| "Better Be Good to Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. 12-inch vinyl single | ||||
| Single byTina Turner | ||||
| from the albumPrivate Dancer | ||||
| B-side | "When I Was Young" | |||
| Released | September 3, 1984[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Rock[2] | |||
| Length | 5:10 (LP version) 3:43 (single version) 7:47 (extended version) | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mike Chapman Holly Knight Nicky Chinn (not physically present) | |||
| Producer(s) | Rupert Hine | |||
| Tina Turner singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Better Be Good to Me" onYouTube | ||||
"Better Be Good to Me" is a song written byMike Chapman andHolly Knight, recorded by singerTina Turner for her solo studio albumPrivate Dancer (1984) and released as a single in early September 1984. The song was originally recorded and released in 1981 bySpider, a band fromNew York City that featured co-writer Knight as a member. Turner's version peaked at No. 5 on theBillboard Hot 100 in the US and No. 6 on the then-Hot Black Singles charts. At the27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985, it wonBest Rock Vocal Performance, Female, one of four Grammys awarded to Turner'sPrivate Dancer album at that ceremony.[3] The song was also included onthe Miami Vice soundtrack, and the 2024Paramount Pictures filmIF, during which the main characters sing and dance to the track inside the official music video.
Nicky Chinn is credited as a writer but he was not even in the country when it was composed. Chapman included Chinn's name because of a partnership arrangement the two men had made, even though the partnership was unraveling. Knight was appalled but did not argue with Chapman. Chinn's writing credit gave him one-third of all royalties from the song.[4]
In thevideo, Turner is seen performing the song on stage, wearing a black leather jacket and black skin-tight, knee-length leather pants, with leopard print high heels and spikey blonde hair. Towards the end, a man (Cy Curnin lead singer ofthe Fixx) appears on stage and grabs Turner's arms. She looks him in the eyes and sings the words, "Why can't you be good to me?", then pushes him away. At the end of the video, Turner disappears under the stage in a puff of smoke. Both Curnin and the guitarist in the video,Jamie West-Oram (also of the Fixx), perform on thePrivate Dancer album.
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...Turner made it feel like a signature statement, imbuing its demand for respect with rock-star swagger and her own story of struggle and resilience.
