"What's Love Got to Do with It" was written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, who are credited as composers and lyricists. Britten and Lyle first offered it to Cliff Richard, who rejected it. Bucks Fizz recorded it in February 1984 with Bobby G on lead, but that version was shelved until its release in 2000 on a reissue of Are You Ready. Tina Turner recorded the song in 1984, produced by Terry Britten, for her fifth studio album, Private Dancer (1984). Capitol Records released it as a single in May 1984, and it became Turner's biggest-selling single.
In G sharp minor, in common time, at a moderate groove of 98 bpm, the pop rock song with R&B elements reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, her only solo US number one, and topped the charts in Australia and Canada. At the 27th Annual Grammy Awards it won Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Warren G featuring Adina Howard scored a hit with a 1996 version that sampled and interpolated Turner's original.
