BILLIE JOEL - TEL HER ABOUT IT

TELL HER ABOUT IT

BILLY JOEL

SONGWRITER: BILLY JOEL

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: AN INNOCENT MAN

LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS

GENRE: POP ROCK

YEAR: 1983

 

       William Martin Joel(born May 9, 1949) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his first major hit and signature song of the same name as well as the similarly named 1973 album, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the seventh-best-selling recording artist and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 150 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is one of the best-selling albums in the United States.

           Joel was born in 1949 in the Bronx, New York, and grew up in Long Island, both places that influenced his music. Growing up, he took piano lessons at his mother's insistence. After dropping out of high school to pursue a musical career, Joel took part in two short-lived bands, The Hassles and Attila, before signing a record deal with Family Productions and kicking off a solo career in 1971 with his first release Cold Spring Harbor. In 1972, Joel caught the attention of Columbia Records after a live radio performance of the song "Captain Jack" became popular in Philadelphia, prompting him to sign a new record deal with the company and release his second album, Piano Man, in 1973. After releasing the albums Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles in 1974 and 1976 respectively, Joel released his critical and commercial breakthrough album, The Stranger, in 1977. This album became Columbia's best-selling release, selling over 10 million copies and spawning several hit singles, including "Just the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "Only the Good Die Young", and "She's Always a Woman"; another song on this album, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", is Joel's favorite of his own songs and has become a staple of his live shows.

          "Tell Her About It" is a 1983 hit song written and performed by Billy Joel, from the album An Innocent Man. Written in homage to the Motown Sound and specifically, The Supremes, the song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for one week on September 24, 1983, replacing the Phil Ramone-produced song, "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for US sales of over 500,000 copies. In interviews, Joel has indicated that the song, heard out of context of the An Innocent Man album, sounds more like a Tony Orlando and Dawn record than the Motown sound he intended.

Listen boy

I don't want to see you let a good thing

Slip away

 

You know I don't like watching

Anybody make the same mistakes

I made

 

She's a real nice girl

And she's always there for you

But a nice girl wouldn't tell you what you should do

 

Listen boy

I'm sure that you think you got it all

Under control

 

You don't want somebody telling you

The way to stay in someone's soul

 

You're a big boy now

You'll never let her go

But that's just the kind of thing

She ought to know

 

Tell her about it

Tell her everything you feel

Give her every reason to accept

That you're for real

 

Tell her about it

Tell her all your crazy dreams

Let her know you need her

Let her know how much she means

 

Listen boy

It's not automatically a certain guarantee

To insure yourself

You've got to provide communication constantly

 

When you love someone

You're always insecure

And there's only one good way

To reassure

 

Tell her about it

Let her know how much you care

When she can't be with you

Tell her you wish you were there

 

Tell her about it

Every day before you leave

Pay her some attention

Give her something to believe

 

'Cause now and then

She'll get to worrying

Just because you haven't spoken

For so long

Though you may not have done anything

Will that be a consolation when she's gone

 

Listen boy

It's good information from a man

Who's made mistakes

 

Just a word or two that she gets from you

Could be the difference that it makes

 

She's a trusting soul

She's put her trust in you

But a girl like that won't tell you

What you should do

 

Tell her about it

Tell her everything you feel

Give her every reason

To accept that you're for real

 

Tell her about it

Tell her all your crazy dreams

Let her know you need her

Let her know how much she means

 

Tell her about it

Tell her how you feel right now

Tell her about it

The girl don't want to wait too long

You got to tell her about it

Tell her now and you won't go wrong

You got to tell her about it

Before it gets too late

You got to tell her about it

You know the girl don't want

To wait, you got to

Tell her about it.