"Tell Her No" is a hit single written by

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...

and included by English rock band

the Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

on their debut album ''

The Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

'' in 1965. It peaked at No. 6 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart in the United States in March 1965 and was one of three big American hits by the Zombies (the others being "

She's Not There "She's Not There" is the debut single by British rock band the Zombies, written by keyboardist Rod Argent. It reached 12 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1964, and 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States at the beginning of D ...

", in 1964, and "

Time of the Season "Time of the Season" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, featured on their 1968 album ''Odessey and Oracle''. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967. Over a year after its origin ...

", in 1969). "Tell Her No" was only a minor hit for the Zombies in their native Britain, where it peaked at No. 42 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 1965. In 1983,

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

scored a ''Billboard'' Top 40 hit in the United States with her version of the song.

Style

According to Argent, "Tell Her No" was influenced by the music of

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

. ''The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll'' described it as "a standard

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

cop" stating that it was "almost as good" as the Zombies' earlier hit single "

." Music critic

Maury Dean Maury Dean is an American musician, author and professor at Suffolk County Community College, whose book "The Rock Revolution" is in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian. Music Dean taught a "History of Rock N' Roll" course as well ...

described it as a precursor to

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

for the way the song moves in fits and starts and for its

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

s. According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Lindsay Planer, the song's "quirky instrumental introduction is repeated throughout and practically sounds off-key before it remarkably resolves into the slightly baroque verses." Planer praised the catchy

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, the tight arrangement and the song's "creative advancement." Dean called it an "excellent song," especially noting how

's keyboards drive it. Michael Gallucci of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' states that the song doesn't waste a second of its little more than two minutes. The word "No" is mentioned a total of 63 times in the lyrics. Lead singer

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the English rock band the Zombies, whi ...

mumbled one line in the second

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

and wanted to rerecord it, but producer Ken Jones liked it that way and left it in, leading listeners to wonder what was actually being sung. Blunstone thinks the words sung were "Don’t love this love from my arms." Gallucci particularly praised how Blunstone sang the "whoa-oh-oh" a little earlier in the song, during the second verse.

Cover versions

In 1983, country-pop singer

recorded a cover of "Tell Her No". Newton reached No. 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Adult Contemporary singles chart and No. 27 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. She changed the song's lyrical gender and point of view, which significantly altered the song's meaning to being about a woman convincing her man to resist the temptations of a potential adulteress.

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit " Runaway". In 1999, he was ind ...

also did a take on the song.

Tahiti 80 Tahiti 80 are a French indie pop band from Rouen. The group was founded in 1992 by Xavier Boyer, Pedro Resende, Médéric Gontier and Sylvain Marchand. History Singer and guitarist Boyer and bassist Resende formed the pop combo as students at ...

did a rendition in concert.

References

{{Authority control 1964 songs The Zombies songs Songs written by Rod Argent Juice Newton songs 1964 singles Decca Records singles Parrot Records singles Del Shannon songs 1983 singles