The Best

Tina Turner had many songs that could be considered her signature tunes. But there was one that summed her up best: “The Best.” Contributing to its success was the fact that this ballad became a sports anthem, played around the world just as often as Queen’s “We Are the Champions” or Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

The song was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler on her 1988 album “Hide Your Heart” (released in the United States as “Notes From America”). Tyler’s version reached number 95 on the UK charts and was not released as a single in America.

Tina Turner’s version became a massive hit worldwide in 1989, reaching No. 5 on the UK charts and No. 4 in Australia. In the United States, it peaked at No. 15, but it soon became her signature song.

“I recorded ‘The Best’ two years before Tina Turner, and she had worldwide success with it, but she only confirmed my choice of material,” Bonnie Tyler later said. “And I have to be honest, she did it much better than I did.”

The song was written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, the writers behind many other hit songs, including “Better Be Good To Me” (also by Tina Turner) and “Love Is A Battlefield.” When Turner heard Bonnie Tyler’s original version, she called Knight and said she would record it if they made a few changes. Instead of a guitar solo, Turner asked Knight to add a bridge (“Each time you leave me I start losing control…”), followed by a saxophone solo. She also changed the key so that the song would go up in the final section. The saxophone solo was performed by Edgar Winter, whose band, The Edgar Winter Group, reached number one on the U.S. charts in 1973 with the instrumental track “Frankenstein.”

In 1990, the song was used in a promotional campaign for the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). In Scotland, the song has been adopted as the unofficial anthem of the Rangers club and is usually played before every match.