grammy Awards: “Record of the Year”, “Song of the Year”, and “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance”. In 1985, the song also won a prize at the MTV Video Music Awards for “Best Female Video”.

The lyrics to “What’s Love Got To Do With It” can be viewed here: LINK