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Tell Her About It

"Tell Her About It" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel from his album An Innocent Man (1983), released as the album's first single in 1983. In the song, the singer exhorts a young man to tell the woman he loves how he feels about her before he misses his chance. It hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week on September 24, 1983, replacing "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for US sales of over 500,000 copies.

"Tell Her About It"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album An Innocent Man
B-side"Easy Money"
ReleasedJuly 18, 1983[1]
Genre
Length3:52
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Goodnight Saigon"
(1983) 		"Tell Her About It"
(1983) 		"Uptown Girl"
(1983)
Alternative cover
UK single

A "special version" mixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez was also released as a 12-inch maxi single. The cover art varied depending on the country of release. The remixed version was longer, approximately five-and-a-half minutes. The B-side featured Joel's song "Easy Money" from the same album, and a live recording of the song "You Got Me Hummin'" written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.[3]

Reception

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Cash Box said that the song "harks back to [Joel's] urban rock ’n’ roll roots" and begins "with a falsetto straight out of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and then proceeds to offer friendly advice via the sound of ’60s Motown — horns, back-up vocals, rhythms and all."[4]

Music video

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The video for the song shows Joel singing the song as if he were on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. The cover shot for the UK release of the song was taken from the video. An Ed Sullivan imitator (Will Jordan) introduces Joel (as "B.J. and the Affordables") after Topo Gigio, the talking mouse, finishes his skit. During the song there are different scenes of teenagers watching Joel on TV at home, crowding around appliance store windows watching him, dancing to his song. There is even a brief scene of a Soviet cosmonaut in space listening to the song, with the lyrics displayed at the bottom in the Russian language and in Cyrillic script. At the end of the song, comedian Rodney Dangerfield is there preparing to go on stage under the false impression that he is next, thanks Joel for warming up the crowd. "Patriska the Dancing Bear" is instead called to the stage, much to Dangerfield's disbelief.

Live performances

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Joel performed the song fairly regularly after its release for a few years during the tours to support his albums An Innocent Man and The Bridge. The song however was dropped after the latter tour and it has not been performed live since 1987, making it one of the very few major hits across his career that he no longer plays in his concerts.[5]

Track listing

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12-inch maxi single

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Side A

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  1. "Tell Her About It" - 5:35

Side B

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  1. "Easy Money" - 4:00
  2. "You Got Me Hummin'" (Live) - 3:43

Charts

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Chart (1983–1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6][7] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 19
Canada (The Record)[9] 4
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 5
Ireland (IRMA) 2
Japan (Oricon) 58
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 39
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 12
South Africa (Springbok)[14] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 1
US Cashbox Top 100 3
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[17] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[18] 17
Year-end chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 59
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[19] 45

Certifications

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Certifications for "Tell Her About It"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 250,000^
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (July 24, 2020). "The Number Ones: Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Billy Joel – Tell Her About It (Extended Remix). YouTube. 15 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  4. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 23, 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  5. ^ "Tell Her About It by Billy Joel (Song Statistics)". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 156. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ a b "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  8. ^ "Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". Ultratop. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  9. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4324." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "Tell Her About It – Billy Joel". Top40.nl. Stichting Nederlandse. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Billy Joel – Tell Her About It" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. ^ "Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". Top 40 Singles.
  14. ^ "'Tell Her About It' on the South African Singles Chart". Springbok Radio. October 7, 1983. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  15. ^ "Billy Joel: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18.
  20. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". Music Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". British Phonographic Industry. 1 January 1984. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Tell Her About It". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
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