“Hogwash has been spoken. It ain’t easy, but it’s only love.” – Tina Turner (almost)

MISHEARD LYRICS PART I

Back in the 80’s we didn’t have this fancy thing called the internet with Google or Lyrics.com or Genius or the half a dozen or so other sites that can tell us exactly (most of the time) what words musical artists are singing. If, by chance all those years ago, you did end up with an album, cassette tape, or cd that included the song lyrics well that was practically the holy grail of music.

Like many, I longed to understand what my musical heroes were singing and what message they were trying to convey to my fledgling brain. Sure, “hogwash” makes very little sense in the above scenario, but Tina Turner was a born and raised southern girl from Tennessee, and hogwash seems like a southern informal slang term that she might use on a regular basis. Its’ actual meaning is one of nonsense or something untrue, but of course Tina did not write the song. That distinction belongs to Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. I doubt Bryan nor Jim ever used the word hogwash in a song, but damned if my 13 year-old self cared!

“You can live without the aggravation
Ya gotta wanna win, ya gotta wanna win”

Tina Turner passed away recently (May 24th) leaving behind quite the legacy of music as well as acting and authoring of several books. Her break into the music business began in 1957 as a backup singer in Ike Turner’s band, Kings of Rhythm. Most know of Tina’s rise to superstardom through the 60’s and 70’s as one half of the Ike and Tina Turner duo, but by the time the early 80’s had rolled around, Tina had endured an abusive relationship and eventual break-up with Ike, and was considered (for the most part) too old and probably beyond her prime as a performer and entertainer. Little did anyone see the album “Private Dancer” lurking in 1984.

The Private Dancer album peaked at #3 in the U.S., went platinum five times, earned four Grammy awards, and once again made Tina one of the biggest stars in the world. The album and subsequent music videos peaked this young man’s interest for sure in 1984, because even though Tina was in her mid 40’s at the time, she was still very easy on the eyes.

With apologies to my 70’s-loving Tina Turner fans who will scream for “Proud Mary” or “Nutbush City Limits,” my favorite Tina track will forever be “What’s Love Got to Do with It” with “The Best” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero” waiting in the wings.

“When your world has been broken. Hard words have been spoken. It ain’t easy, but it’s only love.”

Ahhh! Hard words! Much better (but I’m still going to sing hogwash).

Adams was just 24 and Turner 45 when this song was recorded in 1984. It was released in October of 1985 as Adams’ sixth and final single from one of my favorite 80’s albums – Reckless, and would go on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. The accompanying video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. 

The video is a live clip from Tina Turner’s 1985 Private Dancer Tour with Turner wearing her trademark black leather minidress and jean jacket, introducing the young Canadian, Bryan Adams for a live performance of the song.

I love the chemistry between the two and I love the song. Peaking at #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 back in January of 1986, here is “It’s Only Love”…

Bonus video and some thoughts from my favorite Tina song “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”:

Is this Arsenio Hall’s big break coming in at the 39 second mark?… Tina has fabulous hair… I love the group at the 1:22 mark – I’m kind of sad I never adapted the vest/no shirt look myself back in the 80’s when I had abs… the most famous legs in the 80’s get their own shots (most deservedly) a few times throughout the video… 2:17 jump-roping reminds me of how terrible I was at jumping rope… the 2:50 mark Tina saves a couple’s relationship through her passioned words… 3:18 mark – the dude with the backless t-shirt – I think maybe I could revive this trend… probably not.

Thanks for reading.

R.I.P. Queen Tina.

sincerely,

the80’s

And that’s all.