On the debut single “Tell It to My Heart,” from the singer Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman), Dayne asks for a status update on her relationship. The sound is dance-pop meets Latin freestyle—perfect for 1987 Top 40 radio.

Seth Swirsky, one of the song’s cowriters, penned the track with Madonna in mind. After he and cowriter Ernie Gold finished the tune, Swirsky nearly let his girlfriend talk him out of submitting it to Sony.

Before she heard the demo, Dayne was recording dance tracks under the name Les Lee. Her producer, Ric Wake, knew right away the song had potential to cross over from the clubs to radio. Dayne borrowed $6K from her dad to record a version, which led to a “single-option” deal with Arista Records. If the single was a hit, the label could ask for an entire album—otherwise, she was canned.

The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, launching Dayne’s career in a big way.