About The Song
“What’s Love Got to Do with It” is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten, and recorded by Tina Turner for her fifth studio album, Private Dancer (1984). Capitol Records released it as a single from Private Dancer in May 1984 and it eventually became Turner’s biggest-selling single.
Although Turner had already scored a late-1983 top 30 hit with her rendition of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” became her first and only Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, selling over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. At the time, aged 44, Turner became the oldest solo female artist to top the Hot 100. It was the second-biggest single of 1984 in the United States and the 17th-biggest in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” received three awards at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 1993, the song’s title was used as the title for the biographical film based on Turner’s life.
In 2012, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, marking Turner’s third Grammy Hall of Fame award. The song ranked number 309 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and at number 134 in their 2021 updated list. It also ranked number 38 on RIAA’s “Songs of the Century” list. Several musical artists have covered “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and experienced commercial success with their renditions. American rapper Warren G released a hip hop version in 1996, and in July 2020, Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo released a remix of the song.
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Lyrics
You must understand though the touch of your hand
Makes my pulse react
That it’s only the thrill of boy meeting girl
Opposites attract
It’s physical
Only logical
You must try to ignore that it means more than that
Oh, oh, oh
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
What’s love but a second-hand emotion?
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
It may seem to you that I’m acting confused
When you’re close to me
If I tend to look dazed, I’ve read it someplace
I’ve got cause to be
There’s a name for it
There’s a phrase that fits
But whatever the reason, you do it for me
Oh, oh, oh
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
What’s love but a second-hand emotion?
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
Ooh
I’ve been taking on a new direction
But I have to say
I’ve been thinking about my own protection
It scares me to feel this way
Oh, oh, oh
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
What’s love but a second-hand emotion?
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
got to do, got to do with it?
What’s love but a sweet old fashioned notion?
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
ooh, got to do with it?
(What’s love but a second-hand emotion?)
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
(What’s love got to do, got to do with it?)
Got to do with it?