Flashback Friday: Tina Turner - What You Get Is What You See | When Tina rock, rolled and twanged

News of Tina Turner passing took me by surprise. Which is crazy. Even after a year like 2020, where millions of people died. And the past two years where so many celebs have been passing away what feels like every other month.

Tina has always been a very present part of pop culture for as long as I’ve been alive. Whether it’s via “Proud Mary”, which has been covered to hell and back. “What’s Love Got To Do With It”, both the song and the 1993 biographical film with Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. “Simply the Best”. The Tina Broadway musical. Videos of her running across a platform hundreds of feet in the air like she’s Super Mario. And also Beyoncé, whose performance style and also her on stage fashions were clearly inspired by Tina Turner. And the fact that this was so identifiable also speaks to how present Tina was in pop culture. Tina had transcended being just a pop star, because she was part of the fabric of it all. So I forgot that she was still a person. A mortal who could and would eventually pass.

Tina being a part of the fabric of pop culture is why I wanna flashback to “What You Get Is What You See”. This song isn’t as well known as some of Tina’s classics, but it’s a song which speaks to how effortlessly Tina was able to cross genres, and how forward thinking she was in her approach. She didn’t give a fuck about labels, people’s expectations of her sound as a Black woman, people’s boxes. So it’s incredibly fitting that this song featured on an album called Break Every Rule, because that’s exactly what she did here.

A Black woman in the 80s. Doing a rock song with a very country twang. In a music video where she’s rocking out with a country looking ass band in double denim, and bikers in leather jackets. In a setting of Americana which was almost always (and still is) exclusively white. Where men are being objectified. Where Tina is exuding feminine energy, but with a bit of masculine energy thrown in too. And a song about  And none of it feels contrived. And it probably didn’t feel like any form of stretch nor a big deal for Tina. 

Tina gave us “That Don’t Impress Me Much” before Shania did.

“What You Get Is What You See” is so damn 80s, but so much of this sound and *Turns an looks into the camera* what you see in the music video feels very now. Not just in terms of the sounds and the aesthetic of the 80s still being popular today, but the specifics. We’re seeing more Black acts in country these days and Black country being a prominent image (i.e Solange’s “Almeda” and the Ivy Park Rodeo campaign). More Black acts are putting their foot in rock. And Tina’s look is far from outdated. Big hair, double denim and heels is still a look. It was one of Beyoncé’s looks in the music video for “Formation” back in 2016.

But the other part of it all which is oft overlooked is Tina’s age. “Private Dancer”, “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, “What You Get Is What You See”. This breakthrough, peak global success Tina was experiencing all occurred when she was in her 40s. When other acts her age were either dressing down or trying to be ‘hip’, Tina was out here still giving leg, heels, bodysuits, moves and stadium rock.

No matter the era, Tina was not only unapologetically herself, but fearless. Taking up space in places which wasn’t common for not only women, but Black women. But Tina was also the brightest of lights. Whether you liked her not, she would shine so bright that you couldn’t avoid her. Shining so brightly that not even an abusive piece of shit for a husband could dim her. A light so bright, that then even in passing away, it will continue to shine.