No Tell Lover

1978 single by Chicago

"No Tell Lover"

Single by Chicago

from the album Hot Streets

B-side

"Take a Chance"

Released

December 1978

Genre

Soft rock

Length

3:48 (Single version)
4:13 (Album version)

Label

Columbia

Songwriter(s)

Peter Cetera, Lee Loughnane, Danny Seraphine

Producer(s)

Phil Ramone & Chicago

Chicago singles chronology

"Alive Again"
(1978)

"No Tell Lover"
(1978)

"Gone Long Gone"
(1979)

"No Tell Lover" is a song written by Lee Loughnane, Danny Seraphine, and Peter Cetera for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Hot Streets (1978), with Cetera and Donnie Dacus singing lead vocals. The second single released from that album, it reached No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 5 on the adult contemporary chart.^[1]

Cash Box called it a "classy pop single" that tells "a sultry tale of masked love."^[2] Record World said it "has the feel of a classic Chicago ballad."^[3] In 2019, Billboard said about the song, "While the lyrical content — an ode to extramarital affairs — hasn’t particularly benefitted from the passing years, “No Tell Lover” is still a beautifully penned number from Chicago’s transition into soft-rock nobility."^[4]

After "No Tell Lover", Chicago failed to chart a single in the U.S. top 50 for nearly four years, finally breaking their slump with the 1982 No. 1 hit, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry".^[4]

Personnel

Peter Cetera - lead & backing vocals, bass
Donnie Dacus - lead & backing vocals, electric guitars
Robert Lamm - Fender Rhodes electric piano, backing vocals
Danny Seraphine - drums
Laudir de Oliveira - percussion
James Pankow - trombone
Lee Loughnane - trumpet, backing vocals
Walt Parazaider - tenor saxophone
Blue Weaver - ARP String Ensemble synthesizer

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1978–79)	Peak position
Canada RPM Top Singles^[5]	10
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[6]	20
New Zealand^[7]	22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[8]	14
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary^[1]	5
U.S. Radio & Records	9
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	14

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Rank
Canada^[9]	87
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)^[10]	106

References

^ ^a ^b "Chicago Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 23, 1978. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 23, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
^ ^a ^b Olivier, Bobby (2019-04-25). "The 50 Best Chicago Songs: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
^ "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013.
^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-03-17. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1979-03-18. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ Bac-lac.gc.ca
^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.