"It's Gonna Work Out Fine" is a song made famous by

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

in 1961 as a single issued on the Sue label. It was also included on their 1962 album ''Dynamite!''. The record is noted for being their first Grammy nominated song and their second million-selling single after "

A Fool in Love "A Fool in Love" is the debut single by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first release with the stage name "Tina Turner" although she had been singing with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since ...

". Composer credits, on the Ike and Tina Turner single, are given to Joe Seneca and James Lee, the pseudonym of

Rose Marie McCoy Rose Marie McCoy (April 19, 1922 – January 20, 2015) was an American songwriter. She began her career as an aspiring singer before becoming a prolific songwriter during the 1950s and 1960s. Many artists have recorded some of the over 800 so ...

. In 1966 the song was recorded again by Terry "Gibby" Haynes for Jetstar Records, and on this release the composers are listed as McCoy and Sylvia McKinney. McKinney was also known as

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanterpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylv ...

who was McCoy's regular song-writing partner, and half of the duo

Mickey & Sylvia Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanterpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They are best known for their number-one R&B single "Love Is Strange" in 1957. Baker and Vanterpool began recording tog ...

. On the 2018 re-release of ''Dynamite!'', Seneca was given sole song-writing credit.

Background

Following the success of "A Fool in Love",

scored another hit with "

I Idolize You "I Idolize You" is a song written and produced by Ike Turner. It was released by Ike & Tina Turner in 1960 as the second single from their debut album '' The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner''. Overview After years with male front-men backing his Kings ...

", and they released their debut album, ''

The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner ''The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner'' is the debut album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on the Sue Records in February 1961. The album is noted for containing the duo's debut single "A Fool in Love" and their follow-up singles "I Idolize You" ...

'' in February 1961. They toured all over the country on the Chitlin' Circuit as The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which included Ike's band the

Kings of Rhythm Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has undergone c ...

, and three backing vocalists known as

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

Recording and release

Songwriter Rose Marie McCoy co-wrote "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" with Joe Seneca, but McCoy used her pseudonym James Lee when it was copyrighted. After being suggested by her writing partner Sylvia to hear Tina Turner sing, McCoy attended their show at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

and approached the duo about recording the song. Ike and Tina Turner recorded the song with their band and the Ikettes in New York.

of the duo

reportedly produced and arranged the song, but she did not receive credit. In a 1981 interview with ''Black Radio Exclusive'' magazine Robinson said, "I paid for the session, taught Tina the song; that's me playing guitar." Mickey & Sylvia also recorded a version of the song in 1960 which was unreleased until their 1990 compilation album ''Love Is Strange''. Ike & Tina Turner's version was released as a single in June 1961 and became their biggest hit since "A Fool in Love". It peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Sides chart and became their third pop hit, reaching No. 14 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. In addition to being released on the album '' Dynamite!'' in 1962, the song was also released on the album ''It's Gonna Work Out Fine'' in 1963.

Critical reception

''Billboard'' (June 19, 1961): "Ike and Tina talk about love on this attractive disk which also features a gospel-styled chorus. Pair handle the tune with gusto and it has a chance." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' (June 24, 1961):

Ike & Tina Turner, who’ve had dual-mart R&B-pop chart representations in "A Fool In Love" and "I Idolize You," can soon be claiming another one in "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Side, a hip-swinging, beat-ballad thumper, sports a delectable chorus-backed, verbal exchange between the two. Strings play an important part in the rhythmic, rock-a-shuffler on the lower end.

Awards and nominations

"It's Gonna Work Out Fine" earned Ike and Tina their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock & Roll Recording at the

4th Annual Grammy Awards The 4th Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 29, 1962, at Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1961. Henry Mancini won 5 awards. Award winners The following awards were given at the 196 ...

Sequels and re-recordings

Ike and Tina released several "sequels" related to the song, including 1962's "The Argument", in which they sang in a similar way but this time involved in an argument, and the "official" sequel, "Something Came Over You", recorded during their tenure at

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles–based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was a subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records, which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's sin ...

. In 1966 the Turners re-recorded the original for the album, '' River Deep - Mountain High''. The duo re-recorded the song again in 1975. In 1993 Tina re-recorded the song for the soundtrack to the biopic, ''

What's Love Got to Do with It What's Love Got to Do with It may refer to: Related to Tina Turner * "What's Love Got to Do with It" (song), a 1984 song by Tina Turner; covered by Warren G, 1996 * ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993 film), a 1993 biographical film about Turne ...

''. Her saxophonist,

Timmy Cappello Tim Cappello (born May 3, 1955), also credited as Timmy Cappello, is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and vocalist. He is primarily known for his saxophone work supporting Tina Turner in the 1980s and '90s, as well as for his musical ...

, sang Ike's lines.

Live performances

"It's Gonna Work Out Fine" was performed in most of Ike and Tina's sets in the 1960s, most notably on ''The Big T.N.T. show'' in 1965, but as they began incorporating covers of rock tunes to their show, the song was rarely performed again. However, they performed the song on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'' in 1972. Their performance was included on the double LP '' Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show'' released by

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

in 1974. Tina performed the song along with "A Fool In Love" in an Ike & Tina medley during her early solo live shows in the late 1970s. After hiring Roger Davies in 1980, the song was taken off her setlist.

Personnel

1961 version

*Lead vocal by Tina Turner *Spoken vocal by

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American musician, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...

*Background vocals by

and

The Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

*Produced by Ike Turner

1993 version

*Lead vocal by Tina Turner *Spoken vocal by

*Background vocals by Jacquelyn Gouche, Jean McClain and Sharon Brown *Produced by

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

, Roger Davies and Tina Turner

Cover versions

* The

recorded an instrumental version that was released on the album '' Ike & Tina Turner's Kings of Rhythm Dance'' in 1962, which was released as a single in April of that year. *

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

covered the song on their album '' The Five Faces of Manfred Mann'' in 1964. *

The Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British blues and R&B influenced rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, and guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). ...

covered the song on their debut album ''Their First LP'' in 1965. *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

recorded an instrumental version of the tune on his '' Bop Till You Drop'' album in 1979. *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

released a version of "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" on Ronstadt's 1982 album ''Get Closer''. *

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". ...

and Andre Williams released a version of the song on Williams' 2001 album ''Bait and Switch'' on

Norton Records Norton Records is an American independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on releasing rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock, and early rhythm and blues. Most of i ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1961 songs 1961 singles Ike & Tina Turner songs Tina Turner songs Manfred Mann songs The Spencer Davis Group songs Songs written by Rose Marie McCoy Sue Records singles Linda Ronstadt songs Ry Cooder songs