"Let's Stay Together"

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17 fame was one of those two British musicians who enlisted Tina to record “Ball of Confusion.”  He recalled, “The first time Tina and I met in the studio, her first words were, ‘Where’s the band?” But that’s how it was making music at the beginning of the ‘80s when for the first time synthesizers were playing automated sequences and drum machines were providing the beat.

According to Martyn, at the time, it was “a very revolutionary technique” to create a track without a studio full of musicians.  But he believed that “Tina’s openness to [new] ideas is what enabled her to become popular with a new audience.”

It’s worth mentioning that in that brave new world of music technology, Tina stood head and shoulders above the crowd.  Martyn recalled that “in fifteen years of producing various artists, her performances of ‘Ball of Confusion’ and ‘Let’s Stay Together’ were the only complete unedited ‘first take’ vocals I’ve ever had the pleasure of recording.”

The single version of “Let’s Stay Together” came out in England while Tina was on a tour of the Persian Gulf.  And when she came back to the U. K., the song had become such a big hit that her original booking at a club in London got extended to 11 nights to cover the demand for tickets.

Tina recalled, “Was it huge!  When I sang ‘Let’s Stay Together,’ everybody sang it with me.  And I looked out there, and I thought [to myself], ‘So this is what it feels like.’”