"What You Get Is What You See" is a song by recording artist Tina Turner from her album Break Every Rule (1986). The 12" single included three versions of the song, the Extended Dance Mix, the Extended Rock Mix and a live version recorded in London in November 1986. A different live recording of the song was later used as the opening track on Turner's 1988 album Tina Live in Europe. She also included it in her 2009 live album Tina Live. It was recorded during Turner's 50th Anniversary Tour. The track is from the March 21, 2009 live show at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands.[2]
| "What You Get Is What You See" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tina Turner | ||||
| from the album Break Every Rule | ||||
| Released | January 1987[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:31 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Britten | |||
| Tina Turner singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "What You Get Is What You See" on YouTube | ||||
The music video for the song was directed by Peter Care, and filmed on-location in Coachella Valley, California.[3]
Background
editThe song was written by the Terry Britten and Graham Lyle team and was notably different from the three previous singles that they had written for Turner, "What's Love Got to Do with It", "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "Two People", as it was an up-tempo country-tinged rock track. The song was originally to feature a guitar solo by Eric Clapton, but Clapton's contribution was accidentally recorded an octave too low; Terry Britten ultimately played the guitar solo himself.[4] Tina Turner said in an interview that "What You Get Is What You See" is her favorite song from the album.[citation needed]
Versions and remixes
edit- Single edit – 3:57
- Album version – 4:31
- Extended Dance Mix – 6:28
- Extended Rock Mix – 5:55
- Live Version – 4:47
Personnel
edit- Tina Turner – lead vocals
- Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards
- Terry Britten – programming, guitars, bass
- Graham Lyle – mandolin
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 15 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] | 23 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 38 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] | 23 |
| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[9] | 18 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[10] | 17 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 16 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 41 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 30 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 13 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[15] | 21 |
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
| Australia (ARIA)[16] | 57 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] | 92 |
Covers
editThe song has been covered many times including by Canadian country music group Straight Clean & Simple and a single for the band taken from their 1992 album Iron Lady. It was also covered by Scottish / Irish country artist Lisa McHugh. Her cover appears in her 2014 album A Life That's Good.
In popular culture
edit"What You Get Is What You See" was popular in Australia, where in 1989 it was used in a campaign for the New South Wales Rugby League. They later used the Tina Turner song "The Best" in another campaign.
See also
edit- WYGIWYS, a variant of WYSIWYG (See WYSIWYG#Variations)
References
edit- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 847. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ "Gelredome Tina Turner Tina Live DVD/CD 2 Disc Set". International Tina Turner Fan Club. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Peter Hass (1987-01-23). "Rocker Tina Turner takes road show to desolate desert ranch". The Desert Sun.
- ^ Break Every Rule (CD Booklet). Tina Turner. London, UK: Parlophone. 2022. 984 448-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. Australia: St Ives, N.S.W. : Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Tina Turner – What You Get Is What You See" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ "Tina Turner – What You Get Is What You See" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0799." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. April 11, 1987. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "Tina Turner - Top Titel" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – What You Get It What You See". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "Tina Turner – What You Get Is What You See". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ "Tina Turner: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "Tina Turner Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "Cash Box" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Scott, Gavin. "25 Years Ago This Week: May 14, 1989". blogspot.com.au. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ^ "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Imgur.
