RIFFS / The singer Louie Louie on Tina Turner's rousingly re-styled live version of 'Proud Mary'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.'I WAS really familiar with Creedence Clearwater Revival's version of 'Proud Mary', because my parents used to play it. Then one day I saw Tina Turner do the song on television. I remember her saying, 'We're gonna do this song and we're gonna start it slow, and then we're gonna get rough.' And it started up with just vocals, piano and bass. I think it was Ike doing the low voice in the background. And then Tina reached the line, 'And we're rolling, rolling on the river', and the thing took off, with the horns coming in and the tempo suddenly jumping up. And Tina's hips were shaking and she had a girl on each side of her, and they were shaking like they were crazy. The way she made that song take off left a big impression on me. I like to hear a soul singer sing a rock song and turn it around. Not that the Creedence Clearwater Revival version isn't soulful - it seems to be built around a rhythm and it has a southern-USA soulfulness. But Tina brought something else out. Stevie Wonder used to do the same kind of thing with versions of Beatles songs. Tina's studio version of 'Proud Mary' was a big hit over here; the live recording came later. And there's something about live versions of songs when you're used to hearing the studio version which drives me wild anyway. Especially if they're by Tina Turner, or any performer who gets a little frantic.'
'Proud Mary' is on 'Tina Turner Live in Europe', Capitol Records.
(Photograph omitted)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments