Turner began her career with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1957. Under the name Little Ann, she appeared on her first record, "Boxtop", in 1958. In 1960, she debuted as Tina Turner with the hit duet single "A Fool in Love". The duo Ike & Tina Turner became "one of the most formidable live acts in history". They released hits such as "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", "Proud Mary", and "Nutbush City Limits" before disbanding in 1976.
In the 1980s, Turner launched "one of the greatest comebacks in music history". Her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer contained the hit song "What's Love Got to Do with It", which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became her first and only number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. At age 44, she was the oldest female solo artist to top the Hot 100. Her chart success continued with "Better Be Good to Me", "Private Dancer", "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)", "Typical Male", "The Best", "I Don't Wanna Fight", and "GoldenEye". During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, she set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience (180,000) for a solo performer.
Turner also acted in the films Tommy (1975), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and Last Action Hero (1993). In 1993, What's Love Got to Do with It, a biographical film adapted from her autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story, was released. In 2009, Turner retired after completing her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, which is the 15th highest-grossing tour of the 2000s. In 2018, she became the subject of the jukebox musical Tina.
Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Turner became one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the first black artist, and first woman, to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Turner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She was a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and Women of the Year award.
In 2020, she came out of retirement to collaborate with Norwegian producer Kygo on a remix of "What's Love Got to Do with It". With this release, she became the first artist to have a top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades in the UK.
Studio albums
Tina Turns the Country On! (1974)
Acid Queen (1975)
Rough (1978)
Love Explosion (1979)
Private Dancer (1984)
Break Every Rule (1986)
Foreign Affair (1989)
Wildest Dreams (1996)
Twenty Four Seven (1999)
Let's Dance
Tina Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you want to, you can have a dance
Let's dance, let's dance
Do the twist and shout, mashed potato too
Any old dance that you want to do
Let's dance, let's dance
Hey baby, now you're all alone
Let's dance, let's dance
Do the twist and shout, mashed potato too
Any old dance that you want to do
Let's dance, let's dance
Let's dance
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let's dance
Dance to the song they're playing on the radio
Let's sway
While color lights up your face
Let's sway
Sway through the crowd to an empty space
If you say run, I'll run with you
If you say hide, we'll hide
Watch my love for you
It would break my heart in two
If you should fall into my arms
And tremble like a flower
Let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance, let's dance
Let's dance, let's dance
Tina Turner's "Let's Dance" is a joyful, upbeat song that encourages the listener to let loose and dance. The song is about taking a chance and having fun, even if you're feeling alone or unsure. It encourages the listener to do any dance that they want, to let the music move them, and to forget about any worries or stresses they may be experiencing. The song portrays dancing as a form of release, a way to express oneself without words, and as an escape from the monotony of everyday life.
The lyrics also address themes of love and connection. The lines "If you say run, I'll run with you / If you say hide, we'll hide" portrays a willingness to be there for someone, to support and protect them. The line "Watch my love for you / It would break my heart in two" conveys a deep sense of love and devotion, and suggests that the act of dancing is a way to strengthen the bonds of connection between two people.
Overall, "Let's Dance" is a vibrant celebration of life, love, and the power of dance to uplift and inspire.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey baby, won't you take a chance?
Tina Turner is obviously talking to her love interest and asking them to take a chance on her
If you want to, you can have a dance
If they take the chance, they can have a dance with her
Let's dance, let's dance
Tina Turner wants to dance!
Do the twist and shout, mashed potato too
Tina Turner is up for any type of dance, even the twist and shout or the mashed potato
Any old dance that you want to do
Once again, Tina is making sure her love interest is aware that they can choose the dance
Hey baby, now you're all alone
Tina is acknowledging that her love interest is alone and wants to keep them company
Hey baby, let me walk you home
Tina is offering to walk her love interest home
Let's dance, let's dance
Tina wants to dance again
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Tina is suggesting that they put on some red shoes and dance the blues away
Dance to the song they're playing on the radio
She wants to just dance to the radio and have some good clean fun
Let's sway
Tina wants to sway with her love interest
While color lights up your face
She wants to see the color light up on her love interest's face as they dance
Sway through the crowd to an empty space
Tina wants to dance with her love interest in a crowded area and then make their way to an empty space
If you say run, I'll run with you
Tina is reassuring her love interest that she will always be there for them and their decisions
If you say hide, we'll hide
Tina is stating that she will hide with her love interest if they need her to
Watch my love for you
Tina wants her love interest to understand that she truly loves them
It would break my heart in two
If something were to happen to her love interest, it would break her heart
If you should fall into my arms
Tina is hoping that her love interest will fall into her arms
And tremble like a flower
She wants them to tremble like a delicate flower in her arms
Let's dance
Once again, Tina wants to dance
Let's dance
Tina is so excited about dancing that she repeats herself
Let's dance, let's dance
Tina is still feeling the desire to dance with her love interest
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: David Bowie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind