How Tina Turner’s ‘Nutbush’ became the unofficial Australian anthem

nypost.com:

Ike and Tina Turner, is a cultural staple down under, but its origins are a bit of a mystery.The queen of rock and roll, who tragically died this week at 83 of natural causes, penned the track about her southern hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee.Upon Turner’s passing, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the 12-time Grammy winner created a “soundtrack to our lives.”Jon Stratton, an adjunct professor at the University of South Australia’s School of Creative Industries, traces the dance’s beginnings to the New South Wales education department.Educators realized dance is an effective way to teach children about the arts and get some exercise, he said.“In NSW there seemed to be some kind of committee trying to work out what kinds of dances primary school kids in particular should do as part of physical education,” he told the Aussie outlet SBS News.“What seems to have happened is that somebody devised the Nutbush along the lines of the Madison (another, slightly more complex line dance),” he continued.Its popularity quickly snowballed, captivating classrooms across the country through the ’80s and ’90s. “In terms of teaching kids, it’s innocuous,” Stratton explained, adding that the beat is “really easy” to dance to. “That is to say, it’s not a track about love, it’s not a track about sex; it’s not a track about breakups or anything like that.

So it doesn’t have that personal quality to it.”The simple footwork has become a tradition at Australian parties and weddings, much like “YMCA” or the “Cha-Cha Slide” in the US.Ironically, Turner’s performances of “Nutbush City Limits” never featured the Aussie dance moves.While Stratton’s Nutbush theory has been challenged, there’s no question Australians love Turner’s tunes..