B-side Instrumental or remix Recorded 1987 Length 3:41 | Released November 6, 1987 Genre Synthpop, freestyle | |
Format Cassette single, 7" single, 12" single, CD single | ||
"Tell It to My Heart" is a song performed by vocalist Taylor Dayne, released as her first single from her first album of the same name in late 1987. The single was Dayne's first major exposure, and she soon became known for her up-tempo, dance-oriented music.
Contents
Background and writing
The song was written by Chappell Music staff songwriter Seth Swirsky and Ernie Gold. Swirsky almost didn't deliver the song to his publisher after he and his girlfriend decided it was not good enough.
"Tell It To My Heart" reached Taylor Dayne when Dayne contacted Chappell Music and asked to be sent some demos which had been overlooked, although the song had been recorded in early 1987 by Louisa Florio for a self-titled Canadian album release. Dayne recalled feeling an immediate affinity with the song: "I thought there was something about the hook – it's a happy hook." The track was recorded at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, Long Island. The track took off so unexpectedly in the fall of 1987 that Taylor was forced to complete her debut album at Cove City Sound in six weeks. Swirsky would also write, along with Arnie Roman, Dayne's follow-up single "Prove Your Love". For almost two months, only the 12-inch record of "Tell It to My Heart" with four mixes was available for purchase. That 12-inch sold 900,000 copies alone.
Dayne was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal, Female for her performance on "Tell It to My Heart" in 1988. Producer Ric Wake said in a 1994 interview with Vibe magazine that Tell It To My Heart "really blew people away". Commenting on Taylor Dayne's voice he said "They thought she was, like, black or some kind of ethnic...".
The song was used in the national ad campaign for Cheetos in 2016.
Music video
Though the music video was very low budget, it displayed Taylor's aggressive and sexy style. The video is stylistically similar to the cover of Tell It to My Heart. The video featuring two back-up dancers on opposite sides of the singer against the white back drop was the prototype for Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" video.
Chart performances
"Tell It to My Heart" appeared in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 14 November 1987, rising to #39 from #43. Ten weeks later, during the week of January 23, 1988, the single peaked in the number seven spot. The song was on the Hot 100 for 26 weeks.
In the UK, "Tell It To My Heart" reached #3. It was ranked as the 23rd best-selling single of 1988 in the UK.
In 1995, "Tell It to My Heart'" was remixed and re-released to promote Dayne's Greatest Hits package. This version climbed to #23 on the UK Singles Chart.
Notable cover versions
Remixes
(Released as track 2 on U.S. promotional "Beautiful" CD single)