Private Dancer
Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox album Private Dancer is the fifth solo studio album by singer Tina Turner. It was released on May 29, 1984, by Capitol Records and was her first album released by the label. After a challenging start to her solo career after divorcing Ike Turner, Private Dancer propelled Turner into becoming a viable solo star, as well as one of the most marketable crossover singers in the recording industry. It became a worldwide commercial success, earning multi-platinum certifications, and remains her best-selling album in North America to date. In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Background and production
A&R man John Carter of Capitol Records is credited with relaunching Turner's career in the 1980s.<ref>"Passings: Bill Summers, John S. Carter, Ruth C. Cole". Los Angeles Times May 24, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.</ref> In 1983, despite opposition from within Capitol, he signed her and managed her first album for the label, Private Dancer. Recording sessions were overseen by four different production teams, including Rupert Hine, and Martyn Ware of Heaven 17, and took place at several studios in England.<ref name=Holden/> A radical departure from the rhythm and blues sound Turner performed with Ike, the tracks in the album are a mixture of uptempos and ballads, inspired by pop and rock genres; it also features elements of smooth jazz and contemporary R&B.
Carter produced "Private Dancer", which was written by Mark Knopfler and has a guitar solo by Jeff Beck. "Let's Stay Together" was produced by Ware. Terry Britten produced the reggae-tinged "What's Love Got to Do with It". "Help!" was recorded with The Crusaders. Hine produced "Better Be Good to Me", which had been written by Holly Knight, Mike Chapman, and Nicky Chinn.<ref name="Miller"/>
Release & promotion
In 1997, EMI, the parent label of Capitol Records, released a digitally remastered Centenary Edition of the Private Dancer album on CD. This version includes four additional demo tracks recorded in late 1983 and early 1984 with producer Carter, first released as B-sides to some of the Private Dancer singles; it also includes three extended 12" remixes.
In 2015, the 30th Anniversary edition of this album was released by the Parlophone Records unit of Warner Music Group which now controls this album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 21, 2025, Parlophone released a five disc and blu-ray deluxe edition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The edition was preceded by the release of "Hot for You Baby," a previously undiscovered song from the Private Dancer sessions written by George Young and Harry Vanda.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Promotion
Template:Main A 177 date tour to promote the album took place from February 8, 1985, to December 28, 1985. Called the Private Dancer Tour, there were 60 shows in Europe, 105 in North America, 10 in Australia, and 2 in Japan. Opening acts in North America included Glenn Frey and Mr. Mister. As well as songs from the album, Turner performed hits from her time with Ike & Tina, such as "River Deep – Mountain High", "Nutbush City Limits", and "Proud Mary".
Critical reception
Template:Album ratings The album received a positive reception from critics. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Turner's voice "melts vinyl".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Debby Miller, in a July 1984 Rolling Stone review, felt that the album was a powerful comeback, with Turner's voice "rasping but strong", and a range of songs that were all good in a "modern rock setting" that was "neither detached nor very fussy".<ref name="Miller"/> Robert Christgau of The Village Voice felt that she embraced the "middlebrow angst of contemporary professional songwriting". He said that "four different production teams" on the project was a "sign of desperation", despite the resulting "seamless authority" of the album.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legacy
Alex Henderson, in a retrospective AllMusic review, says that the album was slicker than her R&B classics recorded with Ike & Tina, but she was still able to sing with a throaty passion to deliver her finest solo production.<ref name="Henderson"/> Stephen Holden has written in The New York Times that by using her English producers to soften her raw Southern soul style, discarding the "blaring horns, frenzied percussion and gospel calls and responses", the album became a "landmark" in the "evolution of pop-soul music".<ref name=Holden>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Michael Lydon, in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, says that the album's lyrical themes embodied her persona of a "tough, sexy woman schooled in a tough world", and that her vocal delivery overcomes the slick production, with her "indomitable soul" unifying the multiple producers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1989, the album was ranked number 46 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the '80s. In 2001, VH1 named Private Dancer the 95th greatest album of all time. Slant Magazine listed the album at number 63 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s", saying, "Both a personal liberation and sonic redemption, Private Dancer established Turner not only as a genuine diva, but a bona fide force of nature".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Commercial performance
The album was released on May 29, 1984, and became an outstanding global commercial success.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart for ten consecutive weeks<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and remained in the top ten for 39 weeks from August 1984 to May 1985. In the United States it was certified 5× platinum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Germany, the album went 5× gold becoming one of the best selling albums in history. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, where it was certified 3× platinum, remaining on the charts for 150 total weeks. It was certified 7× platinum for the shipment of over 700,000 copies in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. The album has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.<ref name="Dancer1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dancer2">Template:Cite news</ref> At the 1985 Grammy Awards, Private Dancer won four of the six awards for which it was nominated.
Track listing
US edition
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International edition
1997 Centenary Edition
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2015 30th Anniversary Edition
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2025 40th Anniversary Edition
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Personnel
- Tina Turner – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (1, 7, 8)
Tracks 1 & 7 (produced by Rupert Hine) Template:Div col
- Rupert Hine – producer
- Stephen W. Tayler – engineer & mixing
- Cy Curnin – background vocals
- Rupert Hine – bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming, background vocals
- Trevor Morais – drums
- Jamie West-Oram – guitar
Tracks 2, 3 & 4 (produced by Terry Britten) Template:Div col
- Terry Britten – producer, guitar (2,<ref name="SoundOnSound">Template:Cite web</ref> 3, 4), background vocals (2,<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> 3), bass (2),<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> drum programming (2)<ref name="SoundOnSound"/>
- John Hudson – engineer & mixing (2,<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> 3, 4)
- Graham Broad – drums (4)
- Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards (2,<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> 3, 4)
- Graham Jarvis – Oberheim DX (2, 3)
- Billy Livsey – Yamaha DX7 synthesizer (2),<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> keyboards (3)
- Simon Morton – percussion (2)<ref name="SoundOnSound"/>
- Tessa Niles – background vocals
Tracks 5 & 8 (produced by John Carter) Template:Div col
- John Carter – producer, percussion (5)
- Humberto Gatica – remixing
- Alan Clark – keyboards (5, 8), percussion (5)
- Mel Collins – saxophone (5)
- Jullian Diggle – percussion (5)
- John Illsley – bass guitar
- Hal Lindes – guitar
- Jeff Beck – guitar
- Terry Williams – drums
- Richie Zito – guitar (8)
Tracks 6 & 10 (produced by Greg Walsh & Martyn Ware) Template:Div col
- Greg Walsh – producer & engineer
- Martyn Ware – producer
- Walter Samuel – engineer
- Gary Barnacle – saxophone (6)
- David Cullen – string arrangements (10)
- Glenn Gregory – background vocals
- Frank Ricotti – percussion (6)
- Ray Russell – guitar (6)
- Martyn Ware – programming, electronic drums, arrangements, background vocals
- Greg Walsh – programming, arrangements
- Nick Plytas – piano, synthesizer
Track 9 (produced by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Wilton Felder & Joe Sample) Template:Div col
- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums, producer
- F. Byron Clark – engineer
- Wilton Felder – producer, bass guitar, saxophone
- Joe Sample – producer, synthesizer, piano
- Alex Brown – background vocals
- David Ervin – synthesizer, programming
- Gwen Evans – background vocals
- Charles Fearing – guitar
- David T. Walker – guitar
- Jessica Williams – background vocals
General Template:Div col
- Alan Yoshida – mastering
- Akira Taguchi – compilation producer
- Sam Gay – creative director
- Roy Kohara – art direction
- John O'Brien – design
- Peter Ashworth – photography
- Roger Davies – management
- Chip Lightman – management
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 7 |
| Canadian Albums (The Record)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 5 |
| US Cash Box Top Pop Albums <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 |
| Chart (2023-2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 53 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 60 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1984) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> | 17 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 8 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 9 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 17 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 27 |
| Norwegian Fall Period Albums (VG-lista)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 6 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 6 |
| UK Albums (Gallup)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 18 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 39 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 11 |
| Chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> | 26 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 28 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 25 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 6 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 15 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
| UK Albums (Gallup)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 16 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 5 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
| Chart (1986) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (Gallup)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 78 |
Certifications and sales
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Accolades
Grammy Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Better Be Good to Me" | Best Female Rock Vocal Performance |
| 1985 | "What's Love Got to Do with It" | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |
| 1985 | "What's Love Got to Do with It?" | Record of the Year |
| 1985 | "What's Love Got to Do with It?" | Song of the Year |
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
- Private Dancer (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)