Tell The Truth

"**Tell The Truth**" is a song by American singer Nancy Wilson, from her 30th studio album *All in Love Is Fair*. It was released by Capital Records on January 8, 1975. The song was written by Wilson and Tennyson Stephens, being on of the few singles written by Wilson. It was produced by Billy Page and Gene Page. "Tell The Truth" is an R&B song, that contains elements of Philly soul. The lyrics are socially conscious, and even uses profanity, in the line, "bitches taking money and they're living well", which was controversial during it's time. Some radio stations in the United States even went as far as banning the song.

Nevertheless, the single was performed well in the United States, peaking at number five on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and remained in its top-ten for five weeks. "Tell The Truth" was the only single to not reach the number one position and was the final single released for *All In Love Is Fair.* It reached number one on the *Billboard* R&B chart and number two on the *Billboard* Easy Listening chart. Internationally, the song was moderate success as well, peaking at number one atop of the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, and reaching the top-ten in countries such as Japan, Canada, France, Austria, Australia, and Ireland. "Tell The Truth" was later was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Critics praised the song, lauding Wilson's vocal performance and lyricism. The song won Record Of The Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975. "Tell The Truth' has been used in many soundtracks since its release, becoming a staple in pop culture. Due to its socially conscious lyrics, it has been listed as one of "the greatest songs of all-time". The song has been noted for influencing many protest songs in modern music.

## Background and recording

"Tell The Truth" was written and recorded in May 1974. The idea of the song came about when Wilson, who never wrote much songs in her expansive career, wanted to compose something of her own. Wilson convinced Capital Records to allow her to write a socially conscious single about the state of world during that time. She then collaborated with songwriter, Tennyson Stephens and producers Billy and Gene Page to record the song.

The track is primarily a R&B song, that incorporates elements of Philly soul and jazz. Its lyrics discusses socially conscious topics, such as government powers lying to the public (shade towards Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal), negative feelings about wars and big businesses stealing money, hence the iconic opening line, "bitches taking money and they're living well". 'Tell The Truth" was compared to some of the works of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

## Reception

After the release of the track, the song was met was with mostly positive reviews. The track was met witn some crticism from American conseratives, who

## Commercial performance

"Tell The Truth" debuted at number thirty-three on January 13, 1975. The following week it rose the top-ten, at number eight, until two weeks later when it peaked at number five. In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at number fourteen, till it eventually peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, remaining at the position for two consecutive weeks, making it Wilson's seventh number one in the nation and remained in its top-ten for six weeks.

## Charts and certifications

### **Certifications**

 United States (RIAA)[20] | Platinum
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone