Tell It to My Heart


"Tell It to My Heart" is a 1987 song performed by American singer Taylor Dayne, released as her first single from her first album of the same name. The single was Dayne's first major exposure, and she soon became known for her up-tempo, dance-oriented music. The song was written by Chappell Music staff songwriter Seth Swirsky and Ernie Gold. Swirsky almost did not deliver the song to his publisher after he and his girlfriend decided it was not good enough. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of October 10, 1987, at position number 92, and entered the Top 40 of the chart the week of 14 November 1987, rising to number 39 from number 43. Ten weeks later, during the week of January 23, 1988, the single peaked in the number seven spot. The song was present on the Hot 100 for 25 weeks. In the UK, "Tell It To My Heart" reached number three. 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 number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2002, English singer Kelly Llorenna released her version of the song as a single. It peaked at number nine in the United Kingdom and number 31 in Ireland.

Background

"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. Dayne's father loaned her $6,000 to create the demo. 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 eight weeks.
Rich Tancredi used a minimoog with a CV Gate Trigger to mid box for the Bass sound. TX for bells and his Emulator II for piano. He also used a Prophet-5 for pads and an Oberheim Xpander for horns.
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, and ended up selling 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...".

Music video

Though the music video was very low budget, it displayed Taylor's aggressive and sexy style, showcasing her as the center focus, with two back-up dancers ; one of them being “Cats” musical star Jeffrey Pavey, and another dancer on opposite sides against a white backdrop. The video is stylistically similar to the cover of Tell It to My Heart.

Remixes

1987
1995
2003
2007
7" single
  1. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:38
  2. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:15
12" maxi
  1. "Tell It to My Heart" – 6:46
  2. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:21
  3. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:24
  4. "Tell It to My Heart" – 5:47
12" maxi – Remix
  1. "Tell It to My Heart" – 8:43
  2. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:31
  3. "Tell It to My Heart" – 6:43
2007 "Beautiful" iTunes single & Promo CD single
  1. "Beautiful"
  2. "Tell It to My Heart" – 3:41

    Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Taylor Dayne version
Chart Peak
position
Australia 10

Kelly Llorenna version
Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Taylor Dayne version
Chart Position
Australian Singles Chart43
Austrian Singles Chart17
Belgian Singles Chart23
Europe 4
New Zealand Singles Chart50
Swiss Singles Chart10
United States 53

Kelly Llorenna version

Certifications

Notable cover versions