Workin' Together

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Workin' Together
Workintogether.jpeg
Studio album by
Ike & Tina Turner
ReleasedNovember 1970
Recorded1970
StudioBolic Sound (Inglewood, CA)
Length34:23
LabelLiberty
ProducerIke Turner
Ike & Tina Turner chronology
Come Together
(1970) 		Workin' Together
(1970) 		'Nuff Said
(1971)
Singles from Workin' Together
  1. "Workin' Together"
    Released: October 1970
  2. "Proud Mary"
    Released: January 1971
  3. "Ooh Poo Pah Doo"
    Released: April 1971
  4. "Get Back"
    Released: November 1972

Workin' Together is a studio album released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner on Liberty Records in November 1970.[1] This was their second album with Liberty and their most successful studio album. The album contains their Grammy Award-winning single "Proud Mary."[2]

Content and release[]

Much like their previous album, Come Together, the album featured several covers of rock songs and also featured renewed versions of previous Ike & Tina songs, which was a habit for the couple. The album featured the duo's biggest-selling hit, a funk rock styled cover of "Proud Mary." The B-side, "Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" was written by Tina's sister the Alline Bullock and later covered by Nina Simone. Several of the songs were written by Ike (including two by "Eki Renrut" which is Ike Turner backwards) including "The Way You Love Me" which the Turners had recorded for their debut album, The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner, nearly a decade earlier.

Three singles were released from the album in the US. The title track, "Workin' Together," peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 105 on Bubbling Under The Hot 100.[3][4] The second single, a cover of "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, became the duo's biggest hit. It peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 chart and reached No. 5 on the R&B chart. It also earned Ike and Tina a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.[2] The third single, a cover of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" by Jessie Hill, peaked at No. 31 on the R&B chart and No. 60 on the Hot 100.[5][6] A fourth single, a cover of "Get Back" by the Beatles, was released in Germany.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[7]
Christgau's Record GuideB[8]

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote of the album:

"There's a pretty fair remake of 'Ooh Poo Pah Doo' in between the two great cuts on this album—the easy-to-rough 'Proud Mary' (with Ike rolling in back) and their first successful 'peace and love' 'generation' song, appropriately entitled 'Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter.' Someone named Eki Renrut contributes a pretty fair do-right-man song. And Tina tries valiantly to sing her way out of some gunny sacks."[8]

Billboard (November 21, 1970):

Nobody works harder than Ike & Tina Turner and workin' together they take top material, rip it up, and resoul "Proud Mary," "Let It Be," "Get Back" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" their way. The duo gather a full head of funky, raucous steam, hitting only the heights of energy and excitement on the title romp, plus more of Ike's super rhythm workouts. Can't keep this kind of "up" music down.[1]

Record World (November 21, 1970): "Ike and Tina Turner have profited in every way possible from workin' together, and from the evidence given here they are still getting better and better. The Beatles and others have their songs enlivened by Tina's unique chanting on 'Get Back,' "Proud Mary,' 'Let It Be.'"[9]

Awards[]

In 1971, Ike & Tina Turner won the Prix Otis Redding (best R&B album) from the Académie du Jazz for Workin' Together.[10]

Reissues[]

Workin' Together was digitally remastered and released by BGO records on the compilation CD Workin' Together/Let Me Touch Your Mind in 2011.[11] The album was reissued on vinyl in 2016.[12]

Track listing[]

All tracks written by Ike Turner, except where noted.[13] Tracks 1 and 6 were credited to "Eki Renrut" (Ike Turner backwards).

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Workin' Together" 3:35
2."(As Long As I Can) Get You When I Want You"George Jackson, Raymond Moore2:25
3."Get Back"John Lennon, Paul McCartney3:05
4."The Way You Love Me" 2:37
5."You Can Have It" 3:30
6."Game of Love" 2:46
7."Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter"Aillene Bullock2:35
8."Ooh Poo Pah Doo"Jessie Hill3:36
9."Proud Mary"John Fogerty4:57
10."Goodbye, So Long" 1:57
11."Let It Be"John Lennon, Paul McCartney3:10
Total length:34:13

Personnel[]

  • Tina Turner – lead vocals
  • Ike Turner – vocals (intro of "Proud Mary"), all instrumentation
  • The Ikettes – background vocals
  • The Kings of Rhythm – all instrumentation
  • Brent Maher – engineer
  • Herb Kravitz – photography
  • Ron Wolin – art direction

Charts[]

Chart (1971) Peak
position
Canada RPM 100[14] 52
Germany (GfK)[15] 12
US Billboard Top LP's[16] 25
US Billboard Top R&B LP's[16] 3
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[17] 36
US Record World Albums[18] 26

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 82 (47): 75. November 21, 1970.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "1971 Grammy Champions" (PDF). Billboard: 6. March 25, 1972.
  3. ^ "Best Selling Soul Singles" (PDF). Billboard: 42. December 12, 1970.
  4. ^ "Bubbling Under The Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard: 40. November 28, 1970.
  5. ^ "Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard: 64. June 12, 1971.
  6. ^ "Best Selling Soul Singles" (PDF). Billboard. June 26, 1971.
  7. ^ "Workin' Together - Ike & Tina Turner | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  9. ^ "Picks of the Week: Albums" (PDF). Record World: 1. November 21, 1970.
  10. ^ "French Jazz Awards Named" (PDF). Billboard: 50. April 17, 1971.
  11. ^ "Workin' Together/Let Me Touch Your Mind". BGO Records.
  12. ^ "2 Ike & Tina Turner albums were just reissued on vinyl: "Workin' Together," which was their most successful album, and "River Deep – Mountain High," which includes tracks produced by both Phil Spector and Ike Turner. from Amoeba Music". #ShareGoodVibes. March 28, 2016. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  13. ^ "Ike & Tina Turner - Workin' Together". Discogs.
  14. ^ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM Weekly. April 10, 1971.
  15. ^ "Ike & Tina Turner - Workin' Together". Dutch Charts.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "Top LP's" (PDF). Billboard: 64. April 21, 1971.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Cash Box: 39. April 24, 1971.
  18. ^ "The Album Chart" (PDF). Record World: 32. April 10, 1971.
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