Too Many Walls
| "Too Many Walls" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Cathy Dennis | ||||
| from the album Move to This | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:18 | |||
| Label | Polydor Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Cathy Dennis, Anne Dudley | |||
| Producer(s) | Cathy Dennis, Phil Bodger | |||
| Cathy Dennis singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Too Many Walls" is a song by British singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis.
Released as a single from her album Move to This in September 1991, the song became Dennis' fourth Top 10 hit on the U.S. pop chart, where it peaked at #8. Her other American Top 10 singles were: "C'mon and Get My Love" (officially credited to 'D Mob introducing Cathy Dennis'), #10 in 1990; "Just Another Dream", #9, also from 1990; and "Touch Me (All Night Long)", #2 from earlier in 1991. "Too Many Walls" also spent two weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. In the UK, the song was released in October and reached #17 on the British pop chart. In Australia, the song reached #57 on the Australian pop chart.
"Too Many Walls" is a midtempo pop ballad and was co-written by Dennis and Anne Dudley, member of the avant-garde synthpop musical group The Art of Noise. The song was originally a composition of Dudley's with strings but no lyrics, until Dennis adapted the song and added words before it appeared on her debut album. The song was then remixed into a more radio-friendly version before being released as a single.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dennis stated that she thinks the ballad is "the best song on the album, especially in terms of lyrics. The other songs are fun, but they can be quite vacant." She said the song is "about when you want to be together with someone, but other people's opinions and prejudices get in the way."[1]
"Too Many Walls" was Dennis' final Top 10 hit in the U.S. as a featured singer; she has, however, written other hit songs, notably Kylie Minogue's worldwide hit "Can't Get You Out of My Head".
The video was filmed at the newly opened Stansted airport. It was directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel.
Ashley Tisdale covered the song for her promotional deal with deodorant mark Degree.
Weekly charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] | 57 |
| Canada (RPM)[3] | 10 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[4] | 58 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[5] | 17 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 8 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[8] | 1 |
| US Radio Songs (Billboard)[9] | 13 |
Cover Versions
- In 1991, Hong Kong singer Stephanie Lai covered this song in Cantonese.
References
- ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ Top Singles - Volume 54, No. 17 September 28, 1991 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 8, 2016). RPM
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cathy Dennis – Too Many Walls". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Many Walls". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 1991-10-05" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Cathy Dennis – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Cathy Dennis. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Cathy Dennis – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Cathy Dennis. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Cathy Dennis – Chart history" Billboard Radio Songs for Cathy Dennis. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
External links
| Preceded by "Everybody Plays the Fool" by Aaron Neville |
Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single October 19 - October 26, 1991 |
Succeeded by "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Michael Bolton |