Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Black History Month Song of the Day - Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner


Since the early days of pop music, or what they called 'rock and roll' back then, there've been plenty of white artists who have scored big with either covers of traditional rhythm and blues songs (see Elvis' Hound Dog and That's Alright) or simply stylizing their music after black music (See Justin Timberlake or Robin Thicke).  Well, on occasion, the reverse has happened, as it did with Ike & Tina Turners' cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic Proud Mary.     

Back in the days when I was a disc jockey, this version of Proud Mary was an old standby.  If I ever needed to give the crowd a little inspiration to get up and get down on the dance floor, this song always did the trick.  Turners' version of the tune is completely different than CCR's, and is a classic unto itself, starting off with a nice and easy groove and then working its way into a frenzied finish. Both forms of the song fared well on the charts, hitting #'s 2 and 4, respectively, but it's this version that I and many others, love to dance to...


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