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Thursday, October 15, 2020

"Tell It to My Heart" by Taylor Dayne

Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#:  3288
Date:  10/10/1987
Debut:  92
Peak:  7
Weeks:  25
Genre:  Dance-Pop, Freestyle



Pop Bits:  Singer Leslie Wunderman started working the clubs with various bands while attending college. After graduating, she sought a solo career and ended up recording a couple of singles for the indie Mega Bolt label in 1985 under the name Les Lee. Neither did much to promote her career, but then a friend who worked at a publishing house sent her a few songs for consideration including "Tell It to My Heart." The tune grabbed her attention and she got it recorded. A copy of her demo made it over to Clive Davis at Arista Records, who then decided to sign the singer and release the single to see how it would go over. Released in Europe under the new moniker of Taylor Dayne, the song began to catch on. It wasn't long before the tune was getting played in US clubs. The track would make the Dance chart and peak at #4. It crossed over to Pop and began a slow climb. Eventually it would make the Top 10. Since this was pretty much a "test" single to see how it would fare, Dayne and Arista were caught off guard by the unexpected hit and Dayne had to quickly get in the studio to record an album. Since it wouldn't be released until early '88, folks had to buy the single in order to hear the song and that helped the record go gold.

ReduxReview:  This was a very good pop song to begin with, but two things made it stand out as a hit. First, the brash 80s production. It was loaded with screaming synths that were full of hooks along with big beats. Second was Dayne's voice. You could tell she wasn't just a little ingĂ©nue who had been hired by a producer or was just having fun trying to be a star. Dayne had chops. She was a helluva singer (still is) and it showed on this song. Her big voice certainly helped to sell this song. It was an exciting track and although steeped in 80s production, the tune is still a bit of a thrill when it comes on.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  Dayne's first two singles under the Les Lee name were produced by Ric Wake. He would also produce "Tell It to My Heart" and the balance of Dayne's debut solo album. The hits with Dayne quickly raised Wake's profile and afforded him the opportunity to work with other artists like Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, Sheena Easton, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, and Celine Dion. Wake would later win Grammys for his work including one for producing two tracks on Dion's Album of the Year Grammy winner, 1996's Falling into You. He would also work on the soundtrack to the Oscar winning 2002 Best Picture Chicago.

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