Tell It to My Heart

"Tell It to My Heart"
Single by Taylor Dayne
from the album Tell It to My Heart
B-side	Instrumental or remix
Released	November 6, 1987
Format	Cassette single, 7" single, 12" single, CD single
Recorded	1987
Genre	Dance-pop, synthpop, Freestyle
Length	3:41
Label	Arista
Writer(s)	Seth Swirsky / Ernie Gold
Producer(s)	Ric Wake
Certification	Gold
Taylor Dayne singles chronology
"Tell It to My Heart" (1987) "Prove Your Love" (1988)
"Say a Prayer" (1995) "Tell It to My Heart" (remix) (1995) "Whatever You Want" (1998) Alternative cover 1995 remix single cover Music sample "Tell It to My Heart"

"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.

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.^[1]

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".^[2] Commenting on Taylor Dayne's voice he said "They thought she was, like, black or some kind of ethnic...".^[2]

The song was used in the national ad campaign for Cheetos in 2016.^[3]

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

• Kelly Llorenna's 2002 cover version was released as a single and ranked as #9 in the UK.
• Raquela's 2010 cover version was released as a single and ranked at #12 in the US.

Remixes

1987

• House of Hearts Mix – 9:10
• Dub of Hearts Mix – 7:10

1995

• Love to Infinity Subway Anthem – 10:49 (US 12" promo vinyl)
• Love to Infinity Hacienda Dub – 5:39 (US 12" promo vinyl)
• Love to Infinity Subway Anthem Radio Mix – 4:06 (UK studio reference CD)
• Tony De Vit Club Mix – 7:54 (UK CD single)
• Tony De Vit Trade Mix – 7:03 (UK CD single)
• T–Empo Radio Remix – 3:47 (UK CD single)
• T-Empo Club Mix – 8:46 (UK CD single)
• T-Empo Alt Club Mix – 8:48 (US 12" promo vinyl)
• T-Empo Blue Room Dub – 7:12 (UK 12" promo vinyl)

2003

• MASH Club Mix – 7:50 (UK promo DMC 12" and CD)

2008

• "Tell It to My Heart" (2008 version) – 3:41

(Released as track 2 on U.S. promotional "Beautiful" CD single)

Track listings

7" single "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:38 "Tell It to My Heart" (Instrumental) – 3:15 12" maxi "Tell It to My Heart" (Club Mix) – 6:46 "Tell It to My Heart" (Percapella Mix) – 3:21 "Tell It to My Heart" (Single Mix) – 3:24 "Tell It to My Heart" (Dub Mix) – 5:47

12" maxi – Remix "Tell It to My Heart" (House of Hearts Mix) – 8:43 "Tell It to My Heart" (Radio Edit) – 3:31 "Tell It to My Heart" (Dub of Hearts Mix) – 6:43 2008 CD single Promo "Tell It to My Heart" (2008 version) – 3:41 (Released as track 2 on U.S. Promotional "Beautiful" CD single)

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1988) Peak position Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)[4] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 2 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 9 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 15 France (SNEP)[8] 11 Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 7 Norway (VG-lista)[13] 3 Spain (AFYVE)[14] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 1 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[17] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 7 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs[18] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1988) Position Australian Singles Chart[19] 43 Austrian Singles Chart[20] 17 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[21] 23 Swiss Singles Chart[22] 10 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Germany[23] Gold 1988 250,000 Sweden[24] Gold March 23, 1988 10,000 U.S.[25] Gold February 13, 1989 500,000

Chart successions

References

1. "Tell it to my Heart".
2. Bill Van Parys (April 1994), Great Dane, Vibe, p. 66
3. "Cheetos TV Commercial, 'Nailed It' Song by Taylor Dayne".
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 83. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. "Austriancharts.at – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Ultratop.be – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Taylor Dayne: Tell It to My Heart" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
8. "Lescharts.com – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart" (in French). Les classement single.
9. "Musicline.de – Taylor Dayne Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
10. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Taylor Dayne search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
12. "Charts.org.nz – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart". VG-lista.
14. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart". Singles Top 100.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Taylor Dayne – Tell It to My Heart". Swiss Singles Chart.
17. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
18. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
19. 1988 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
20. 1988 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
21. "1988 Belgian Flanders Singles Chart" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
22. 1988 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Tell+It+to+My+Heart')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
24. Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
25. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved September 19, 2008)

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics