The Best (song)

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For other songs, see Best § Songs.

"The Best"
BonnieTyler TheBest SingleArtwork.jpg
Single by Bonnie Tyler
from the album Hide Your Heart
B-side"The Fire Below"
Released1988[1]
GenrePop rock
Length4:07
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Desmond Child
Bonnie Tyler singles chronology
"Band of Gold"
(1988) 		"The Best"
(1988) 		"Hide Your Heart"
(1989)
Music video
"The Best" on YouTube

"The Best" is a song by Bonnie Tyler for her seventh studio album, Hide Your Heart (1988). In the following year, the song was covered by Tina Turner for her seventh studio album, Foreign Affair. The song was written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman.

Bonnie Tyler version[]

Tyler's version was produced by Desmond Child and released on her 1988 album Hide Your Heart (in the US the album was titled Notes from America).

The single was released on a CD in 1988 along with two rare tracks that Tyler recorded, "The Fire Below" and "Under Suspicion".[2]

The single reached number 10 in Norway and number 95 in the United Kingdom.

Track listings[]

7-inch single CBS 651330 7 / EAN 5099765133073[3]

  1. "The Best" – 4:15
  2. "The Fire Below" – 5:08

12-inch maxi CBS CBS 651330 6 [nl] / EAN 5099765133066[3]

CD single CBS CD BEST 1 [uk] / EAN 5099765133028[3]

  1. "The Best" – 4:15
  2. "The Fire Below" – 5:08
  3. "Under Suspicion" – 4:24

Chart performance[]

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Norway (VG-lista)[1] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 95

Tina Turner version[]

"The Best"
Tinathebest.jpg
Single by Tina Turner
from the album Foreign Affair
B-side"Bold and Reckless"
Released21 August 1989 (1989-08-21)[5]
Length
  • 5:30 (album version)
  • 4:11 (single version)
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Tina Turner singles chronology
"634-5789 (Live)"
(1988) 		"The Best"
(1989) 		"I Don't Wanna Lose You"
(1989)
Music video
"The Best" on YouTube

In 1989, American singer and songwriter Tina Turner recorded a cover version for her seventh solo studio album, Foreign Affair (1989), with a saxophone solo played by Edgar Winter. Prior to recording the song, Tina Turner approached the songwriter Holly Knight and requested some changes: the addition of a bridge, which Turner felt was missing, and a key change.[6]

Released as the lead single from Foreign Affair on 21 August 1989, the song was an international success, becoming a top-five hit in numerous countries. It is one of Turner's most recognizable tunes, often considered synonymous with the singer's name.[7][8] The song was used in a Pepsi commercial featuring Turner, which also served as a promo for her Foreign Affair: The Farewell Tour sponsored by Pepsi. Additionally, the song was adopted by other brands for their advertising including Applebee's[9] and T-Mobile,[10] as well as the National Rugby League (NRL), for which it remains an iconic anthem more than 30 years after its release.[11][12][13][14][15]

The song title is often colloquially mis-cited as "Simply the Best", reflecting a phrase in the chorus. This became so commonplace that the bracketed word 'Simply' was included in the titles for releases of some subsequent versions, and in the track listing for some Tina Turner compilation albums.

Critical reception[]

Bill Coleman from Billboard described the song as an "easy-paced pop offering which finds Turner's voice taking front and center stage."[16] The Daily Vaults Mark Millan called it an "sing-along anthem".[17] Music & Media stated that the singer's "dramatic range is fully utilised on this impressive and polished production (courtesy Dan Hartman and Turner)."[18] People Magazine said it "features such pizza-box lyrics as "You're simply the best/ Better than all the rest/ Better than anyone/ Anyone I've ever met"." They also noted that Edgar Winter adds a saxophone solo "with bite".[19] Pop Rescue called the song "flawless" adding that it was probably the fact that it's such a simple song that "helped it to become so widely popular."[8]

Track listing[]

  • Worldwide 7", cassette and CD single
  1. "The Best" (Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Undercover Agent for the Blues" – 5:17
  • UK 7" limited single
  1. "The Best" (Edit) – 4:07
  2. "What's Love Got to Do with It" – 3:49
  • European and UK CD and 12" single
  1. "The Best" – 5:28
  2. "Undercover Agent for the Blues" – 5:18
  3. "Bold and Reckless" – 3:47
  • Australian 12" single
  1. "The Best" (Extended Mighty Mix) – 6:37
  2. "The Best" (Single Muscle Mix) – 4:17
  3. "The Best" (Extended Muscle Mix) – 5:28
  • 1993 Australian CD single
  1. "The Best" (Edit) – 4:09
  2. "The Best" (Extended Mighty Mix) – 6:37
  3. "The Best" (Single Muscle Mix) – 4:17
  4. "The Best" (Extended Muscle Mix) – 5:28

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] Platinum 70,000^
Italy (FIMI)[59] Gold 25,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[60] Platinum 600,000double-dagger

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes version[]

"(Simply) The Best"
Tina Turner & Jimmy Barnes - Simply The Best.jpg
Single by Tina Turner & Jimmy Barnes
from the album Simply the Best
ReleasedMay 1992
GenrePop rock
Length4:11
LabelMushroom
Songwriter(s)Mike Chapman, Holly Knight
Producer(s)Dan Hartman, Chris Lord-Alge
Tina Turner singles chronology
"I Want You Near Me"
(1992) 		"(Simply) The Best"
(1992) 		"I Don't Wanna Fight"
(1993)
Jimmy Barnes singles chronology
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
(1992) 		"(Simply) The Best"
(1992) 		"Sweat It Out"
(1993)

In 1992, Turner recorded "(Simply) The Best", a duet version of the song with Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes, to promote that year's New South Wales Rugby League season in Australia. The single subsequently appeared on a limited edition bonus disc as part of the Australian release of her compilation album Simply the Best (1991).

Track listing[]

  • Australian 7" single
  1. "(Simply) The Best" (Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes) – 4:14
  2. "(Simply) The Best" (Extended Version) – 5:29
  • Australian cassette and CD single
  1. "(Simply) The Best" (Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes) – 4:14
  2. "River Deep, Mountain High" (Jimmy Barnes) – 3:37
  3. "I'm a Lady" (Tina Turner) – 3:24
  4. "(Simply) The Best" (Extended Version) – 5:29

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[61] 14
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[62] 11

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1992) Position
Australia (ARIA)[58] 78

In popular culture[]

"The Best" served as the theme song of Iceland's Best Party in the 2010 Reykjavik local council elections. Party members recorded a version of the song titled "Við erum best" ("We're the Best"), with lyrics describing the party in Icelandic.[63][64]

In the mid-1990s, the Hong Kong Tourist Association produced a series of television advertisements featuring "The Best" as sung by Elisa Chan.[citation needed]

Research by Co-op Funeralcare regularly places "The Best" in the top ten most popular songs requested to be played at funerals.[65][66]

"The Best" has appeared three times in the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek, in scenes involving the characters David Rose and Patrick Brewer. In the season 4 episode "Open Mic", Noah Reid as Patrick performs an acoustic version of the song, which Reid arranged himself.[67] After airing, Reid's version of the song was released on Spotify and iTunes, where it reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts. All proceeds from the single were donated to an Ontario charity, LGBT Youth Line.[68] Later that season, in the episode "The Gesture", Dan Levy as David performs a dance routine while lip-synching to Turner's recording of the song.[69] In the series finale, "Happy Ending", the Jazzagals (the a cappella group to which David's mother, Moira, belongs) perform an a cappella version of the song at David and Patrick's wedding.[70]

In sport[]

The song is often used in sport-related contexts. It is played at Ibrox Stadium, Scotland, when the players of Rangers Football Club and the visiting team run onto the park.[71][72] On 19 April 2010, Rangers FC fans began a campaign to get "The Best" to number one in the UK Singles Chart.[71] It subsequently charted at number nine.[73]

In the 1990s, Chris Eubank used "The Best" as both his nickname and entrance music before all of his world championship boxing matches.[74][75]

Dutch association football club PSV Eindhoven play the Tina Turner version of the song when the team takes to the pitch ahead of every home match at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven. This was introduced by then-head coach Dick Advocaat and has since remained a club tradition.[76]

The song is particularly associated with rugby. In 1990, it was used for the NRL promotional campaign. After appearing in NRL's ad a year earlier (with "What You Get Is What You See"), Tina Turner was invited to Sydney, Australia, to shoot the 1990 campaign ads, in which she appears alongside NRL players, and perform the song at that year's Grand Final.[11][77] The campaign featuring Tina Turner and the song is considered one of the greatest campaigns in sports marketing, which helped changed the perception of rugby as a sport turning what was essentially a suburban game popular with working-class men into entertainment for the whole family.[13] Such is the enduring popularity of the song as the rugby league anthem that it was featured again in the 2020 promotional campaign of NRL, more than 30 years after its release.[12][14][15][78]

References[]

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