Nothing again from DPAA again this week – I guess the “holiday break” affected their workflow substantially. So once again, some Sunday morning music instead.
. . .
A few days ago, I wrote that there were two ladies I’d pay serious money to see perform in a small venue.
That previous article identified the first: the exquisite Annie Lennox. Here are seven from the second – the exceptional Tina Turner.
And, my personal two favorites. (Note: if you’ve recently lost someone close or are having serious relationship issues with someone you care about, you might want to give the first of these a pass.)
Damn, that woman can sing.
. . .
FWIW: the “backstory” of the last tune – Private Dancer – is quite an interesting one. If it sounds quite different from most of the lady’s other tunes . . . well, it should. It was written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and was originally recorded by Dire Straits during the sessions for their 1982 album “Love Over Gold”.
After recording the instrumentals for the song (some accounts say Knopfler recorded the vocals as well), Knopfler thought the song was really one a woman should sing. So the tune was dropped from “Love Over Gold”; Knopfler later offered the tune to Tina Turner.
When I say “offered the tune”, I mean exactly that. Knopfler originally wanted to give Turner the complete recorded instrumental tracks from the Dire Straits recording sessions and let her provide a vocal track to complete the song. Unfortunately, his record company apparently balked at that. So members of the band (less Knopfler, presumably for the same reason) performed as Turner’s session musicians when she recorded it in 1984. Jeff Beck sat in for Knopfler on lead guitar, and IMO did a fine job.
To my knowledge, the original Dire Straits version was never released (as noted above, accounts vary regarding whether Knopfler ever recorded a vocal track for the song). That’s a pity – I’d love to hear Knopfler’s guitar work and his take on the vocals for the tune.
