I think part of the reason I love Private Dancer, the titular track from Tina Turner’s huge comeback album in 1984, is the sounds Tina makes more so than her singing or any of the lyrics. (Also, I wanted to use the word titular because it makes me giggle, and the dress she’s wearing in the bridge is beyond amazing and makes her boobies look PERFECT, even to a gay boy. And I chose today to post this song, on Kenny’s birthday, because he LOVED her in this video; he used to talk about how thick her nipples were and that you could see them jutting out of that dress….) Just in the opening sequence, she sighs with such exasperation over the whole thing. I think maybe it was the first time, in a song, I realized there might be someone who gets what it’s like to hate waking up in the morning. I ALSO love the echoed ‘Thank You” after she explains the kind of currency her hooker-ass accepts during the amazing bridge.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: November 1, 2017. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.
