"Just Have a Heart" is a song by American R&B singer Angela Clemmons from her second studio album, ''This Is Love'' (1987). It was written by

Aldo Nova Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album '' Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards ...

, Billy Steinberg and Ralph McCarthy, and produced by Nova. Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

recorded a French-language version of the song, "Partout je te vois" for her 1987 album, ''

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...

''. In 1990, Dion covered the English version for her first English-language album, ''

Unison In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

'', and titled it "Have a Heart".

Celine Dion version

In 1987, Canadian singer

recorded the French-language version of "Just Have a Heart", titled "Partout je te vois" for her eighth studio album, ''

''. In 1990, the English-language version of the song, titled "Have a Heart" was included on Dion's ninth studio album, ''

''. It was released as the fifth, but promotional only single in Canada in July 1991. "Have a Heart" peaked at number three in Quebec. It also entered the Canadian airplay charts, reaching numbers four on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

''s Adult Contemporary, 17 on '' The Record''s Contemporary Hit Radio and 26 on the ''RPM''s Top Singles.

Background and release

In 1987, Dion recorded the French-language version of "Just Have a Heart", titled "Partout je te vois" with words written by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

and included it on her eighth studio album, ''

''. In November 1987, she performed the original English-language version at the

Juno Awards of 1987 The Juno Awards of 1987, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 2 November 1987 in Toronto at a ceremony in the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, O'Keefe Centre. Howie Mandel was the host for th ...

. Her well-received performance allowed her to gain a bigger budget to create her first English-language album, ''

'' (1990). Dion also recorded the English-language version of the song for this album. It was produced by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

and titled "Have a Heart". Thanks to this song and "Love by Another Name", Foster was nominated for the

Juno Award for Producer of the Year The Juno Award for "Producer of the Year" has been awarded since 1975, as recognition each year for the best record producer in Canada. It was renamed the "Jack Richardson Producer of the Year" award in 2003, after Jack Richardson who was a noted ...

in 1991. The live performance of "Have a Heart" at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in March 1991 was filmed and released on the ''

'' home video in July 1991. The same month, "Have a Heart" was released as the fifth, but promotional only single from ''Unison'' in Canada.

Critical reception

Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described the song as an "epic, slow number, perfect for spending those last few minutes of the night with someone special".

Commercial performance

In Canada, "Have a Heart" debuted on the ''

'' Top Singles chart on 13 July 1991 and peaked at number 26 on 14 September 1991. The song also entered the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart on 6 July 1991 and reached number four on 31 August 1991. On '' The Records Contemporary Hit Radio chart, it peaked at number 17 on 2 September 1991. "Have a Heart" also entered the airplay chart in Quebec on 13 July 1991. It reached number three, spending 19 weeks on the chart in total.

Credits and personnel

;Recording * Recorded at Chartmaker Studios,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

* Mixed at Lion Share Studio, Los Angeles ;Personnel *

– lead vocals *

– producer, arranger, keyboards *

– songwriter, arranger * Billy Steinberg – songwriter * Ralph McCarthy – songwriter * Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, synth programming *

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national ...

– keyboards, synth programming * Rick Bowen – synth programming *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

– drums * Michael Landau – guitar *

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inte ...

– engineer, mix * Jeffrey Woodruff – engineer * David Reitzas – assistant engineer * Laura Livingston – assistant mix engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1987 songs 1991 singles Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by David Foster Songs written by Aldo Nova Songs written by Billy Steinberg