The 30 Best Tina Turner Songs, from River Deep to What's Love Got to Do with It

What is Tina Turner's most famous song?

"What's Love Got to Do with It" is Tina Turner's most famous song and her only solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a 1984 hit that won the Grammy for Record of the Year. "The Best", "Proud Mary", "Private Dancer" and "River Deep, Mountain High" are her other signature songs.

Tina Turner's biggest hits

1. "What's Love Got to Do with It", 1984: three weeks at number one and three Grammys.
2. "The Best", 1989: a soaring anthem written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight.
3. "Proud Mary", 1971: the Ike and Tina version of the Creedence song, famous for its slow start and explosive finish.
4. "Private Dancer", 1984: a number seven hit written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
5. "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)", 1985: a number two hit from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
6. "Better Be Good to Me", 1984: a number five hit that won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal.
7. "Typical Male", 1986: a playful number two hit from Break Every Rule.
8. "River Deep, Mountain High", 1966: the Phil Spector wall-of-sound epic, a huge hit in the UK.
9. "Nutbush City Limits", 1973: her own song about her Tennessee hometown.
10. "Let's Stay Together", 1983: her cover of the Al Green classic that launched her comeback.

Ike and Tina Turner and the 70s

11. "A Fool in Love", 1960: the duo's first hit, a raw R&B shout.
12. "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", 1961: a playful call-and-response hit.
13. "I Want to Take You Higher", 1970: a fiery cover of the Sly and the Family Stone song.
14. "Come Together", 1970: Ike and Tina's cover of the Beatles song.
15. "Acid Queen", 1975: the song she performed in the film of The Who's Tommy.

Songs from Private Dancer (1984) and Break Every Rule (1986)

16. "Show Some Respect", 1985: a punchy top 40 single from Private Dancer.
17. "Help!", 1984: a slow, soulful reinvention of the Beatles song.
18. "I Can't Stand the Rain", 1984: her cover of the Ann Peebles soul classic, on Private Dancer.
19. "One of the Living", 1985: a second Mad Max song, which won her a Grammy.
20. "Two People", 1986: a warm love song from Break Every Rule.
21. "What You Get Is What You See", 1987: a number 13 hit with a big rock groove.

Later Tina Turner songs

22. "Steamy Windows", 1989: a swampy rocker written by Tony Joe White.
23. "I Don't Wanna Lose You", 1989: a tender ballad from Foreign Affair.
24. "Foreign Affair", 1989: the title track of her 1989 album.
25. "I Don't Wanna Fight", 1993: a number nine hit from the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack.
26. "Why Must We Wait Until Tonight", 1993: a ballad co-written by Bryan Adams.
27. "GoldenEye", 1995: the James Bond theme written by Bono and The Edge.
28. "Missing You", 1996: her cover of the John Waite hit.
29. "In Your Wildest Dreams", 1996: a duet single from Wildest Dreams.
30. "When the Heartache Is Over", 1999: a dance-pop single from her last pop album, Twenty Four Seven.

Who was Tina Turner?

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee. She began singing with Ike Turner's band in St. Louis in the late 1950s, and as Ike and Tina Turner they became one of the most electrifying live acts of the 60s and 70s. She left Ike, and the abusive marriage, in 1976 with almost nothing, rebuilt her career from small clubs and became one of the best-selling artists of all time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, with Ike in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021, and she died at her home in Switzerland on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83.

Private Dancer and the comeback

In 1983, in her forties, Turner released a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" that became a hit in the UK and the US. Its success led to Private Dancer in 1984, an album that went on to sell millions around the world and produced "What's Love Got to Do with It", "Better Be Good to Me" and "Private Dancer". "What's Love Got to Do with It" reached number one and won Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammys, completing one of the greatest comebacks in pop history.

The story behind The Best

"The Best" was written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight and first recorded by Bonnie Tyler in 1988. Turner's version, released a year later on Foreign Affair, became the definitive one, and the song is better known around the world as "Simply the Best". It has been used at sports stadiums for decades, and it is one of the most popular songs for birthdays, retirements and award nights; see our songs about winning for more anthems like it.

The story behind Proud Mary

Ike and Tina Turner's 1971 version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song begins with Tina's famous spoken introduction and a slow, easy groove before the band kicks into a blazing finale. It reached number four on the Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group, and it became the showstopper of her live sets for the rest of her career.

Tina Turner on screen and on stage

Turner played the Acid Queen in Ken Russell's 1975 film of Tommy and the ruler of Bartertown, Aunty Entity, opposite Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. Her life story was told in the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It, which earned Oscar nominations for Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike, and again in TINA: The Tina Turner Musical, which opened in London in 2018 and on Broadway in 2019. The 2021 documentary Tina was her farewell to public life.

Tina Turner songs for a party or a workout

For a party, start with "Proud Mary", "Nutbush City Limits" and "What's Love Got to Do with It", and save "The Best" for the big sing-along. For a workout, "We Don't Need Another Hero", "Typical Male" and "Better Be Good to Me" keep the energy up. For more, see our 80s female singers and motivational songs.

Tina Turner songs for a birthday or a celebration of life

"The Best" is the classic birthday or retirement dedication, and "Proud Mary" fills any dance floor. For a celebration of life, many families choose "The Best", "Let's Stay Together" or "Private Dancer" to honor a loved one who lived boldly. For more, see our celebration of life songs.

A song as bold as they are

Tina Turner's songs are about strength, survival and joy. A personalized song can celebrate someone you love the same way: their name, their story and the moments that made them who they are. It makes a great birthday, anniversary or Mother's Day gift.

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1. Choose a style from 14 genres: rock, R&B, pop and more.
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5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $35.99, or $40.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Give them a song of their own: create a song and hear four previews for free.