How Tina Turner and Bryan Adams Finally Connected for an Iconic 80s Duet

The 80s were a prime era for duets matching two humongous stars. And in 1984, you couldn’t find two bigger stars on the planet than Tina Turner and Bryan Adams. Could they deliver a song worthy of their massive talents?

Thanks to the songwriting talents of Adams and Jim Vallance, and a thrilling performance by both principals, “It’s Only Love” rose to the occasion. Little did folks know that this event of a song was almost a missed opportunity.

Duet Partners at the Pinnacle

Talk about two stars meeting at their absolute peak. In 1984, Tina Turner was still basking in the glow of Private Dancer, the album she’d released earlier that year that returned her to the musical limelight. And Adams was about to release Reckless, which would turn out to be one of the biggest LPs of the decade.

Interestingly enough, Adams had once before sent a song to Turner in the hopes that she might sing it. As he would later explain, the song wasn’t quite at the level he’d later reach with his writing partner Vallance. He never heard from Turner’s camp about a possible recording.

A few years later, it was Turner’s turn to seek out Adams. She wanted him to write a song for her, or at least donate one that he might have had lying around unused. Unfortunately, he was so wrapped up in making Reckless that he couldn’t oblige her. But he had an idea. Would Turner like to sing one of the songs from that album with Adams?

“Love” Connection

Adams suggested “It’s Only Love” as a possible duet opportunity. Turner loved the idea. Once she joined him in the studio, a problem arose. Adams had written the song in his vocal range. When Turner sang the song, it lacked some of the spark that she normally delivered in her vocals.

That’s when it was decided she should boost the melody a bit higher, almost as if she were singing a harmony part as the lead. The decision ignited Turner in the studio, leading to a typically explosive performance for her.

So rife was Reckless with undeniable hits that “It’s Only Love” was chosen as the sixth and final single release, coming out in late 1985, almost a year after the album first appeared. Regardless, it still reached No. 15 in the US once it did arrive.

Behind the Lyrics of “It’s Only Love”

The lyrics by Adams and Vallance for “It’s Only Love” try to make the point that there’s no use dwelling on a broken relationship. But we can tell there’s a bit of denial at play in lines like “When your world has been shattered/And nothing else matters/It ain’t over, it’s only love.”

Things can get dire, indeed. “And if your live ain’t worth living/And you’re ready to give in,” Turner sings about the scenario. In the middle eight, the narrator realizes that their advice might not be heeded. “You keep looking back in desperation/Over and over and over again.”

The crunching rock guitars that bedeck the song help to make the case that there might indeed be life after love. But the angsty emotion in the voices of Bryan Adams and Tina Turner as they belt out this monumental duet tell another story completely.

(Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage)

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