Last week we lost a true musical icon, Tina Turner, considered the Queen of Rock & Roll. It’s irresponsible to use the term ‘icon’ too loosely, but to say that Tina Turner is an icon may even be an understatement. 

You are no doubt familiar with Turner’s massive hits from her seminal albums, her singular voice, her musical contributions to films such as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Goldeneye, and her inspirational story of survival from an abusive relationship with her former husband and sideman, Ike Turner. 

What you may be less familiar with is Tina Turner’s fandom and brief exploration of country music. Though she is more recognized for singing rock, pop, soul, gospel, and even disco, her first solo album was pure country.

Despite the common misconception that Turner was created in a lab when a horny scientist named David Bowie accidentally spilled Pepsi on his machine that prints living sexy ladies, she was actually born the normal way, and grew up just outside Nutbush, Tennessee. The girl, then known as Anna Mae Bullock, liked all kinds of music, including country music. Bullock eventually moved to St. Louis, where she would see Ike Turner’s band the Kings of Rhythm play at a club. After requesting an opportunity to audition, she got to sing for Kings of Rhythm, and Ike made her a member of the band. She quickly became the star of the show, and her name was changed to Tina Turner to better market the act. And even though Ms. Turner had been proving herself as a show-stealing band member and an undeniable singer of multiple genres as early as 1957, it seemed that no one expected her solo debut to be a collection of country covers.

It also seems that no one heard her solo debut. 1974’s Tina Turns The Country On! (probably one of the best album titles of all time) showcases Turner’s ability to turn sparse country ballads into soulful foot-stompers, while retaining a classic country sound. Her voice is powerful and the song selection is solid, as it includes covers from Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton. Still, it didn’t make a dent in the country world, and didn’t appeal to her existing rock fans either. Strangely, it earned Tina a Grammy nom for best R&B Performance, even though everything about the album, including the title, insists that it is squarely country.

Few heard Tina’s countrified debut even after her breakthrough success a decade later, because Tina Turns The Country On! was never issued to CD. And you won’t find it on streaming either. It’s on YouTube, though. I managed to obtain a copy through, uh, more creative (less legal) means. And, folks, it’s a treat! 

The LP kicks off with “Bayou Song,” a cool country-soul song that makes Tina sound like an explosive, groovier Bobby Gentry, featuring guitar licks that out-bayou even CCR’s “Born on a Bayou.” Just the first five guitar notes tell you that you’re in for something that is not only country, but Southern.

The rest of the album isn’t so swampy as the opener, but Tina, always a great interpreter of covers, brings an energy formally unrealized to the other nine songs. A standout for me is her cover of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You,” a Bob Dylan song from his own country departure, Nashville Skyline. Dylan’s original is great, but he simply can’t wail with emotion the way Turner does. Side by side, even with the lower production quality, Tina’s version is snappier, bigger, and country-er.

Where Tina really shines is on some of the slower tracks. “Don’t Talk Now” (originally by James Taylor) and “Long Long Time” feature two incredible performances, where she sounds satisfyingly raw yet totally in control of her vocal power. It’s truly a shame that these tracks, and the rest of the album, have largely gone unheard.

After failing to reach a wider audience, Turner mostly moved away from recording country music. Instead she put out a string of unsuccessful solo rock albums—and even a disco album—before 1984’s Private Dancer finally broke her into the mainstream and made her a megastar. Though a number of less-official Tina Turner country compilation albums, largely composed of unreleased tracks from the Tina Turns The Country On! sessions, have come out since the late 70’s with such titles as Goes Country, Good Hearted Woman, and the particularly tone deaf Stand By Your Man.

During her imperial phase, Turner only returned to country once, in the form of a country-rock hook factory called “What You Get Is What You See.” While it is more banger than twanger, its implementation of country sounds with tight, pop-friendly production sounds quite similar to the pop-country songs that mainstream chart-toppers like Shania, Faith, and Wynonna would release a decade later. Once again Tina was ahead of her time. 

It may be worth clarifying: “What You Get Is What You See” did not make a blip on the Hot Country Charts, though it did reach No. 13 on Billboard Hot 100. But this doesn’t make it not country. The song is an intentional musical departure from the other tracks on 1986’s Break Every Rule, and the song’s music video leans into that stylistic detour. The video features Turner in a denim-on-denim getup, surrounded by shirtless cowboys on what appears to be a ranch for wayward hunks. Tina and company knew exactly what they were doing: putting out a song with just enough country flavor as to not put off fans of “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” but also maybe enough to attract fans of other pop-adjacent country acts like Alabama or Dolly Parton. The album sold over 5 million copies within its first year, and I have to imagine this single had at least something to do with it. Personally, I think it’s great as a gateway country song. In fact, I recently discussed “What You Get Is What You See” at length on my country music podcast, Take This Pod and Shove It, which aims to introduce country music skeptics to country music they might actually enjoy.

Even before releasing a country album, and long before her one-off country-rock bop, Tina had unknowingly cemented herself in country music history. In the early 70’s a tabloid about her and her horrible future ex would inspire Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to write “Good Hearted Woman,” which would reach No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot Country charts in 1971, and then hit No. 1 when it was re-recorded and re-released as part of 1976’s Wanted! The Outlaws compilation album. Wanted! would help establish the growing outlaw country movement, become the first ever platinum selling country album, and the song that was inspired by Tina Turner is without a doubt the standout track. Tina would even go on to cover “Good Hearted Woman” at her concerts, and a previously unreleased cut can be heard on some of the previously mentioned country compilations. And, of course, she knocks it out of the park. Because even though she’s the Queen of Rock & Roll, she could sing anything.

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