In 1989, American singer Tina Turner released a cover version of "The Best" for her seventh studio album, Foreign Affair. It became a worldwide hit, receiving a double platinum certification in the UK. In 1992, Turner re-recorded the track as a duet with Australian singer Jimmy Barnes.
"The Best" was co-written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, and first offered to Paul Young, who declined.[1]Bonnie Tyler was the first artist to record it. "The Best" was released as the lead single from her seventh studio album, Hide Your Heart, in January 1988. It peaked at no. 10 in Norway, and no. 25 in Finland, but only spent one week in the UK Singles Chart at no. 95. In Italy, "The Best" peaked at no. 8 on Rai Radio 2's airplay chart.[2]
Tina Turner's subsequent success with "The Best" restored Tyler's confidence in choosing recording material, after both Hide Your Heart and its singles failed to match the commercial success of her previous work.[3] She added that Turner "did it much better than I did".[4]
In 1989, American singer and songwriter Tina Turner recorded a cover version of "The Best" for her seventh solo studio album, Foreign Affair (1989), with a saxophone solo played by Edgar Winter. Prior to recording the song, Tina Turner approached the songwriter Holly Knight and requested some changes: the addition of a bridge, which Turner felt was missing, and a key change.[15]
Released as the lead single from Foreign Affair on August 21, 1989, the song was an international success, becoming a top-five hit in numerous countries. It is one of Turner's most recognizable tunes, often considered synonymous with the singer's name.[16] The song was used in a Pepsi commercial featuring Turner, which also served as a promo for her Foreign Affair: The Farewell Tour sponsored by Pepsi. Additionally, the song was adopted by other brands for their advertising including Applebee's[17] and T-Mobile.[18]
The song title is often mistitled as "Simply the Best", reflecting a phrase in the chorus. This became so commonplace that the bracketed word 'Simply' was included in the titles for releases of some subsequent versions, and in the track listing for some Tina Turner compilation albums.[citation needed]
In 1990, the song was used for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership (NSWRL) promotional campaign. After appearing in NSWRL's ad a year earlier (with "What You Get Is What You See"), Tina Turner was invited to Sydney, Australia, to shoot the 1990 campaign ads, in which she appears alongside rugby league players, and perform the song at that year's Grand Final.[19][20] The campaign featuring Tina Turner and the song is considered one of the greatest campaigns in sports marketing, which helped change the perception of rugby league as a sport turning what was essentially a suburban game popular with working-class men into entertainment for the whole family.[relevant?][21] Such is the enduring popularity of the song as the rugby league anthem that it was featured again in the 2020 promotional campaign of NRL, more than 30 years after its release.[22][23][24][25]
The song was also used in a 1998 ad for the Toyota Sienna after it became the best performing vehicle ever tested by the IIHS crash test agency at that time.[28]Chris Eubank, a British former two-weight world champion boxer, regularly walked out to the song for his match entrances.[29] It is also used by Scottish Football Club Rangers when the players walk out to play the match and is played before every home game with the Rangers fans singing along to it
Critical receptionedit
Bill Coleman from Billboard described the song as an "easy-paced pop offering which finds Turner's voice taking front and center stage."[30] The Daily Vault's Mark Millan called it a "sing-along anthem".[31] Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that the singer's "dramatic range is fully utilised on this impressive and polished production (courtesy Dan Hartman and Turner)."[32] A reviewer from People Magazine said it "features such pizza-box lyrics as 'You're simply the best/ Better than all the rest/ Better than anyone/ Anyone I've ever met'." The reviewer also noted that Edgar Winter adds a saxophone solo "with bite".[33] Pop Rescue called the song "flawless", adding that it was probably the fact that it's such a simple song that "helped it to become so widely popular."[34]
In 1992, Turner recorded "(Simply) The Best", a duet version of the song with Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes, to promote that year's New South WalesRugby League season in Australia. The single subsequently appeared on a limited edition bonus disc as part of the Australian release of her compilation album Simply the Best (1991).
Track listingedit
Australian 7-inch single
"(Simply) The Best" (Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes) – 4:14
"(Simply) The Best" (Extended Version) – 5:29
Australian cassette and CD single
"(Simply) The Best" (Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes) – 4:14
^Sutherland, Mark (3 January 2023). "'I've made lots of money doing something I love, but there's such a lack of respect'". Music Business Worldwide. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
^"Playlist Report: RAI – Italy" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 March 1988. p. 10. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via World Radio History.
^"Bonnie Tyler: 'Tina Turner helped me regain my confidence after '80s success ended'". Retro Pop. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
^"Bonnie Tyler reflects on the songs that got away". OutInPerth. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
^The Best (7" vinyl). Europe: CBS Records. 1988. CBS 651330 7.
^The Best (12" vinyl). Netherlands: CBS Records. 1988. CBS 651330 6.
^The Best (12" vinyl). UK: CBS Records. 1988. BEST T1.
^Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Bonnie Tyler". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021(PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 267. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
^"Bonnie Tyler – The Best". VG-lista. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
^ abFernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
^"New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 19 August 1989. p. 39. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
^"The Best by Tina Turner - Track Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
^"Review: "Foreign Affair" by Tina Turner (CD, 1989)". Pop Rescue. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
^ ab"Revisiting Tina Turner's 'Foreign Affair' (1989) | Retrospective Tribute". Albumism. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^MMI (8 September 2019). "Simply The Best - Applebee's". MUSIC & MEDIA INTERNATIONAL. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
^T-Mobile TV Commercial, 'See for Yourself: Elevator' Song by Tina Turner, retrieved 22 July 2021
^"How 'Simply the Best' revival inspires past and present stars". National Rugby League. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^Turner, Graeme; Bonner, Frances; Marshall, P. David (2000). Fame Games: The Production of Celebrity in Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780521794862.
^"Tina Turner changed NRL promos – and rugby league – forever". The Guardian. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^"Tina Turner is Back for NRL 'Simply The Best' Campaign". Lbbonline.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^"Simply The Best! Tina Turner's iconic smash hit to be used in 2020 NRL marketing campaign". Fox Sports. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^"NRL officially relaunches 'Simply The Best' advertisement with Tina Turner, 30 years on from original". Sportingnews.com. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^Proszenko, Adrian (29 February 2020). "Thirty years on, NRL reboots Tina's classic and hopes for the best". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^"Tina Turner Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Tina Turner – The Best" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
^"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^"Eurochart Hot 100 of 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
^"Single Top 100 Van 1989" (PDF) (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
^"Topp 20 Single Høst 1989" (in Norwegian). VG-lista. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"Swiss Year-end Charts 1989" (in German). Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"End of Year Chart – Top 50 Singles of 1989". OCC. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts 1989" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
^"SloTop50: Slovenian official singles year end chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2013.