Proud Mary - Tina Turner Versions

Tina Turner Versions

Tina Turner first covered "Proud Mary" in 1970 with her husband at the time, Ike Turner. The Ike & Tina Turner version was released as a single from their Workin' Together album and the song differed greatly from the structure of the original, but is also well known and has become one of Tina's most recognizable signature songs. The Turners' version was substantially rearranged by Soko Richardson and Ike Turner. The song started off with a slow, sultry tone in which Tina introduced the song and warned them that they were gonna start it off "nice and easy" as "we never do nothing nice and easy" but said they would finish it "nice and rough". After the lyrics are first sung softly by the Turners, the song is then turned into a funk rock vamp with Turner and assorted background singers delivering soulful vocals. It reached #4 on the pop charts on March 27, 1971, two years to the week after Creedence Clearwater Revival's version was at its peak, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.

In the Tina Turner biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It, the song is performed in a timeline of events in Ike and Tina's career in which the couple are transformed from an opening act to The Rolling Stones to a major headlining act by the mid-1970s. However, the film took significant liberties with that timeline; for instance, the film has the group performing the song in 1968 when they reportedly opened for The Stones in the UK, but the Turners didn't open for them until 1969 and "Proud Mary" had not yet been released by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Following its release and its success, Ike and Tina included the song in the act and first performed a version of the song on The Ed Sullivan Show. It's also performed in the years 1971 (the year of the Turners' version's release) and 1974, with the latter year's performance ending with fans cheering and chanting Tina's name which upsets Ike Turner as for years he had been given first billing. The film's dramatization of that scene and Ike Turner's descent into cocaine abuse was set up to dramatize the public's adulation of Tina Turner much to Ike's chagrin.

In 1988, a live solo version was included on the album Tina Live in Europe. Tina Turner later re-recorded the song in the studio for the biopic's 1993 soundtrack album of the same name. This version was released as a promotional single issued to radio stations and DJs. Tina's solo version was later included on her 2004 greatest hits album All the Best. After a contestant's performance of the song on The X Factor in 2010, this version entered the UK Singles Chart at #62 and fell to #121 the next week, it also entered the Scottish Singles Chart at #40.

Another live version was released in 2009 on the Tina Live album. It was recorded on March 21, 2009 in Arnhem, Netherlands as part of Turner's 50th Anniversary Tour. The song has now become a staple in all of Tina's live shows, including live duet versions with Beyoncé and Cher.