Sunday night, January 11, 1970. Families across America are settled in front of the television for The Ed Sullivan Show, the same program that had introduced them to Elvis and the Beatles. Ed steps forward, says a few words, and hands the stage to the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. What follows is about three and a half minutes that a lot of viewers never forgot.
Tina Turner, in a short gold fringe dress, stands before a bright, colorful set with the Ikettes at her side and a horn section behind her. She begins “Proud Mary” slowly, almost sweetly. Then the band shifts gears, and the whole stage seems to catch fire. In this Iconic Performances feature, we look back at how a Creedence Clearwater Revival hit became Tina’s song, and why this TV appearance still thrills more than fifty years later. The official clip is at the end of the article.
▶️ Want to watch first? Scroll down. The performance clip from The Ed Sullivan Show is at the end of the article.
From Creedence to the Turners
“Proud Mary” was written by John Fogerty and released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in January 1969. It rolled up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 that March and became one of the defining songs of the year: a riverboat, a working man who “left a good job in the city,” and that steady, chugging groove.
According to Tina, Ike Turner wasn’t keen on the original. What caught his ear was a later cover by the Checkmates, Ltd. featuring Sonny Charles. Ike reworked the song with drummer Soko Richardson, and by 1969 it had become part of the Revue’s live show, where audiences could see what it did to a room.
“Nice and Easy,” Then “Nice and Rough”
The genius of the Turners’ arrangement is its two halves. Tina opens with a spoken introduction, warning the audience that they’re going to start it “nice and easy,” because they never do anything nice and easy, and then finish it “nice and rough.” Ike and Tina sing the first verses softly, almost like a gospel ballad. Then the tempo doubles, and the song becomes a funk-rock stampede, with Tina and the Ikettes trading gospel-style shouts and dancing at full tilt.
A Busy Season on Television
By late 1969, Ike and Tina were the act everyone was talking about. That November they opened for the Rolling Stones on their U.S. tour, and they reportedly upstaged the headliners on more than one night. Their performance of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” at Madison Square Garden made it into the Stones’ 1970 documentary Gimme Shelter.
Television followed. They performed “Proud Mary” on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Dark, taped December 3, 1969, and aired the following February. And in between came Ed Sullivan, the biggest stage on American TV. Their appearance that January also included “Bold Soul Sister,” which climbed to No. 22 on the R&B chart afterward.
On the Sullivan Stage
Watch the official clip and notice how carefully it’s built. The opening is calm, with Tina at the microphone, smiling and teasing the audience. The Ikettes, in matching coral dresses, sway beside her. The horn players, in blue suits, wait their turn. When the fast section kicks in, the camera can barely keep up. Tina’s fringe flies as she and the Ikettes dance in tight formation, and the horns come blasting in.
For a lot of viewers at home, this was the first time they had seen anything like Tina Turner. Her energy was almost physical. You can feel it through the screen even now, in a grainy clip from a variety show that also booked comedians, opera singers and circus acts.
The Record Arrives
The studio version came later. Ike & Tina recorded “Proud Mary” for the album Workin’ Together, released on Liberty Records in November 1970, and issued it as a single in January 1971. Billboard called it a “powerhouse treatment.” It reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B chart, sold more than a million copies, and won the duo the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.
Tina’s Song for Life
The Turners’ partnership ended in July 1976, when Tina left Ike in Dallas. She later spoke openly about the abuse she endured in their marriage. Her solo comeback with Private Dancer in 1984 is one of the great second acts in pop history, and through it all she kept “Proud Mary” in her show. She re-recorded it in 1993 for the soundtrack of the biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It.
The honors kept coming. Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and their “Proud Mary” entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Tina received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005 and returned to the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2021. Ike died in 2007, and Tina died on May 24, 2023, at 83. The Sullivan clip reminds us how it all looked when that fire was brand new.
Listening Tips
- Start with Creedence. Play CCR’s 1969 original, then the Turners’ version. The contrast shows how much Ike’s arrangement changed.
- Find the album. Workin’ Together (1970) was the duo’s most successful album and includes their covers of “Get Back” and “Let It Be.”
- Hear it live. The 1971 album What You Hear Is What You Get: Live at Carnegie Hall captures the Revue at full power.
- Fun connection. In the mid-1960s, Jimi Hendrix briefly played guitar in Ike & Tina’s band. Read our story of Hendrix’s “Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock.
- Explore more. Browse our Soul & R&B section, starting with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”.
Proud Mary Quick Facts
| Song | “Proud Mary,” written by John Fogerty |
| Original | Creedence Clearwater Revival, January 1969 (No. 2 Hot 100) |
| Performers | The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, with the Ikettes |
| TV appearance | The Ed Sullivan Show, January 11, 1970 |
| Studio version | Workin’ Together (Liberty, November 1970); single January 1971 |
| Chart peak | No. 4 Hot 100, No. 5 R&B |
| Award | Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group, 1972 |
| Honors | Grammy Hall of Fame 2003; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1991 (duo) |
Sources
- “Proud Mary” on Wikipedia (Ike & Tina Turner version section, with its cited sources)
- Ike & Tina Turner on Wikipedia
- Tina Turner on Wikipedia
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Ike & Tina Turner
- Recording Academy: Grammy Hall of Fame
- The Ed Sullivan Show: official clip and broadcast date
Photo Credits
- Featured image: Ike & Tina Turner in concert, Hamburg, November 1972 by Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Tina Turner on stage, Hamburg, 1972 by Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Tina Turner singing, Hamburg, 1972 by Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: The Ed Sullivan Theater, New York City, 2007 by Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Tina Turner at Schiphol Airport, 1971 by Rob Mieremet / Anefo, restored by Adam Cuerden, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Ike & Tina Turner on stage, Hamburg, 1972 by Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
