Rough (album)
Encyclopedia
Rough is Tina Turner
's third solo album, released in September 1978 on the EMI
label in the UK, Ariola Records
in West Germany and United Artists
in the United States.
. Her first two solo albums, Tina Turns the Country On
(1974) and Acid Queen
(1975), were recorded while she was still married to Ike Turner and also a member of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Rough would be the first album where there was no association with Ike Turner. The divorce proceedings between the Turners finally ended in 1978, the same year Rough was released, leaving Tina penniless - but with the legal right to still use her stage name Tina Turner.
The album was made up of rock songs, instead of the soul, bluesy, and R&B music that she typically had performed with the Revue. But the album was recorded at the height of the disco era and so shows influences from that genre. The opening track, "Fruits of the Night", for example, was co-written by Giorgio Moroder
's longtime collaborator Pete Bellotte
. Turner also included a cover of Bob Seger
's "Fire Down Below", which was later covered again by Bette Midler
for the 1979 movie The Rose
. The album also includes Turner's first cover version of Elton John
's "The Bitch Is Back
", which she re-recorded in 1991 for the tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
.
The album Rough along with its four singles, "Viva La Money", "Root Toot, Undisputable Rock & Roller", "Sometimes When We Touch
" - a cover of Dan Hill
's ballad - and "Night Time Is the Right Time", all had minor successs on the charts. The album received no certifications. Just like the preceding Acid Queen, the album was an indication of the direction that Turner wanted to take her music; combining rock with elements of pop and R&B.
The album was re-issued on CD by EMI
in the early 1990s but is currently out of print.
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's third solo album, released in September 1978 on the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
label in the UK, Ariola Records
Ariola Records
Ariola Records is a German record label. As of the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of BMG which in turn has since become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment...
in West Germany and United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in the United States.
Overview
Rough was Turner's first solo album after her 1976 split with husband Ike TurnerIke Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
. Her first two solo albums, Tina Turns the Country On
Tina Turns the Country On
Tina Turns the Country On! is the debut solo album by Tina Turner, released in 1974 on the United Artists label in the U.S. The album was recorded while Turner still was a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue....
(1974) and Acid Queen
Acid Queen (album)
-Personnel:* Tina Turner – lead vocals* Ike Turner – vocals on "Baby Get it On"* Ed Greene – drums* Henry Davis – bass guitar* Ray Parker Jr. – guitars* Spencer Proffer – guitars* Jerry Peters – keyboard instruments...
(1975), were recorded while she was still married to Ike Turner and also a member of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Rough would be the first album where there was no association with Ike Turner. The divorce proceedings between the Turners finally ended in 1978, the same year Rough was released, leaving Tina penniless - but with the legal right to still use her stage name Tina Turner.
The album was made up of rock songs, instead of the soul, bluesy, and R&B music that she typically had performed with the Revue. But the album was recorded at the height of the disco era and so shows influences from that genre. The opening track, "Fruits of the Night", for example, was co-written by Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
's longtime collaborator Pete Bellotte
Pete Bellotte
Peter J. Bellotte is a British songwriter and record producer, most famous for hismain body of work with Donna Summer alongside his partner Giorgio Moroder...
. Turner also included a cover of Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
's "Fire Down Below", which was later covered again by Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
for the 1979 movie The Rose
The Rose (film)
The Rose is a 1979 American musical drama film which tells the story of a self-destructive 1960s rock star who struggles to cope with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager...
. The album also includes Turner's first cover version of Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "The Bitch Is Back
The Bitch Is Back
"The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song by Elton John, written with Bernie Taupin. It was the second single released from his 1974 album Caribou, and reached number 1 in Canada , number 4 in the United States and number 15 in the United Kingdom. The song has been identified as is one of Elton John's...
", which she re-recorded in 1991 for the tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to the song on Elton John's album 21 at 33, "Two Rooms at the End of the World", to the duo's unusual...
.
The album Rough along with its four singles, "Viva La Money", "Root Toot, Undisputable Rock & Roller", "Sometimes When We Touch
Sometimes When We Touch
Sometimes When We Touch is a 1977 ballad written by Dan Hill and Barry Mann on the album Longer Fuse, but was also released as a single in 1978. It was Hill's biggest hit, peaking at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Musicians included Larrie Londin , Bob Mann , Don Potter , Tom Scyzniak...
" - a cover of Dan Hill
Dan Hill
Daniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major hits with his songs, "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard.-Early life and career:...
's ballad - and "Night Time Is the Right Time", all had minor successs on the charts. The album received no certifications. Just like the preceding Acid Queen, the album was an indication of the direction that Turner wanted to take her music; combining rock with elements of pop and R&B.
The album was re-issued on CD by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in the early 1990s but is currently out of print.
Track listing
Personnel and production
- Rick Kellis - horn, saxophone
- Ken Moore - piano, background vocals
- Airto MoreiraAirto MoreiraAirto Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. He currently resides in Los Angeles.-Biography:...
- percussion - Dennis Belfield - bass
- Michael BoddickerMichael BoddickerMichael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
- synthesizer - Peter Bunetta - drums
- Al Ciner - acoustic guitar
- Denise Echols - background vocals
- Dennis Farias - horn
- Venetta FieldsVenetta FieldsVenetta Fields is an American singer best known as session musician for leading rock and pop acts of the 1970s including Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Steely Dan and the Rolling Stones...
- background vocals - Ed GreeneEd Greene (musician)Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician.An early recording in 1971 has him as a member of the Donald Byrd Group, together with Thurman Green Harold Land Bobby Hutcherson Joe Sample and Wilton Felder , among others....
- drums - Billy Haynes - bass
- Maxayn Lewis - background vocals
- Deborah Lindsey - background vocals
- Lenny Macaluso - electric guitar
- Bill Oz - harmonica
- Mary Russell - background vocals
- Julia Tillman Waters -background vocals
- Stephanie Spruill - background vocals
- Michael Stephenson - background vocals
- Ron Stockert - synthesizer, clavinet
- Marsha Thacker - background vocals
- Tony Walthers - background vocals
- Jeff Deane - horn
- W.D. Smith - Hammond organ