One Of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Best-Charting Singles Won Ike & Tina Turner Their Only Grammy

"Big wheel keep on turnin' / Proud Mary keep on burnin'." You probably read those lines in one of two voices: John Fogerty's swamp rock twang ("boinin'" instead of "burnin'") or Tina Turner's high-energy, raspy belt. That's because after Creedence Clearwater Revival's original "Proud Mary" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969, Tina and Ike Turner's 1971 cover single garnered their one and only Grammy together in 1972.

1972 was also the year that CCR broke up. They'd been at the center of a rapid yet brief explosion of success that saw them release seven albums over four years and garner five No. 2 hits (but no No. 1s — a surprising record). At the same time, Tina and Ike Turner's careers were on the rise. They'd gotten married in 1962, released a bunch of hits, and were in need of additional songs for an upcoming album. Tina, having loved "Proud Mary" on release, remembered the song one day and suggested that she and Ike adopt it as their own. Some noodling later, a bit of Ike playing the guitar in their car, and the two had the foundation for their half-calm, half-lively rendition that really let Tina's energy and stage presence shine.

Not only did Ike & Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary" reach No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, it also won them a Grammy for best R&B group, vocal or instrumental. In 1976, Tina filed for divorce, and 17 years after that, she reprised the song solo.

John Fogerty, the original writer of "Proud Mary," knew he had something special on his hands when he penned his 1969 song after being discharged from the National Guard. With a head full of dreams and a driving desire to write songs, Fogerty told American Songwriter that "Proud Mary" was "that moment when songwriting truly started for me." Plenty of people must have felt the same, as the brief, singable fireside tune helped cinch CCR's place in rock history.

"Proud Mary" also seems like an odd, unlikely song for an R&B duo to cover, but as we've all heard a million times, music is a universal language. There might have been a personal reason why the song came to Tina Turner's mind back when she suggested covering it, though, as the seeds of Tina and Ike Turner's future divorce were already planted by the time they won their 1972 Grammy. We could take that feeling of liberation as reflective of the meaning of "Proud Mary," which Fogerty described to Rolling Stone as "a metaphor about leaving painful, stressful things behind for a more tranquil and meaningful life." 

Given the joy that Tina displayed on stage when performing "Proud Mary" in her later life, the song wasn't merely a Fogerty hit that earned her and Ike a Grammy; it was a testament of personal empowerment. This might be why she included an updated version of the cover on her aptly titled 1993 solo album, "What's Love Got to Do With It," named after her No. 1 solo hit.