"More Than Words Can Say" (also known as "(I Need You Now) More Than Words Can Say" for promotional purposes) is a song by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Alias. It was released in September 1990 as the second single from their debut eponymous album. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

became a 2 hit in the United States and reached No. 1 in Canada for four weeks. BMI presented Alias lead vocalist and songwriter

Freddy Curci Federico "Freddy" Curci is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was lead vocalist for the rock band Sheriff, and is the founder, frontman, and lead singer for the band Alias. Curci provided lead vocals on the Sheriff song " When I'm with You", ...

with the "Million-airs award" for "More Than Words Can Say". According to BMI's web site, only 1,500 songs have achieved Million-air status (one million air plays) among the 4.5 million songs by 300,000 BMI represented artists. One million performances is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay.

Composition and inspiration

"More Than Words Can Say" was written, arranged, and co-produced by former

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

vocalist

and guitarist Steve DeMarchi. DeMarchi's younger brother Denny played the keyboard and sang the backing vocals. Curci recorded the vocals in Denny DeMarchi's bedroom at DeMarchi's family home. At the time, their dissolved band had hit number one with " When I'm with You" the previous year, and the other band members had refused to reunite. Sensing the need to follow up the hit, Curci and DeMarchi joined ex-

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

members guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, and drummer Mike Derosier to form Alias. This tune, bearing striking similarities to "When I'm with You" (including a sustained last note), was the result.

Chart performance

"More Than Words Can Say" was released as the second single of Alias' self-titled debut album. It entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 84 and reached the top 40 four weeks later. On November 24, 1990, it peaked at No. 2. It also peaked at No. 2 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. In the band's native Canada, the song reached No. 1 on November 24 and stayed there for four weeks, ending 1990 as the country's second-highest-selling single. It also topped Canada's Adult Contemporary chart for a week. Outside North America, "More Than Words Can Say" only managed to chart in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at No. 30 and No. 37 respectively.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

* Feldman, Christopher (2000). ''The Billboard Book of Number Two Hits''. .
"''Billboard''"
Billboard ''Hot 100 airplay and sales charts''. Retrieved 2006-06-11.

External links

Official Alias Myspace

Freddy Curci (lead singer) website
{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles Alias (band) songs EMI Records singles Glam metal ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles