"I'll Be Your Shelter" is a song by American singer

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will ...

from her second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Can't Fight Fate ''Can't Fight Fate'' is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Taylor Dayne, released on October 7, 1989, by Arista Records. The album continued her chart success and was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Assoc ...

'' (1989). Written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

and produced by

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

, the song was released on March 20, 1990, by

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

as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from ''Can't Fight Fate''. "I'll Be Your Shelter" was a commercial success. In the United States, the single reached number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 15 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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. In Canada, it topped the ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart on the week dated August 4, 1990, becoming Dayne's only chart-topper there. Outside North America, the song reached number four in Australia, number 33 in New Zealand, and number 43 in the United Kingdom.

Background

The song, written by American songwriter Diane Warren, was a departure from

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

music background, displaying more of a mid-tempo

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

. As explained by Warren on ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

'' with

Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (; ) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of '' American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show ''Top of the World,'' and co-host ...

, she originally intended for the song to be recorded by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

, but when Turner declined, the song was offered to Dayne instead. It features background vocals by

Kathy Troccoli Kathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kathleen and their related forms. Kathy may refer to: In sports *Kathy Bald, Canadian freestyle swimmer *Kathy May, American tennis player *Kathy Radzuweit, German volleyball player ...

Critical reception

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' wrote, "She has the spirit and rhythmic sense to turn "I'll Be Your Shelter", a tune by all-the-rage pop composer

, into a vivacious party track. (The song’s only shortcoming is that the arrangement, by Dayne's producer

, makes the sound a bit too reminiscent of

Lone Justice Lone Justice is an American country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee. They have recently announced they are recording new material as per Marvin Etzioni July 2022. They are part of a new exhibit in Se ...

's "Shelter".)"

Chart performance

In the United States, "I'll Be Your Shelter" was Dayne's seventh consecutive top-10 single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number four during the summer of 1990. On the

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1990 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1990. ''The chart is on page 70 of the PDF.'' See also *1990 in music *List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1990 *List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 1990 Th ...

, the track ranked at number 63. The song also reached number one in Canada for one week in August 1990 and peaked at number four in Australia.

Music video

The accompanying

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

for "I'll Be Your Shelter" was directed by American director

Dominic Sena Dominic Sena (born April 26, 1949) is an American film director and music video director. As a film director, he is best known for directing the films ''Kalifornia'' (1993), '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000), and '' Swordfish'' (2001). As a music ...

, who went on to direct such films as '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' and ''

Swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

''. The music video was later included on Dayne's music video collection ''Twist of Fate''.

Remix

Two remixes were produced for the release, giving it a more pop sound (the "Extended Remix" and the "Groove Mix"). These remixes were very difficult to find until they were released on her collection of remixes ''Dance Diva: Remixes & Rarities'' (2005). They are also both available on the 2014 deluxe re-issue of ''Can't Fight Fate''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles Music videos directed by Dominic Sena RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Ric Wake Songs written by Diane Warren Taylor Dayne songs