"Don't Rush Me" is a song performed by American singer

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer who rose to fame after her first two albums ('' Tell It to My Heart'' and '' Can't Fight Fate'') were both certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of ...

, released as the fourth single from her debut studio album ''Tell It to My Heart'' (1988). It was written by Alexandra Forbes and Jeff Franzel, with production provided by

Ric Wake Ric Wake is an Anglo-American record producer who has won two Grammy Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment, he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Lucero, CoCo Lee, Taylor D ...

. It was first released in early September 1988 in the United Kingdom before being officially released on October 24, 1988, to the United States via

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

. The cover art of the single was later used on the 1988 US reissue of ''Tell It to My Heart''. The song lyrically has a message regarding

abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...

. "Don't Rush Me" gave Dayne her then-highest-charting single in the United States, hitting number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100; internationally however the track under-performed, only hitting the top forty in Germany.

Critical reception

''Cashbox'' gave the single a positive review writing, "Taylor displays her usual beefy vocal blast that seems to elevate the most standard of material. This song is a hair above that, and should fly on CHR." ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' also gave the track a favorable review saying, "'Don't Rush Me,' though thoroughly danceable is neither aggresssive nor sluggish. It's a pop bullseye that is immediately likeable." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' commented favorably writing, "Formula disco with bite. Dayne has a striking voice and plenty of enthusiasm."

Chart performance

"Don't Rush Me" peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on January 21, 1989, being blocked from the top spot by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

's " Two Hearts". At the time, it was Dayne's highest-charting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It spent 20 weeks in total on the chart and was also a success on component charts, hitting number three on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart and number six on the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. On ''Cashbox'' however, the track topped the chart for a single week on January 28, 1989.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Don't Rush Me" was originally directed by

Alek Keshishian Alek Keshishian (, born 30 July 1964) is an Armenian-American film and commercial director, writer, producer and music video director. His 1991 documentary, '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' was the highest-grossing documentary of all time until 2002 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It featured a performance by Dayne and "a series of vignettes involving a "real sexy guy" in various states of undress." For unknown reasons however, the music video was re-shot and Keshishian was replaced by David Hogan for directing and filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

instead of Los Angeles. The revised clip is a performance video shot at the Capitol Theatre. It made its debut to

VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Yor ...

on December 10, 1988. It was released the following week to

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and Night Tracks. On December 24, 1988, the video was also released to

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

Track listings and formats

US 7-inch single # "Don't Rush Me" – 3:47 # "In the Darkness" – 3:16 US 12-inch single # "Don't Rush Me" (Extended Version) – 7:15 # "Don't Rush Me" (Bonus Beats) – 3:35 # "Don't Rush Me" (Single Version) – 3:47 # "Don't Rush Me" (Dub Version) – 6:07 French 12-inch single # "Don't Rush Me" (Continental Clubhouse Mix) – 8:40 # "Don't Rush Me" (Continental Dubhouse Mix) – 5:36 # "Don't Rush Me" (Rushapella) – 3:35 German CD single # "Don't Rush Me" (Extended Version) – 7:15 # "Don't Rush Me" (Dub Version) – 5:41 # "Don't Rush Me" (Single Version) – 3:47 # "In the Darkness" – 3:16

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1988 singles Taylor Dayne songs Song recordings produced by Ric Wake Music videos directed by Alek Keshishian 1987 songs 1988 songs Arista Records singles Songs written by Jeff Franzel Cashbox number-one singles