"
Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by
Jim SteinmanJames Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American record producer, composer and lyricist, responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
and recorded by
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
singer
Bonnie TylerBonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer. She is recognisable by her distinctive, husky voice.- Early life :...
in 1983 on her fifth studio album
Faster Than the Speed of NightFaster Than the Speed of Night is an album by Bonnie Tyler released in April 1983. Her fifth album, and her most successful, it includes her UK and US no.1 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart"....
. The song was the first single release from the album and is Tyler's biggest hit.
The song remains Tyler's most successful song, peaking at #1 in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 6
millionOne million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The name is derived from Italian, where mille was 1,000, and 1,000,000 became milione, "a large thousand"....
copies in total.
"
Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by
Jim SteinmanJames Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American record producer, composer and lyricist, responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
and recorded by
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
singer
Bonnie TylerBonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer. She is recognisable by her distinctive, husky voice.- Early life :...
in 1983 on her fifth studio album
Faster Than the Speed of NightFaster Than the Speed of Night is an album by Bonnie Tyler released in April 1983. Her fifth album, and her most successful, it includes her UK and US no.1 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart"....
. The song was the first single release from the album and is Tyler's biggest hit.
Background
The song remains Tyler's most successful song, peaking at #1 in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 6
millionOne million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The name is derived from Italian, where mille was 1,000, and 1,000,000 became milione, "a large thousand"....
copies in total. It won the Variety Club award in the UK for best single of 1983.
Tyler's career reached new heights with this release and put her as the only Welsh artist to hit the number-one slot in the U.S
Billboard charts.
According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the song, along with "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)," to
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage names Meat Loaf and Meat Loaf Aday, is an American rock musician and actor...
for his
Midnight at the Lost and FoundMidnight at the Lost and Found is a 1983 album by Meat Loaf. This was the last album that Meat Loaf did with the record label Epic until the 1998 release of The Very Best of Meat Loaf....
album. However, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman and he wrote separate songs himself. Steinman's songs were then given to Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply, respectively.
Music video
The
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was directed by
Russell MulcahyRussell Mulcahy is an Australian film director.- Music videos :Russell Mulcahy's career began with making early music videos while he was working for the Seven Network in Sydney, Australia...
. It was story-boarded by Jim Steinman and drew inspiration from the 1976 film
FutureworldFutureworld is a 1976 sequel to the 1973 science fiction film Westworld. It was written by George Schenk and Mayo Simon, and directed by Richard T. Heffron. The cast included Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, and Arthur Hill. There is also cameo appearance by Yul Brynner in a dream sequence. This would...
.
The
Gothic themed video features Bonnie Tyler clad in white, apparently having a dream or fantasy about her students in a boys' boarding school. Young men are seen dancing and participating in various school activities such as swim team, karate, fencing, football, and singing in a choir. The video was shot at
Holloway SanatoriumHolloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of the insane, located on of parkland near the town of Virginia Water, Surrey, within the boundary of the Greater London Urban Area, about south-west of the geographic centre of London....
.
Length
The original version of the song, on
Faster Than the Speed of Night, was just over seven minutes in length. Thus, an edited version was, and still is most commonly played on radio. The radio version is four and a half minutes, and removes the entire third verse and trims the extended fade-out ending. The
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
version is roughly one minute longer than the radio version.
Personnel
- Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer. She is recognisable by her distinctive, husky voice.- Early life :...
- lead vocals
- Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer™ is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for the songs "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" and "Real American"...
- guitar
- Steve Buslowe - bass guitar
- Roy Bittan
Roy Bittan is an American keyboardist, best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, which he joined on August 23, 1974...
- piano
- Larry Fast
Larry Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975-1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel and Foreigner....
- synthesizers
- Steve Margoshes - additional synths
- Max Weinberg
Maxwell Sachel Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban...
- drums
- Jimmy Maelen
Jimmy Maelen was a percussionist in the 1960s-1980s, who worked with many artists including Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Dire Straits, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper, and John Lennon...
- percussion
- Rory Dodd
Rory Dodd is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics on Bonnie Tyler's version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."...
- 'Turn around' and backing vocals
- Eric Troyer
Eric Troyer is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter, best known as a member of ELO Part II and its successor band, The Orchestra...
- backing vocals
Reception
In November 2002, it was voted the #72 in "The Greatest Number Ones Of All Time" in UK. It was also voted #94 in the "Greatest Music Videos of All Time" poll held by
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
.
In October, 2006,
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" special included "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at #56.
MuchMoreMusicMuchMore is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia, based at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario....
aired a four-episode series in 2006 titled
Top 50 Guilty Pleasures, and listed the song at #9.
Cover versions
It has been covered several times, and rewritten with Michael Kunze for the musical
Tanz der Vampire as "Totale Finsternis".
Nicki French version
Nicki FrenchNicki French is a female English singer and dancer. Born in Carlisle, French was raised from the age of four in Tenterden, Kent, England...
released a dance cover of the song in 1994, which was also a worldwide hit. In the United States, French's version peaked at #2 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and garnered frequent airplay on
CHRContemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the top 40 music charts...
and AC radio. It also reached #4 in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
after being re-issued in 1995.
On June 2006 Nicki French released an updated version of the track with the Diva DJs. The track has since gone on to sell thousands of copies worldwide.
Versions with Bonnie Tyler or Jim Steinman involvement
- In December 2003, a re-recorded French/English duet version called "Si demain... (Turn Around)
"Si demain... " is a 2003 bilingual song recorded by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn, and written by Jim Steinman and Emmanuel Pribys. It was released on December 19, 2003, as the lead single from Tyler's album Simply Believe, and became a huge hit in France, where it topped the chart for three...
" was released. It was sung by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen AntonnKareen Antonn is a French artist of Greek and Spanish origin.In 2003, she recorded in duet with Bonnie Tyler the hit songs "Si demain... " and "Si Tout s'arrête ". She also recorded "Un Homme se blesse" to help the homeless.-Singles:* 2003 : "Si demain.....
and peaked at #1 in France, Belgium and Poland, selling nearly two million copies all over the world.
- Westlife
Westlife is an Irish boy band formed on July 3, 1998.The group's original lineup comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden...
recorded a cover of the song on their 2006 album The Love AlbumThe Love Album is the eighth album and first cover album by boy band Westlife from the Republic of Ireland and it was released on November 20 2006 worldwide. The album was released in the Philippines a week before of its official date of release, November 13, 2006.The songs on the album centers...
. The song would have been released the album's second single but has been canceled due to their Love Tour conflicts, though a promo release still reached #5 on the radio charts in the Philippines. Three official remixes have been made for their version as well as a remix done by Jim SteinmanJames Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American record producer, composer and lyricist, responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
, which was ultimately rejected by the record label but has surfaced on the Internet.
- The song was rewritten in 1997 with Michael Kunze as "Totale Finsternis" for the musical Tanz der Vampire.
- BabyPinkStar
BabyPinkStar are an Electro Glam Punk band from Sheffield, UK formed in 2004.-Members:*TomPinkStar *MilliePinkStar *AlicePinkStar *Bleepy -History:...
recorded the song with Bonnie Tyler in a punk/electronic remix version that was released in the UK in January 2007.
- In preparation for the 2002 Broadway, New York show Dance of the Vampires, a demo of the song, with some modifications in the music and lyric, sung as a duet by Steve Barton
Steve Barton was an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, stage director and teacher.- Biography :Steven Neal Barton was born on June 26, 1954 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States, as youngest from 3 children of Tom and Mary Barton...
and Elaine Caswell-Jim Steinman:Over the years Caswell has sung on demos for composer and lyricist Jim Steinman, many of which have been released to the public. These include demos for the songs "Braver Than We Are", "Vampires in Love" and a minor part on the demo for "In the Land of the Pig The Butcher Is...
became available on the internet. Barton and Cornelia Zenz had sung the German-language song "Totale Finsternis" on the original cast album for Tanz der Vampire. For each cast that performed Tanz der Vampire and each cast recording, in any language, the actors cast as Krolock and Sarah sang "Totale Finsternis".
Other versions
- This song was sampled by scottish band The Beta Band
The Beta Band were a British musical group who received much critical acclaim and have achieved cult status amongst avid followers of the underground and experimental music scene...
on their track "The Hard One", from their self-titled album. They also altered the lyrics to "Once upon a time I was falling apart, now I'm always falling in love". Jim Steinman, took objection and tried to persuade the band to re-record the song without the samples but later had a change of mind.
- The song is a longstanding staple for cult-favorite cabaret
Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or MC.Cabaret...
performers Kiki and HerbKiki and Herb are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer...
. Usually performed as a show-closer, their cover incorporates the opening verse of Pat BenatarPat Benatar is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range and establishing herself as one of rock's top vocalists and one of music's top-selling female artists with hit songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", and...
's hit, "Love Is a Battlefield"Love Is a Battlefield" is a song written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, after Pat Benatar asked Chapman to write her a hit song. It was released as a single from Benatar's album Live from Earth, which was popular in 1983 and 1984...
". A recorded version of this cover can be found on the album Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall-Track listing:Act One / Disc One#"Close to it All" – 2:01#Medley: "Note to Self: Don't Die / Flamingo / When Doves Cry" – 5:23#"Opening Remarks" – 2:32#"Why" – 4:05#"Hoochie Coochie" – 4:35#"Sex Bomb" – 3:11...
.
- Experimental Norwegian
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
rockers Hurra TorpedoHurra Torpedo is a band from Norway that plays songs using kitchen appliances. They were formed in the early nineties, are part of the artistic collective Duplex Records, and all members of the band also play in a variety of other bands in Norway....
did a cover version of the song on the Norwegian television programme Lille lørdag in 1995. A video of the performance, featuring kitchen appliances as percussion, became an internet memeThe term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke...
in 2005. Since the video the band has found a strong following in the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- On August 21, 2005, Tori Amos
Tori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of American citizenship. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
covered the song during a live performance in BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
. It is featured on the album The Original BootlegsThe Original Bootlegs is a series of six Tori Amos live albums, recorded during the Original Sinsuality and Summer of Sin tours, both of which were in support of her 2005 album, The Beekeeper. Double-disc sets were released for each complete show, which were initially released in pairs and sold...
, Volume 6: B of A Pavilion, Boston, MA, CD 1, Track 8.
- The song was released in Icelandic
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Its closest relatives are Faroese and certain Norwegian dialects such as Telemark dialect and Sognamål....
in 2005, entitled "Mundu mig" ("Remember Me") by Icelandic Idol star Heiða.
- Mexican singer, Yuridia, released a Spanish version for this song on her 2006 album, Habla El Corazón
Habla El Corazón is Mexican singer Yuridia's second album, which was released on December 5 in the United States and October 31 in Latin America.- About the album :...
.
- An infamous profanity-laced version by The Dan Band
The Dan Band is a comedy band from Los Angeles, California, created by actor/comedian Dan Finnerty. The band is well known for its covers of originally female-performed pop songs, with added obscenities and swearing...
. Two versions of this song are included on the album The Dan Band LiveThe Dan Band Live is the first album released by The Dan Band. It includes humorous covers of various pop songs.-Track listing:#"Free Your Mind/I Am Woman"#"Gloria/Mickey"#"Abba Medley"#"Shoop/Whatta Man/Never Gonna Get It"...
, a studio version and a live version. The Dan Band shot to fame by performing their version of this song in the film Old SchoolOld School is a 2003 comedy film released by DreamWorks and directed by Todd Phillips, director of the documentary Frat House. The story was written by Court Crandall, and the film was written by Phillips and Scot Armstrong...
.
- The song has been performed three times on American Idol
American Idol is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002 on the Fox network, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television...
by Nikki McKibbinNikki McKibbin is an American rock music singer-songwriter who finished third in the debut season of the reality television series American Idol. Prior to American Idol, McKibbin appeared in the first season of Popstars...
, Jessica SierraJessica Ann Sierra is an American singer and was the tenth-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. She was the third finalist eliminated, on March 30, 2005.-Biography:...
, and Carly SmithsonCarly Smithson , is a Meteor Award-winning Irish rock/soul singer-songwriter, who was born in Dublin, Ireland. In 2001 Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called Ultimate High. Smithson was dropped from the record label in 2002...
. Sierra recorded a version that was released on the American Idol Season 4: The ShowstoppersSeason 4: The Showstoppers contains one cover song from each of the top 12 finalists during season 4 of the television show American Idol, along with a song that features all 12 of them together...
album.
- The song and its video were parodied in 2009, in what the fans and makers call a "literal video version", which replaces the original song lyrics with humorous lyrics describing the images in the video.
- The song was covered by the Hong Kong actress / pop star Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dubbed by the media as the "new cantopop queen". On top of her celebrity status, Sammi's fortune is often...
on her 2004 Sammi vs Sammi album of cover versions.
- Bonnie Tyler released a new version of the song with Welsh choral group Only Men Aloud backing her.
Use in other media
- In the episode "Tundra" from the first series of The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
, Dixon Bainbridge (Matt BerryMatthew Charles "Matt" Berry is an English actor, writer, comedian and musician. Berry is perhaps best known for his appearances in The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh, although he has also had his own series Snuff Box.-Life and career:Berry was born in Bromham,...
) and Bob Fossil (Rich FulcherRich Fulcher is an American comedy performer based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for being in the British comedy The Mighty Boosh, alongside comedy duo Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding....
) perform an over the top and (somewhat in keeping with the nature of the series) surreal version.
- In the episode "Amazon Women in the Mood
"Amazon Women in the Mood" is the first episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 4, 2001.-Plot:...
" of the animated television show FuturamaFuturama is an animated American sci-fi sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, the alien Kif KrokerLieutenant Kif Kroker is a fictional character in the animated television show Futurama. He is the long suffering assistant to Captain Zapp Brannigan and Fourth Lieutenant on the Democratic Order of Planets starship Nimbus...
performs a karaoke version of the song, singing it to Amy before Zapp takes over to sing "Lola"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man and a transvestite he meets in a Soho club in London....
" by The KinksThe Kinks are an English rock group categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the British Invasion era....
.
- In the movie "Old School
In slang, old school can refer to anything that is from an earlier era and looked upon with high regard or respect, including music, clothing and language.More formally, Old school may refer to:In music:...
" the Dan BandThe Dan Band is a comedy band from Los Angeles, California, created by actor/comedian Dan Finnerty. The band is well known for its covers of originally female-performed pop songs, with added obscenities and swearing...
performs a version of this song with words changed to curse words at Will FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, actor, voice actor and writer. Ferrell first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films A Night at the Roxbury, Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Kicking & Screaming, Talladega Nights,...
's character's wedding.
- Chelsie Hightower
Chelsie Kay Hightower is a Latin ballroom dancer born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in Orem, Utah. She started dancing when she was 9 years old and received conventional training since the age of 14. Hightower has worked with many world-renowned choreographers and performed in musical theatres...
and Louie Vito-Early life:Vito was born in Columbus, Ohio. He moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio when he was a small child. He grew up outside Mad River Mountain. He attended Stratton Mountain School in Vermont and turned pro in 2006...
danced the RumbaRumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance. It originates in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Spanish colonizers and of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves. It is secular, with no religious connections...
on Season 9 Dancing With the StarsDancing with the Stars is the name of a group of international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the BBC...
External links
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