Total Eclipse of the Heart

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a power ballad written, composed, and produced by Jim Steinman. It was originally performed by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler in 1983.

Charts

It is probably Steinman's most successful commercial composition to date and Bonnie Tyler's most successful song, going to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and number one in Canada, Australia and the UK singles chart. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 5-6 million copies in total, and was number one throughout (almost) the entire world charts according to Bonnie Tyler's greatest hits manual. It is therefore widely considered not just a hit, but a "smash hit".

Tyler's career reached new heights with this release and put her in the history books as the only Welsh artist to hit the number-one slot in the UK and the U.S Billboard magazine charts.

Chart positions of cover versions

''See infobox (right) for the positions of the original)
*1994, Nicki FrenchUK #54.
*1995, Nicki French UK #5, US #2, Germany #65, Japan #1, Australia #1, Brazil #1, NL #7, Ireland #15, Hong Kong #1
*2001, Jan WayneGermany #13, Austria #6.
*2003, Jan Wayne.UK #28.
*2003, Bonnie Tyler/Kareen Antonn (French/English version).France #25
*2004, Bonnie Tyler/Kareen Antonn (French/English version). France #1, Belgium #1, Poland #1, Swiss #7, Russia #155.
*2006, Nicki French/Diva DJsUK #?

Length

The song appears on Tyler's 1983 album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, on which it totaled nearly seven minutes in length. Thus, an edited version was — and still is — most commonly played on radio. The radio version is just under four minutes and thirty seconds, and removes the entire third verse and trims the extended fade-out ending. The music video version is about one minute longer than the radio version. The video mix of the song was released on the Billboard magazine compilation album for 1983.

Musicians

* Bonnie Tyler - lead vocals
* Rick Derringer - guitar
* Steve Buslowe - bass guitar
* Roy Bittan - piano
* Larry Fast - synthesizers
* Steve Margoshes - additional keyboards
* Max Weinberg - drums
* Jimmy Mealen - percussion
* Rory Dodd - 'Turn around' and backing vocals
* Eric Troyer - backing vocals

Cover versions

*Nicki French released a dance remake of the song in 1994, which was also a worldwide hit. In the U.S., French's version was a number two Hot 100 hit and garnered frequent airplay on CHR and Adult Contemporary radio.
*The song has also been rewritten for the musical Tanz der Vampire.
*At the end of 2001 it was a European dance hit by Jan Wayne.
*In November 2002, it was voted the seventy-second in "The Greatest Number Ones Of All Time" in UK.
*Also in the UK, the video was voted ninety-fourth in "Greatest Music Video Of All Time" poll held by the commercial television channel Channel 4.
*In 2003, the song was lampooned by The Dan Band in the movie Old School that featured Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Luke Wilson.
*There is a popular anti-drug skit based on this song, called the "Turnaround Skit." (See External Links)
*2003, Wayne version peak at No.28 in UK top 75 singles charts.
*In December of 2003, a re-recorded (French/English) duet version called "Si Demain (Turn Around)" was released. It was sung by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn, and went to number one in France, Belgium and Poland, selling two millions copies all over world.
*On British comedy show The Mighty Boosh Dixon Bainbridge and Bob Fossil sing an impassioned duet of the song at the finale of Bainbridge's lecture on his expedition to the tundra.
*In October of 2004, Australian tenor Peter Brocklehurst recorded this as a duet with Bonnie Tyler on his album For You. [1]
*In 2005, Bonnie Tyler recorded an edited version for the album Wings, the album charted at No. 133 in french top 200 album charts.
*On the 21th of August 2005, Tori Amos covered the song during a live performance in Boston. It is featured on the album Official Bootlegs, Volume 6: B of A Pavilion, Boston, MA, CD 1, Track 8.
*The song was released in Icelandic in 2005, entitled "Mundu mig" ("Remember Me") by Icelandic Idol star Heiða.
*There's a well-known video on the Internet featuring Hurra Torpedo, a Norwegian trio playing the song, using an electric guitar and kitchen furniture.
*In April 2006, live versions by Bonnie Tyler appears in CD Live Bonnie On Tour, Spain released in April 23, 2006 and in the DVD Bonnie on Tour, April 7, 2006 in France, April 21, 2006 Germany and April 23, 2006 Spain.
*In June 2006 Nicki French released an updated version of the track along with the Diva DJs, the track not charted in the UK top 75, but is due for release in USA, Germany and Austria

See also

*Holly Sherwood, a vocalist who provided back-up vocals for "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
*Rory Dodd, one of Steinman's most used back-up vocalists, did the "turn around" line
*Pandora's Box, an all girl musical band formed by Steinman in 1989 to sing his songs.
Bad for Good, Jim Steinman's to date only solo album features songs very similar to "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Tanz der Vampire, a very successful musical with music composed by Jim Steinman, includes German version called "Totale Finsternis".
*Hurra Torpedo, a Norwegian band who in 1995 performed "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for a TV show using various kitchen appliances such as freezers and stoves for percussion
Thunderstruck, an Australian movie from 2004 in which the four main characters sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (badly) in a memorable scene.

External links

*Jim Steinman's official site
*Song lyrics from Bonnie Tyler's official website
*Song facts

Turnaround skit links

*Description of the Turnaround Skit
*Photos of the Turnaround Skit