On Silent Wings Explained

"On Silent Wings" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tina Turner with guest vocals from English musician Sting. Released in May 1996 in support of Turner's ninth album, Wildest Dreams (1996), the single performed well on the US and Canadian adult contemporary charts, peaking at numbers 24 and 13 respectively. The dance version of "On Silent Wings", remixed by Soul Solution, charted at number 47 on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart. Like much of Turner's later work, "On Silent Wings" enjoyed greater success in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

The single included the country-flavoured single edit with additional guitar overdubs, later appearing on the 2004 compilation All the Best, as well as a second alternative version of the track. Some formats also featured the non-album track "Do Something", written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman and produced by Trevor Horn.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "On the eve of La Tina's first stateside concert tour in eons, Virgin plucks one of the strongest and more radio-friendly tunes from the diva's gorgeous (and sadly underappreciated) current disc, Wildest Dreams. Her worldly perspective adds depth to the lyrics of this melancholy rock ballad, which also shows producer Trevor Horn tempering his signature melodramatic keyboard sound with subtle acoustic strumming that never distracts the ear from Turner. Additional programming incentive comes from a laid-back cameo by Sting, though this lovely single would merit the ardent attention of pop, triple-A, and even mainstream rock radio without such stunt casting."^[1]

Music video

The accompanying music video released to support the single featured Turner standing on the edge of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa in a white dress interspersed with live performance clips. The video showcases the concert held at Newlands Cricket Stadium, Noordehoek Beach, Bo-Kaap and Table Mountain, the eight wonder of the world.

Track listings

• UK CD1 and cassette single^{[2] [3]}

1. "On Silent Wings" (single edit)
2. "Private Dancer"
3. "The Best"
4. "I Don't Wanna Lose You"

• UK CD2^[4]

1. "On Silent Wings" (single edit)
2. "Whatever You Want"
3. "Do Something"
4. "On Silent Wings" (alternative version)

• European CD single^[5]

1. "On Silent Wings" (single edit)
2. "Do Something"

• Australian CD single^[6]

1. "On Silent Wings" (single edit)
2. "Private Dancer"
3. "Do Something"
4. "I Don't Wanna Lose You"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996–1997)	Peak position
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scope="row"
scope="row"
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[7]	45
scope="row"
Hungary (Mahasz)[8]	7
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[9]	27
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[10]	5
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"

Year-end charts

Notes and References

1. Larry . Flick . Reviews & Previews: Singles . . April 19, 1997 . 89 . December 4, 2020 . Larry Flick.
2. On Silent Wings. Tina Turner. 1996. UK CD1 liner notes. Parlophone. CDRS 6434, 7243 8 82905 2 4.
3. On Silent Wings. Tina Turner. 1996. UK cassette single sleeve. Parlophone. TCR 6434, 7243 8 82904 4 9.
4. On Silent Wings. Tina Turner. 1996. UK CD2 liner notes. Parlophone. 7243 8 82906 2 3.
5. On Silent Wings. Tina Turner. 1996. European CD single liner notes. Parlophone. 7243 8 82897 2 6.
6. On Silent Wings. Tina Turner. 1996. Australian CD single liner notes. Festival Records. D1358.
7. The Eurochart Hot 100 Singles . . June 15, 1996 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050311093046/http://thunder.prohosting.com/~euro100/archive/1996/euro9624.txt . March 11, 2005 . October 7, 2015.
8. Top National Sellers. Music & Media. 13. 32. 13. August 10, 1996. February 17, 2020.
9. News: Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 171 Vikuna 25.5. – 30.5. '96). Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 26. May 25, 1996. July 20, 2018.
10. Web site: Tipparade-lijst van week 25, 1996. Dutch Top 40. nl. March 31, 2023.
11. RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 15, 1997. October 7, 2015.