Tell Her About It

Album: An Innocent Man (1983)
Charted: 4 1
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Songfacts®:

  • In his biography The Life and Times of an Angry Young Man, Billy Joel talks about when he first started dating Christie Brinkley. He says that she was the first person he could ever just talk to, and they would spent hours just talking - this was the basis for "Tell Her About It." It's simply about an a-ha moment for Joel when he realized that you could actually have a soul mate. Joel and Brinkley met in 1982, married in 1985 and divorced in 1994. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Jason - Hicksville, OH
  • The song has an early '60s feel, which is something they played up in the video, which shows Joel performing on The Ed Sullivan Show as "BJ and the Affordables." The comedian Rodney Dangerfield also appears in the video, getting no respect. Joel wrote the theme song for Dangerfield's movie Easy Money, which also appears on An Innocent Man.
  • Jay Dubin, who also directed Joel's clips for "Uptown Girl" and "The Longest Time," directed the music video. Dubin told us the idea for an Ed Sullivan Show spoof was an easy sell, despite the singer's reputation for being a reluctant video star: "I went to Billy Joel after we did the [Live from Long Island] concert special. I said, "Hey Billy, wouldn't it be great if you were like all those great guys, and you were on the Ed Sullivan Show? You know: 'Now, Mr. William Joel.' He says, 'Okay, do it.' Simple as that. Done."
  • The video gives the date of the Ed Sullivan spoof as Sunday, July 31st, 1963, 8:34 pm. In 1963, July 31st fell on a Wednesday - it was harder to find these things out in 1983.
  • This was used on the TV series The Deuce in the 2019 episode "You Only Get One."
  • When Joel was in the middle of recording his '60s send-up album, he realized he was missing a key musical influence from the decade: The Supremes. "They had a million hits, The Supremes," he recalled in a 2016 Sirius XM interview. "They were always giving advice to girls… and I thought, Okay, I'm gonna write a song like that, and I'll be Diana Ross."

Comments: 4

  • Peyuko from MexicoI always thought the song was also influenced by the Cold War era. “Tell her about it” before something happens and we all die. I am not sure if this is correct, but it feels right.
  • George from Vancouver, CanadaFrom above:
    "It's simply about an a-ha moment for Joel when he realized that you could actually have a soul mate. Joel and Brinkley met in 1982, married in 1985 and divorced in 1994."
    LOL at how skillfully Songfacts made a personal comment without actually saying it.
  • Neil from Detroit, MiThis song has more of a 50's than a 60's influence. It paid homage to Motown groups from said era, and I've always found this song uplifting and full of advice for timid young men.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 29th 1983, Billy Joel's video of "Tell Her About It" was aired on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time it was at #21 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and five weeks earlier on September 18th, 1983 it peaked at #1 {for 1 week}...
    And on the same day it peaked at #1 on the Top 100 it also reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
    Between 1973 and 1997 he had forty-two Top 100 records; thirteen made the Top 10 with three reaching #1; his other two #1 records were "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" in 1980 and "We Didn't Start the Fire" in 1989...
    He never had a record peak at #2 but did have four reach #3; "Just the Way You Are" {1977}, "My Life" {1978}, "Uptown Girl" {1983}, and "The River of Dreams" {1993}...
    Five months ago William Martin Joel became eligible for Medicare; for on May 9th {2014} he celebrated his 65th birthday.
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