Taylor Dayne

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Taylor Dayne

Dayne at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan.
Background information
Birth name Leslie Wunderman
Born March 7, 1962 (1962-03-07) (age 49)
Baldwin, New York
United States
Genres Pop, soft rock, dance, soul, R&B
Occupations Musician, Songwriter, Actress
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1985–present
Labels

Arista/BMG
Neptune/River North
Intention

Music sample

Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman on March 7, 1962 before later adopting her current stage name. She is an American pop vocalist, songwriter, and dance artist. She had a string of hits in the late '80s and early '90s, including Tell It to My Heart and the #1 Billboard hit Love Will Lead You Back. Overall, she has had eighteen individual hit songs reach the top ten in Billboard magazine. These include most recently, the 2011 American and international hit "Floor on Fire" and the 2008 song "Beautiful", which reached the top spot in Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.[1][2] She has also topped the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart three times.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Career

Dayne performing in concert, January 15, 2006

Taylor Dayne began singing professionally after graduating from high school in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, singing in little-known rock bands such as Felony and Next. She began singing solo after finishing college and released two dance singles under the name Les Lee called "I'm The One You Want" (1985) and "Tell Me Can You Love Me" (1986).

Signed to Arista Records, her first song to crack the top ten was the dance-pop hit "Tell It to My Heart" in late 1987. The song was an instant smash worldwide, peaking in the top five of most major markets worldwide, and achieving a peak of number one in many countries, including Germany. The hit songs that followed included "Prove Your Love", "I'll Always Love You", "Don't Rush Me", "With Every Beat of My Heart", "Love Will Lead You Back", "I'll Be Your Shelter", "Heart of Stone", "Send Me a Lover", "Naked Without You", and "Whatever You Want".

In the United States, she achieved three gold singles, with "Tell It to My Heart", "I'll Always Love You", and "Love Will Lead You Back". "I'll Always Love You", a change-of-pace ballad compared to Dayne's earlier releases, was her breakout hit on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1988 and paved the way for future uptempo dance tracks such as "Don't Rush Me" (1988) and "With Every Beat Of My Heart" (1989) to gain acceptance at Adult Contemporary radio.

In 1990, "Love Will Lead You Back", a Diane Warren composition, peaked at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. In 1993, she sang a cover of Barry White' 1974 hit Can't Get Enough of Your Love. The song reached #2 in the Aria Charts in Australia.

As an actress, Dayne appeared in the 1997 Sci-fi television series Nightman as Carla Day, a singer who is also the leading character's love interest, performing many jazz songs alongside Marc Bonilla and Dragonchoir. Later on, she performed on Broadway in Elton John's Aida in 2001. She has had roles in independent films such as Fool's Paradise (1997), Stag (also in 1997) and Jesus the Driver (2004), as well as the Warren Beatty-produced 1994 remake of Love Affair. Dayne also had a recurring role on the Showtime series Rude Awakening.

Taylor Dayne was featured in the VH1 series Remaking, which featured her close friends, Leah Remini and Michelle Reid (also referred to as the Don on VH1). The series documents Dayne's return to music after taking time off to have a family, (she has twins, Levi and Astaria via a surrogate mother[3]), and premiered her newest song, "Right Now", a result of her collaboration with Rodney Jerkins.

In April 2006, she was Elton John's choice to perform at the Nile Rodgers We Are Family Foundation tribute to Elton John.

Dayne also appeared as a guest duet partner on the Fox TV show Celebrity Duets which aired in August and September 2006. She was paired with contestant Jai Rodriguez on the 4th episode which aired September 14, 2006.[4]

On December 11, 2007, Dayne released the first single, "Beautiful", from her studio album Satisfied. The song is written by Taylor Dayne and Hitesh Ceon of production-team 3Elementz. Dayne has been promoting the single on many radio stations, including top markets including New York's WKTU. "Beautiful" went to #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts. She also appeared on The Today Show, Chelsea Lately, Wake Up With Whoopi and VH1. The music video for the single and the Satisfied album cover were shot by Tony Duran, who has also shot album covers for Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez.

She released her fifth album in February 2008 to positive reviews - her first recording studio album for over eight years. Producers on this record include Rick Nowels and Gregg Alexander. The album includes both new material and recreations of some of her favorite contemporary songs.

Dayne appeared in the CMT series Gone Country during its third season. Gone Country season 3, aired on the CMT network January 24, 2009 and its finale aired on March 7, 2009. The chosen winner was Sheila E.

In May 2010, she lobbied congressional leaders on Capitol Hill on behalf of NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) and VH1's Save The Music Foundation to reduce cuts in music education in America's schools.[5]

In July 2010, she released "Facing a Miracle", the official theme song to the 2010 Gay Games. Dayne performed the song to an audience of 50,000 fans on July 31, 2010 in Cologne, Germany. It ended the year at #9 on Perfect Beat's Top Worldwide Singles of 2010.[6] Five years before, however, she replied to the question what her thoughts on gay marriage were: "In the eyes of the Kaballah, [gays] can't be 'married.' That requires actual male and female energy and DNA. In the bigger picture, I think that 'marriage' is about a certain circuitry. I'm as married to my business manager as I would be any husband." [7]

Taylor Dayne is currently working on remastering her Greatest Hits album. She released a new single called "Floor on Fire" on 22 June 2011, which broke the Billboard Dance/Club Charts Top 10! [8] which will also be included on the Greatest Hits album along with new tracks.

In January 2012, she was one of eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.[9]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
U.S. U.S.
R&B
CAN[10][11] UK[12] AUS JP [13] NOR AUT SWE
1988 Tell It to My Heart
  • 1st studio album
  • Released: January 19, 1988
21 27 47 24 34 17 19 4
1989 Can't Fight Fate
  • 2nd studio album
  • Released: October 16, 1989
25 23 7 24
1993 Soul Dancing
  • 3rd studio album
  • Released: July 13, 1993
51 31 2 51 39 31
1998 Naked Without You
  • 4th studio album
  • Released: October 6, 1998
2008 Satisfied
  • 5th studio album
  • Released: February 5, 2008
179
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released

[edit] Compilations

Year Album
1995 Greatest Hits
1999 Performance
Master Hits: Taylor Dayne
2002 The Best of Taylor Dayne
2003 Platinum & Gold Collection: Taylor Dayne
2005 Whatever You Want/Naked Without You
Dance Diva: Remixes & Rarities
2006 Can't Get Enough of Your Love
2008 Super Hits

[edit] Other album, Soundtrack & compilation appearances

[edit] Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US Dance US AC CAN UK[12] AUS SWE GER
1987 "Tell It to My Heart" 7 4 9[16] 3 10 3 1 Tell It to My Heart
1988 "Prove Your Love" 7 1 19[16] 8 30 10 4
"I'll Always Love You" 3 2 11[16] 41 68 37
"Don't Rush Me" 2 6 3 63[16] 76 90 35
1989 "With Every Beat of My Heart" 5 8 22 53 54 Can't Fight Fate
1990 "Love Will Lead You Back" 1 1 2[16][17] 69 11
"I'll Be Your Shelter" 4 15 1[18] 43 4
"Heart of Stone" 12 8 42
1993 "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" 20 2 15 8[19] 14 2 34 56 Soul Dancing
"Send Me a Lover" 50 19 22[20] 42
1994 "I'll Wait" 103 3 29
"Original Sin" 63 The Shadow (soundtrack)
1995 "Say a Prayer" 7 58 Soul Dancing & Greatest Hits
1996 "Tell It to My Heart" (remix) 10 23 Greatest Hits
1998 "Whatever You Want" 6 Naked without You
"Naked Without You" 3
2000 "Planet Love" 1 Flawless (soundtrack)
2002 "How Many" 6 Circuit (soundtrack)
2003 "Supermodel" The Lizzie McGuire Movie (soundtrack)
2007 "I'm Not Featuring You" 2 non-album single
"Beautiful" 1 23 Satisfied
2008 "My Heart Can't Change" 19
"Crash"
2010 "Facing a Miracle" non-album single
2011 "Floor on Fire" 8 Greatest Hits
"—" denotes the single failed to chart, not released or chart peak is unknown

[edit] Music videos

Year Video Director
1987 "Tell It to My Heart" Scott Kalvert & S.A. Baron
1988 "Prove Your Love" Peter Lippman
"I'll Always Love You" Peter Israelson
"Don't Rush Me" David Hogan
1989 "With Every Beat of My Heart" David Kellogg
1990 "Love Will Lead You Back" Nigel Dick
"I'll Be Your Shelter" Dominic Sena
"Heart of Stone" Scott Kalvert
1993 "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" Randee St. Nicholas
"Send Me A Lover"
1994 "I'll Wait"
"Original Sin" Russell Mulcahy
1998 "Unstoppable"
2008 "Beautiful" Tony Duran

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Taylor Dayne Music News & Info". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-dayne/4419#/artist/taylor-dayne/4419. Retrieved 2012-01-13. 
  2. ^ "Taylor Dayne Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-dayne/chart-history/4419. Retrieved 2012-01-13. 
  3. ^ Taylor Dane Shares Her Surrogate Story Celebrity Baby Blog, February 19, 2009
  4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856476
  5. ^ Scott Robertson, APR (2010-05-17). "Don't Stop Believin' in Music Education: NAMM Members Storm Capitol Hill in 2010". NAMM.org. http://www.namm.org/news/articles/dont-stop-believin-music-education-namm-members-st. Retrieved 2012-01-13. 
  6. ^ http://perfectbeat.com/spotlights.php?spotlight=Top100CDSingles2010Pg4
  7. ^ Pratt, Paul E. (July/August 2005). "Love Has Led Her Back". Fusion (GaySavannah.com Publication) July/August 2005: 40. 
  8. ^ "Taylor Dayne". Taylor Dayne. http://taylordayne.com. Retrieved 2012-01-13. 
  9. ^ Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off: New Show Premieres This Winter
  10. ^ RPM Results
  11. ^ RPM Results (Starting from 101)
  12. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 143. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  13. ^ "Taylor Dayne - Albums - Japan (in Japanese)". オリコン. Oricon. oricon.co.jp.. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/106891/ranking/cd_album/. Retrieved 2011-05-30. 
  14. ^ a b c "Taylor Dane Album Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Taylor%20Dayne%&format=album&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50. Retrieved 2010-11-26. 
  15. ^ a b c "Searchable Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 2010-11-26. 
  16. ^ a b c d e RPM Results
  17. ^ RPM Results
  18. ^ RPM Results (First week - May 19)
  19. ^ RPM Results
  20. ^ RPM Results (3-16)

[edit] External links

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