Twenty-Five

It's kind of hard for me to believe it's been twenty-five years since I fell in love with Tina Turner. I never really thought about how long ago Private Dancer came out until I saw a link to this article posted over on the Pod Is My Co-Pilot site (thanks, Taylor!). From the first time I heard "Let's Stay Together" on the radio, I was hooked. Actually, I remember seeing a full page ad in Billboard Magazine pushing the single before I ever heard it and thinking that this was a joke. Who cares about a washed up hag like her? Well, how quickly my mind changed. Tina has been my absolute favorite recording artist for the last twenty-five years. I'm still head over heels for her. In fact, I spent the better part of today listening to her newest album Tina Live. At 70, the bitch still sounds more relevant than a lot of the current crop of singers. And she still looks amazing. She's my dad's age, but my dad looks old enough to be her father. Why can't I come from good genes like hers, dammit?

I've only had the chance to see her three times in concert and each time she blew me away. The second time was my favorite for one reason. I was close enough to the stage that as she was exiting at the end of the finale, she shook hands with some lucky enough to be close enough. I was the last person she touched as she was making her way off stage. Ahhhh... The first time I saw her came with a little disappointment. I worked at an independent record store at the time and we were able to get backstage passes for almost everything from the label reps. I was counting on meeting her after that show, only to find out Tina doesn't do backstage meet and greets. I was crushed. It didn't keep me from loving the show, though.

My favorite Tina song