Songfacts®:

• Like Taylor Dayne's previous single "Love Will Lead You Back," this was written by Diane Warren, who Taylor calls "Tenacious D."
  
  Warren was hoping that Tina Turner would record the song, but when Turner turned it down, Warren took it to Clive Davis at Arista Records, who thought it was a perfect fit for Taylor Danye, who was working on her second album. When we asked Taylor, who wrote many of the songs for her next album, about recording songs she didn't write, she told us: "Here's the thing with writing: I'm not gonna sit there and say I was a singer/songwriter. But you want to become part of your process, because the process is so personal. I'm comfortable with saying yes, I'm one of the great singers. I'm very comfortable with that; that was always a gift and was something I treasured, and I also did the work to enhance it and work with this gift. So I was very comfortable singing other people's material. That's the interpretive part of it. But you want to become part of the process, because you're continuing to grow and make music. So the point is you have to be able to tell your truth; a truer story, something that's reflective of who you are at the time. That's what they should do, that's what they should appeal to. I mean, yes, we look at a lot of the records and we go, 'Oh, it's just a pop machine.' Which they are. But look at the Beatles, and you can't compare to that. There's a process to getting great with something. It's a muscle, you flex it, you practice it, you get in with great people. The pop world is very track related, but you can never dismiss it, a great song is a great song."
• The video was directed by Dominic Sena, who would later direct the movies Gone in 60 Seconds and Swordfish. Dayne told us: "I was making videos at the same time the David Fincher and Dominic Senas were, and they've all gone on to become huge film directors. But this was what was demanded of video. I was making half-a-million-dollar videos. When you work with real directors that are movie directors, you're creating a piece of art."
• Along with "Love Will Lead You Back," "I'll Always Love You" and "Tell It To My Heart," this remains one of Taylor Dayne's most popular songs, as it transcends demographics and carries a universal message of caring. Said Taylor: "I've had 22 years to see this, and 'Shelter' always brings the house down." (Check out our interview with Taylor Dayne.)