Lost Tina Turner song is just OK, say critics. But that’s not why it matters.
A Tina Turner song that was thought lost was re-introduced to the world Thursday morning.
“Hot For You Baby” was originally recorded for the late singer’s Grammy-winning 1984 album Private Dancer, best known for classics like “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and “Better Be Good To Me.” But it was cut from the final version. As producers worked on the 40th anniversary edition of the album, they discovered the master recordings for the “lost” song.
It aired on the BBC Thursday, when the public heard it for the first time.
“Hot For You Baby” — produced by John Grant, written by George Young and Harry Vanda and recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood — showcases Turner’s gritty vocals which breeze over a chorus of male voices. But critics say they understand why it didn’t make the final album.
“A song which essentially expresses one idea — ‘hot for you, baby’ — was a little monochromatic for her,” said Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis. “The rest of the stuff that’s on Private Dancer is much more nuanced.”
That album became a huge commercial success. It established Turner as a bona fide solo star after a long slump following her breakup with her former musical collaborator and husband, Ike Turner. She went on to score huge hits like “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” and “The Best.”
“People miss Tina Turner,” NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour host Stephen Thompson said. “Tina Turner put out all this amazing music, and she was this wonderful force.”
Releases like this of “re-discovered” music play into to a kind of cultural nostalgia. For instance, Thompson said that the year after Prince died in 2016, the artist’s label started releasing a bunch of previously unheard songs recorded in 2006.
“There’s this sense of, like, “Give me something that I missed, and it’ll be like I’m communing with the dead,” Thompson said.
Thompson said Turner’s “Hot For You Baby” may not be very good. It’s a musical curiosity. But it’s one that resonates with fans who miss an artist they loved.
Beth Novey produced this story for digital. Mia Venkat produced the audio for broadcast.
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