The Hit Tina Hated: The Unlikely Journey of 'What's Love Got To Do With It'

Before becoming Tina Turner's signature anthem, 'What's Love Got to Do with It' was rejected by stars like Cliff Richard and Donna Summer. It was even recorded by pop group Bucks Fizz before Turner's world-weary interpretation transformed it into a Grammy-winning classic.

Music History Entertainment & Media

A Secondhand Emotion

It’s impossible to imagine popular music without Tina Turner’s defiant, world-weary growl questioning, "What’s love got to do with it?" The 1984 single was more than a hit; it was a cultural reset. It resurrected a career, crowned a queen, and became the anthem for a generation shaking off sentimentalism. Yet, the song that became her definitive statement was one she initially despised, and it had already passed through several other famous hands before landing in hers.

The Songwriters' Dilemma

The track was penned by British songwriters Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. Fresh off writing hits for artists like Michael Jackson and Olivia Newton-John, they crafted a song with a slick, anti-romantic sentiment that was pure 80s pop. Their first thought for a performer was Cliff Richard, the perennial British pop star. His team, however, flatly rejected it. The song then made its way to American R&B singer Phyllis Hyman and was even offered to disco queen Donna Summer, but both artists passed.

The Eurovision Connection: Bucks Fizz

With A-listers turning it down, the song found a surprising home with Bucks Fizz, a British pop group famous for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. They were known for their upbeat, clean-cut image, a far cry from the raw emotion the song would later embody. Bucks Fizz recorded "What's Love Got to Do with It" with male vocalist Bobby G singing lead, intending to include it on their fourth album, I Hear Talk. Their version is a fascinating artifact—a polished, synth-heavy pop track that lacks any of the grit or gravitas of Turner’s rendition.

However, their version was never released as a single. As fate would have it, their producer learned that Tina Turner’s camp had expressed interest. Recognizing the immense potential of a Turner recording, he made the strategic decision to shelve the Bucks Fizz track, correctly predicting that it would be overshadowed. The band’s version remained buried until it was unearthed for a 2000 CD reissue of their album, a curious footnote in music history.

The Reluctant Queen

When the song finally reached Tina Turner, her reaction was far from enthusiastic. She famously hated it. Having just escaped the abusive partnership with Ike Turner, she was building a new rock-and-roll identity and felt the song was too light and poppy. In her own words, she found it "wimpy."

"It was terrible. I had to make it my own," Turner later reflected.

Her manager, Roger Davies, was persistent, convinced it was a smash hit in the making. He persuaded her to meet with Terry Britten. It was in the studio that the magic happened. Turner took control, slowing the tempo and infusing the lyrics with the pain, resilience, and wisdom of her own life experience. She transformed a catchy but generic pop tune into a powerful, poignant declaration of independence. She didn't just sing the song; she inhabited it, turning the "secondhand emotion" of the lyrics into a first-person testament.

A Legacy Cemented

Released in May 1984, Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It" became her first and only U.S. number-one hit, spending three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It propelled her album Private Dancer to global stardom and earned her three Grammy Awards, including the coveted Record of the Year. The song's journey, from a rejected pop demo to a Eurovision contender's shelved album track, is a testament to the transformative power of the right artist. It proves that a song isn't truly born when it's written, but when it finds the voice destined to give it meaning.

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