Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song)

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"Heartbreaker"
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album Heartbreaker
B-side"I Can't See Anything (But You)"
ReleasedSeptember 1982
Studio
Length4:16
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Dionne Warwick singles chronology
"For You"
(1982) 		"Heartbreaker"
(1982) 		"Take the Short Way Home"
(1983)

"Heartbreaker" is a song performed by American singer Dionne Warwick. It was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees for her 1982 studio album of the same name, while production was helmed by Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson under their production moniker Gibb-Galuten-Richardson. Barry Gibb's backing vocal is heard on the chorus.

The song reached the top ten in over a dozen countries and stands as one of Warwick's biggest career hits, selling an estimated 4 million singles worldwide. In the U.S., it peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1983. The track was Warwick's eighth number one Adult Contemporary hit and reached number 14 on the Hot Black Singles chart.[1] It was ranked as Billboard magazine's 80th-biggest US hit of 1983. On the UK Singles Chart, the track reached number 2 in November 1982.

Background[edit]

"Heartbreaker" was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees for singer Dionne Warwick's same-titled album. The song blended the Gibb brothers' two schools of songwriting: it has the clear verse and chorus structure favored by Robin and Maurice, yet also has the longer spun-out verses Barry now preferred, both well balanced. The melody is reminiscent of "Living Eyes", but the song has a much stronger forward motion. Maurice said later that he wished they had saved it for themselves.[2] The Bee Gees' demo version, sung by Barry, was not released until 2006 when it appeared on The Heartbreaker Demos (2006), the group's demo album of Warwick's album.[3]

Warwick admitted in The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits by Wesley Hyatt that she was not fond of "Heartbreaker" (regarding the song's international popularity, she quipped, "I cried all the way to the bank"), but recorded it because she trusted the Bee Gees' judgment that it would be a hit.[4] Maurice Gibb, who co-wrote the song, commented, "I cried my eyes out after we wrote it. I drove home and thought, 'We should be doing this one', and when she did it, it was brilliant. We sang on it, and it still became like a duet between the Bee Gees and Dionne Warwick".[5]

Cover versions[edit]

The Bee Gees' own version, with Barry Gibb on lead vocals, was recorded in 1994. It was originally planned for an album called Love Songs to be released in 1995, but was eventually released in 2001 on Their Greatest Hits: The Record.[6] "Heartbreaker" was originally recorded as a single released on the Yep Roc label in 2019. Later it was released on a full length (Walkabout) originally released in Australia to commemorate their tour of the continent. Eventually it was released for the rest of the world as well.

Track listings[edit]

All tracks produced by Gibb-Galuten-Richardson.

7-inch single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heartbreaker"
  • Barry Gibb
  • Robin Gibb
  • Maurice Gibb
4:16
2."I Can't See Anything (But You)"
3:24

Charts[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2006. Record Research. p. 254.
  2. ^ "Gibb Songs : 1982". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  3. ^ "Barry Gibb – The Heartbreaker Demos". Apple Music. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Wesley Hyatt, The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits (NY: Billboard Books, 1997); ISBN 9780823076932
  5. ^ Hughes, Andrew (2009). The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb. ISBN 9780857120045. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Gibb Songs : 1994". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6192." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  11. ^ a b "Danish Chart Archive - Singles 1979 - ____ (B.T./IFPI DK)". www.ukmix.org. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. ^ Timo (13 August 2015). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit W - WES". Sisältää hitin. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  13. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par W". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Heartbreaker". Irish Singles Chart.
  15. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 9781093264906.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dionne Warwick" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker". VG-lista.
  20. ^ "TOP 20 TMP Portugal - number one in the 80's airplay charts". www.laurentpons.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  21. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Dionne Warwick: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "Dionne Warwick Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Dionne Warwick Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Dionne Warwick Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  29. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending December 18, 1982". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  31. ^ Chartsventes (2016-10-01). "World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries: DIONNE WARWICK". World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  32. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1982". Ultratop. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982". www.top40.nl. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  34. ^ "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1982". www.dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  35. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
  36. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1982". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  37. ^ "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  38. ^ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  39. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1983/Top 100 Songs of 1983".
  40. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

External links[edit]

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