Show Me Heaven

"Show Me Heaven"
Single by Maria McKee
from the album Days of Thunder Soundtrack
B-side	"Car Building" by Hans Zimmer
Released	1990 (1990)
Format	7", CD, cassette
Genre	Pop
Length	3:46
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Maria McKee, Eric Rackin, Jay Rifkin
Producer	Peter Asher
Maria McKee singles chronology
"I've Forgotten What It Was in You (That Put the Need in Me)" (1989) "Show Me Heaven" (1990) "Breathe" (1990)

"Show Me Heaven" is a song written by Maria McKee, Eric Rackin and Jay Rifkin recorded by McKee for the soundtrack to the movie Days of Thunder (which was released in June 1990). It was later covered by Robin Zander, Laura Branigan, and other artists.

Originally written by Joshua Rifkin and Eric Rankin, when McKee was first offered the song, she refused to record it unless she was allowed to change the lyrics. She was, and with a co-writing credit, "Show Me Heaven", produced by the legendary Peter Asher, became McKee's first UK hit and by far her highest-charting single ever.

Chart performance

The theme song to the Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder, McKee's recording was a massive hit in the UK, spending four weeks at number-one in September 1990. It was also a number one hit in the Netherlands and Norway. "Show Me Heaven" failed to enter the U.S. pop charts, peaking at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Although it was her only number-one as a performer, her song "A Good Heart" was taken to number-one in November 1985 by Feargal Sharkey.

Chart (1990/1991)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	28
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3
Austrian Singles Chart	15
Dutch Nationale Top 100	1
Dutch Top 40	1
Irish Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	12
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	2
Swiss Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart	1

Preceded by "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band	UK number one single September 29, 1990 (1990-09-29) – October 26, 1990 (1990-10-26) (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "A Little Time" by Beautiful South
	Dutch Top 40 number-one single November 17, 1990 (1990-11-17) – November 30, 1990 (1990-11-30) (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers
	Dutch Nationale Top 100 number-one single November 24, 1990 (1990-11-24) – November 30, 1990 (1990-11-30) (1 week)
Preceded by "Crying in the Rain" by a-ha	Norwegian Singles Chart number one single week 46, 1990 – week 4, 1991 (10 weeks)	Succeeded by "Sadeness (Part I)" by Enigma

Tina Arena version

"Show Me Heaven"
Single by Tina Arena
from the album Don't Ask
B-side	"Message" "Greatest Gift" "Chains"
Released	November 20, 1995 (1995-11-20)
Format	CD
Genre	Pop
Length	3:32 (single version) 4:20 (album version)
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Maria McKee, Eric Rackin, Jay Rifkin
Producer	Peter Asher
Tina Arena singles chronology
"Wasn't It Good" (1995) "Show Me Heaven" (1995) "That's the Way a Woman Feels" (1996)

Australian singer Tina Arena released her version of the song as the fifth single for her 1994 album Don't Ask.

Chart performance

Chart (1995/96)	Peak position
Eurochart Hot 100	87
German Singles Chart	78
New Zealand Singles Chart	33
UK Singles Chart	29
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	3

Other cover versions

McKee sang backup on a remake of the song by Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander, when he released his first, self-titled solo album in 1993. Laura Branigan recorded the song and featured it as one of two new tracks on her 1995 greatest hits album, The Best of Branigan. Swedish pop singer Cecilia Vennersten sang a Swedish version of the song, "Sjunde himlen finns", on her 1995 album Cecilia Vennersten. Other artists who have recorded the song include Jessica Andrews, the British horror punk band Zombina and the Skeletones and Mickey Modelle. In the UK singles chart, a dance version by Chimira peaked at #70 in 1997 and another dance version by Saint featuring Suzanne Dee peaked at #36 in 2003. In 2002, Nadine Coyle performed the song on Popstars The Rivals en route to winning a spot in the group Girls Aloud.[1]