B-side "Happy Birthday" Format 7" Single
CD Single Genre Pop
Rock | Released 1990 Recorded 1990 | |
Length 5:13 (Album version)
4:49 (Single version) | ||
"Better Not Tell Her" is a song written and performed by Carly Simon, and produced by Frank Filipetti and Paul Samwell-Smith. The song served as the lead single from Simon's fifteenth studio album, Have You Seen Me Lately.
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A salsa-infused track, the song features a Spanish guitar solo by Jay Berliner. The single was a huge Adult Contemporary hit, remaining on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for 21 weeks, peaking at #4 and becoming Simon's biggest hit of the entire decade. The second single from the album, "Holding Me Tonight", was also successful on this chart, peaking at #36. Simon released music videos for both singles, and they each received airplay on VH1.
Simon included the hit single on her compilations Clouds in My Coffee (1995), Anthology (2002), and Reflections (2004). It was further included on the Global/Warner Bros. import The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better, released in the U.K. in 1999, and 2014's Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon.
Formats and track listings
Music video
Simon filmed a sensual music video for the track, which was shot on a beach on Martha's Vineyard. The video alternates between clips of Simon on the beachfront in the day, during the evening in the same sitting, and at night with a roaring bonfire while she and company dance around and play guitars.