"Better Not Tell Her" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, and produced by

Frank Filipetti Frank Filipetti is an American record producer, audio engineer and mixer, who was born in Bristol, Connecticut, United States. Filipetti has seven Grammy Awards and ten nominations for his work on ''The Color Purple'', ''The Book of Mormon'', ''W ...

and

Paul Samwell-Smith Paul Granville Samwell-Smith (born Paul Smith, 8 May 1943, in Richmond, Surrey, England) is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched leading g ...

. The opening track from Simon's 15th studio album, ''

Have You Seen Me Lately ''Have You Seen Me Lately'' is the 15th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on September 25, 1990. The album spent 32 weeks on the US ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at No. 60. The first single, " Bet ...

'' (1990), the song also served as the album's lead single. A salsa-infused track, the song features a Spanish guitar solo by

Jay Berliner Jay Berliner (born May 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist who has worked with Harry Belafonte, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, and Van Morrison, among others. Career Berliner had his first television experience at age seven w ...

. The single was a huge

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 ...

hit, remaining on the ''

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 ...

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

for 21 weeks, peaking at No. 4, and becoming Simon's biggest hit of the entire decade. The second single from the album, "Holding Me Tonight", was also successful on this chart, peaking at No. 36. Simon released music videos for both singles, and they each received airplay on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

. The song is one of Simon's biggest Adult contemporary hits, and has been included on multiple compilations of her work, such as the three-disc box set ''

Clouds in My Coffee ''Clouds in My Coffee: 1965-1995'' is a three-disc box set by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on November 7, 1995. A full career retrospective at the time of its release, it contains 58 songs spanning Simon's ...

'' (1995), the UK release '' The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better'' (1998), the two-disc retrospective ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' (2002), the single-disc '' Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits'' (2004), and Sony Music's '' Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon'' (2014).

Formats and track listings

;7" single * "Better Not Tell Her" – 4:40 * "Happy Birthday" – 4:54 ;CD single * "Better Not Tell Her" – 4:45

Charts

Music video

Simon filmed a sensual music video for the track, which was shot on a beach on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

in July 1990 - at the estate of

Jackie Onassis Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters named Jackie or Jacky ** Jackie, current ring name of female professional wrestler Jacqueline Moore ** Jackie Lee (I ...

. The video alternates between clips of Simon on the beachfront in the day, during the evening in the same sitting, and at night with a roaring bonfire while she and company dance around and play guitars.

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{authority control 1990 songs Songs written by Carly Simon Carly Simon songs Arista Records singles 1990 singles Song recordings produced by Paul Samwell-Smith Pop ballads