‘Alone’ is a song composed by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who recorded it under the name i-Ten on their 1983 album Taking a Cold Look. It was later recorded by actress Valerie Stevenson and actor John Stamos on the original soundtrack of the CBS sitcom Dreams in 1984. American rock band Heart covered it on their 1987 album Bad Animals, and this version reached number one in the US and Canada.
Heart released the song as the first single from their ninth studio album, Bad Animals, in May 1987. Their version is a power ballad that begins with a piano line and a subdued vocal from Ann Wilson, leading to a synth-led hard-rock chorus. Tom Kelly, the song's co-author, and himself an experienced session singer, provided the high harmony parts on the record.
Cash Box said that it's "a potent, emotion-drenched rock ballad that features Ann Wilson’s signature billowing, riveting vocal performance." ‘Alone’ spent three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in July 1987. It ranked No. 2 on the Billboard Year-End Top Pop Singles of 1987. It is also Heart's most successful single in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in June. It is the band's only song to peak inside the UK Top 5. The song was also a global hit, reaching No. 1 in Canada, the top five in Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland, the top ten in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as the top twenty in West Germany.
The music video was directed by Marty Callner, whose work includes ‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady)’ for Aerosmith and ‘Always’ for Bon Jovi. The video is mostly performance footage, but with a vague subplot where Ann Wilson is on a balcony, wearing a black veil. Videos were a big part of Heart's resurgence; they got airplay on both MTV and VH1, which launched in 1985.
Label – Capitol
Songwriters – Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly
Producer – Ron Nevison
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I hear the ticking of the clock
I'm lying here, the room's pitch dark
I wonder where you are tonight
No answer on the telephone
And the night goes by so very slow
Oh, I hope that it won't end though
Alone
[Chorus]
'Til now, I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone?
How do I get you alone?
[Verse 2]
You don't know how long I have wanted
To touch your lips and hold you tight, oh
You don't know how long I have waited
And I was gonna tell you tonight
But the secret is still my own
And my love for you is still unknown
Alone
[Chorus]
'Til now, I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone?
How do I get you alone?
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
How do I get you alone?
How do I get you alone?
Alone, alone