Tell IT To My Heart (song) - Background and Writing

Background and Writing

The song was written by Ernie Gold and Chappell Music staff songwriter Seth Swirsky. 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. When Seth Swirsky received a copy of the original master track from Arista Records president Clive Davis, Swirsky opined that having four bars before the bridge was too short. Davis obliged Swirsky's requested addition of four bars to allow the bridge to "breathe".

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...".