"One of the Living" by Tina Turner

Song#:  2490
Date:  10/05/1985
Debut:  52
Peak:  15
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Turner's first major foray into films came when she played Auntie Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. In addition to being in the film, Turner supplied two new songs to the soundtrack including the #2 hit "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)." This other track was released as a follow-up single. It did best at Dance reaching #6 while getting inside the Pop Top 20 and making a #41 showing at R&B.

ReduxReview:  I remember seeing an interview or reading an article where Turner always loved rock music and that was what she wanted to sing. Even with Ike, she was always leaning into rock territory but it wasn't until her solo days and songs like this that she was really able to bang out some solid, straight-ahead rock. This edgier tune was perfect for her and the production was dense and meaty. I loved it, but wasn't sure if it would make it very far on the Pop chart. To my surprise, it got inside the Top 20. I had always hoped that Turner would make a full-on rock album where she would just tear through heavier tunes, but she ended up staying more on the pop side of things as time went on. Luckily, she did a few songs like this that certainly showed off her rock prowess.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  By this point in time, Turner had won four Grammy awards. Three were related to her comeback album Private Dancer while the other one was when she was with Ike Turner. This song would earn her a fifth Grammy. She won in the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, category. The song was written by Holly Knight and produced by Mike Chapman. Knight and Chapman were co-writers on the hit track from Private Dancer, "Better Be Good to Me" (#5 Pop), which had earned Turner a Grammy in the same category the previous year.

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