Tell It Like It Is

"Tell It Like It Is"
Single by Aaron Neville
B-side	"Why Worry"
Released	November 9, 1966
Format	7" single
Recorded	1965
Genre	R&B/Pop
Length	2:40
Label	Par-Lo Records
Writer(s)	George Davis Lee Diamond
Aaron Neville singles chronology
"Over You" (1960) "Tell It Like It Is" (1967) "She Took You for a Ride" (1968)

"Tell It Like It Is"
Single by Heart
from the album Greatest Hits Live
B-side	"Strange Euphoria"
Released	1980
Format	7" single
Recorded	September, 1980
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:48
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	George Davis Lee Diamond
Producer	Heart
Heart singles chronology
"Bebe le Strange" (1980) "Tell It Like It Is" (1980) "Unchained Melody" (1981)

"Tell It Like It Is"
Single by Billy Joe Royal
from the album Tell It Like It Is
B-side	I Was Losing You
Released	January 1989
Format	7"
Recorded	October 1988
Genre	Country
Length	3:00
Label	Atlantic 45301
Writer(s)	George Davis and Lee Diamond
Producer	Nelson Larkin
Billy Joe Royal singles chronology
"It Keeps Right On Hurtin'" (1988) "Tell It Like It Is" (1989) "Love Has No Right" (1989)

"Tell It Like It Is" is a song written by George Davis and Lee Diamond. It was first recorded by Aaron Neville, who released the song as a single in 1966. It was issued at the end of the year on the Par-Lo label and became a hit, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number one on the U.S. R&B chart in early 1967.

In 2004, it was ranked #391 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Tracy Chapman and Lightnin' Hopkins composed songs with the same name not to be confused with Davis and Diamond's version discussed here. Little Willie John also wrote and recorded a different 1958 song of the same name.

Cover versions

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas performed the song on their 1967 album King & Queen. Percy Sledge recorded it that same year for his album The Percy Sledge Way.

John Wesley Ryles covered the song in 1976, with the single reaching #83 on the U.S. country charts. Pop singer Andy Williams recorded a version of "Tell It Like It Is", bringing the song to #72 in 1976. Tex-Mex country singer Freddy Fender recorded the song on his 1978 Swamp Gold album.

In 1980, "Tell It Like It Is" was covered by Heart and became a top-ten hit in the U.S., peaking at #8 (becoming Heart's highest-charting single at the time).

In 1989, Billy Joe Royal recorded a version of the song as a country single and it reached #2 on the country charts with the song.

It has been covered by Richard "Dimples" Fields in 1987; and by Nina Simone in 1971 (outtake from Here Comes the Sun), released 1998 on the compilation album The Very Best of Nina Simone: Sugar in My Bowl 1967–1972. In 1997, saxophonist Michael Lington covered the song from his self-titled debut album.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Robert Randolph covered the song on The Dirty Dozen's 2002 album Medicated Magic.

In 2010, Michael McDonald recorded another version of "Tell It Like It Is" for his 2010 album The Voice of Michael McDonald a compilation of Doobie Brothers, and Michael McDonald hits, with "Tell It Like It Is" as a remake done in the style of Michael McDonald.

Preceded by "(I Know) I'm Losing You" by The Temptations

Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single Aaron Neville version January 7, 1967 – February 4, 1967 (five weeks)

Succeeded by "Are You Lonely For Me" by Freddie Scott

Don Johnson version

"Tell It Like It Is"
Single by Don Johnson
from the album Let It Roll
B-side	Angel City
Released	June 20, 1989
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1988
Genre	Soul, Jazz
Length	4:30
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	George Davis and Lee Diamond
Producer	Keith Diamond
Don Johnson singles chronology
"Till I Loved You" (1988) "Tell It Like It Is" (1989) "Other People's Lives" (1989)

In 1989 actor Don Johnson recorded a version of the song on his album Let It Roll, which was successful in the Region at Germany. The cover was able to continue in some countries in the success of Johnson's debut single Heartbeat.

Music video

The Music video plays at a party. At the beginning a woman goes slow down the stairs, then beginns a woman singing and the studio musicians will begin to play. The Rest of the video goes the woman through a room, while Don Johnson and his band perform the song at the party.

Track listings

7" Single

1. Tell It Like It Is 4:30
2. Angel City 4:22

12" Single

1. Tell It Like It Is 4:30
2. Angel City 4:22
3. Heartbeat 4:18

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	84
German Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	13
Swiss Singles Chart	6
Dutch Top 40	6
French Singles Chart	6