"Tell Him I'm Not Home" is a song written by Tony Bruno, Brenda Bruno, and Sanford Bellini. The song is about a lover lamenting about a relationship that has lost its flame. It was first recorded by R&B singer

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

, and released as a single from his album ''Encore!'' on

Wand Records Wand Records was an American independent record label, started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. Artists on Wand Records included The Isley Brothers, The Kingsmen, Mel Wynn & the Rhythm Aces, Chuck Jackson, and the ...

in 1963. The single reached No. 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 12 on the

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart.

Critical reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' (January 12, 1963):

Jackson who's currently cashing in "Gettin' ready For The Heartbreak" sends up another striking contender for dual-market chartdom. It's a pulsating, cha cha like romantic heartbreaker, tagged "Tell Him I'm Not Home," that Chuck wrings every once of emotion out of. Standout ork-choral backdrop (with exciting back-and-forth vocal play) conducted by Tony Bruno. The soulful undercut finds a tantalizing rock-a-waltz-like setting.

Ike & Tina Turner version

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

covered recorded a version of the song title "Tell Her I'm Not Home." It was produced by

Bob Krasnow Robert Alan Krasnow (July 20, 1934 – December 11, 2016) was an American record label executive and entrepreneur who had a long and successful career in the music industry. He founded Blue Thumb Records, later became chairman of Elektra Records ...

, head of

Loma Records Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. History In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mike Mai ...

, and released as a non-album track on Loma in 1965.

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 ...

promoted the song on ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B chart and No. 108 on

Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. After the success with "

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "R ...

" in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the song was released as a single by Loma's parent label,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1966. It reached No. 48 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 1975, the song was reissued as a single on Warner Bros. in Germany. It later appeared on the compilation albums ''Finger Poppin'…The Warner Brothers Years'' ( Edsel Records, 1988) and '' The Ike & Tina Turner Story: 1960–1975'' (

Time Life Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...

, 2007).

Critical reception

The single received a 4-star rating from ''Billboard''. ''Cash Box'' (February 13, 1965): "Soulful blues sound follows a telephone talk opening. Could break big in the R&B areas, and spread to a wide range of record buyers. Bob Krasnow produced the tune, and might well see fine results."

Normie Rowe version

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

singer

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

's cover of "Tell Him I'm Not Home" was released as a B-side single in November 1965. It peaked at No. 3 on the

Australian Singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and was a top 5 hit in most Australian mainland capitals, reaching No. 4 in Sydney, No. 2 in Melbourne, No. 2 in Adelaide and No. 1 in Melbourne. The song was ranked the 13th biggest hit of 1965 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

list of the Top 25 singles for 1965 in Australia.

Chart performance

References

{{Ike & Tina Turner 1963 singles 1963 songs Chuck Jackson songs Ike & Tina Turner songs 1965 singles 1966 singles Warner Records singles Northern soul songs