Peak
4
Weeks
13
Score
2,515
Chart Year
1971
In January 1971, Ike & Tina Turner released "Proud Mary" on Liberty Records as the second single from their 1970 album Workin' Together.[60] Their rendition differs greatly from the structure of the original, but is also well-known and became one of Tina Turner's most recognizable signature songs. According to Tina, Ike was not keen on the original version, but the cover of "Proud Mary" by the Checkmates, Ltd. piqued his interest.[61] Ike and Tina Turner's version was substantially rearranged by Ike Turner and Soko Richardson.[62][63] The song starts off with a slow, sultry soulful tone in which Tina introduces the song and warns the audience that she and the band are gonna start it off "nice and easy" as "we never do nothing nice and easy" but say they would finish it "nice and rough". After the lyrics are first sung softly by the Turners, the song is then turned into a funk rock vamp with Tina and the Ikettes delivering gospel-influenced vocals. The single peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 27, 1971, two years after the original by Creedence Clearwater Revival was at its peak. It also reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart, and earned the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972.[64] Ike and Tina performed a version of the song on Playboy After Dark on December 3, 1969; episode aired on February 3, 1970.[65] They also performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 11, 1970; in the film It's Your Thing (1970); and on a Soul Train episode aired on April 22, 1972.[66] The song became a staple in all of their live shows. Live versions of the song were released on the albums Live at Carnegie Hall (1971) and Live In Paris (1971).
[Tina:] You know, every now and then I think you might like to hear something from us Nice and easy but there's just one thing You see, we never ever do nothing nice and easy We always do it nice and rough So we're going to take the beginning of this song And do it easy Then we're going to do the finish rough This is the way we do 'Proud Mary' [Ike:] Left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day And I never lost one minute of sleeping Worrying 'bout the way that things might have been [Ike and Tina:] Big wheel keep on turning Proud Mary keep on burning And we're rolling, rolling Rolling on the river Listen to the story Left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day And I never lost one minute of sleeping Worrying 'bout the way that things might have been Big wheel keep on turning Proud Mary keep on burning And we're rolling, rolling Rolling yeah Rolling Rolling on the river Rolling on the river Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis Ya know I pumped a lot of 'tane down in New Orleans But I never saw the good side of the city Until I hitched a ride on the riverboat queen Ya know the big wheel keep on turning Proud Mary keep on burning And we're rolling (Rolling) Rolling yeah (Rolling) Rolling on the river (Rolling on the river) Said we're rolling (Rolling) Rolling yeah (Rolling) Rolling on the river (Rolling on the river) [Tina:] Oh I left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day And I never lost one minute of sleeping Worrying 'bout the way that things might have been Big wheel keep on turning (Turning) Proud Mary keep on burning (Burning) Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river We're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river We're up Do do do do do do do do do do Alright Oh I cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis And I pumped a lot of 'tane down in New Orleans But I never saw the good side of the city 'Til I hitched a ride on the riverboat queen Big wheel keep on turning (Turning) Proud Mary keep on burning (Burning) We're rolling, said we're rolling, we're rolling on the river I'll tell ya we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river We're up Do do do do do do do do do do Alright Yeah Ooo yeah yeah yeah yeah Ooo If you come down to the river I bet you going to find some people who live And you don't have to worry if you got no money People on the river are happy to give Big wheel keep on turning (Turning) Proud Mary keep on burning (Burning) And we're rolling, and we're rolling, and we're rolling on the river Tell me one more time rolling, (Yeah) Rolling, rolling on the river (All right, ooo yeah) We're up Do do do do do do do do do do Yeah Alright Uh-huh Wooo Ohh Rolling, rolling, yeah,rolling on the river (All right now) Rolling, yeah, rolling, rolling on the river Said we're rolling, oh rolling, yeah rolling on the river I'll tell ya we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river Yeah Alright Uh-huh
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 30, 1971 | 99 | 27 |
| 2 | Feb 6, 1971 | 63 | 63 |
| 3 | Feb 13, 1971 | 37 | 89 |
| 4 | Feb 20, 1971 | 32 | 94 |
| 5 | Feb 27, 1971 | 21 | 105 |
| 6 | Mar 6, 1971 | 12 | 114 |
| 7 | Mar 13, 1971 | 7 | 119 |
| 8 | Mar 20, 1971 | 6 | 120 |
| 9 | Mar 27, 1971 | 4 | 122 |
| 10 | Apr 3, 1971 | 6 | 120 |
| 11 | Apr 10, 1971 | 9 | 117 |
| 12 | Apr 17, 1971 | 11 | 115 |
| 13 | Apr 24, 1971 | 23 | 103 |