Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song)

"Heartbreaker"
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album Heartbreaker
B-side "I Can't See Anything (But You)" (Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, Maurice Gibb)
Released September 1982
Recorded 1982, Middle Ear, Miami Beach; Media Sound, New York
Genre Pop, R&B, soul, disco, adult contemporary
Length 4:16
Label Arista
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Dionne Warwick singles chronology
"For You"
(1982)		 "Heartbreaker"
(1982)		 "Take the Short Way Home"
(1983)

"Heartbreaker" is a 1982 single released by American pop and soul singer Dionne Warwick. The song was written by Bee Gees' Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, with Barry Gibb's backing vocal being heard on the chorus. It was released from her fourth Arista label studio album of the same name in 1982.

Background

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. It turned out to be Dionne's most successful solo hit of the 1980s. The Bee Gees recorded a version, with Barry Gibb on lead vocals, which was featured on the album Their Greatest Hits: The Record, as well as their Love Songs album.

Maurice Gibb, who was a co-writer of this 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".[1]

Outcome

The song reached the top of charts around the world and stands as one of Warwick's biggest career hits. It made the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1983, and was also a number 1 Adult Contemporary hit.[2] It is ranked as the 80th biggest US hit of 1983. In the UK Singles Chart, the track reached number 2 for two weeks in November 1982.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1982–83) Peak
position
Austria 10
Australia 2
Canada 15
Denmark 2
France 17
Germany 10
Ireland 2
Italy 24
Netherlands 5
New Zealand 4
Norway 2
Spain 3
Sweden 1
Switzerland 4
United Kingdom 2
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 10
US Billboard Hot Black Singles 14
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
US Cash Box Top 100 15

Year-end charts

Chart (1982) Rank
UK[4] 24
US Cash Box[5] 94
Chart (1983) Rank
Australia[6] 18
US American Top 40[7] 60
US Billboard Hot 100 80

See also

Cover versions

"Heartbreaker"
Song by Bee Gees from the album Their Greatest Hits: The Record
Released 2001
Format 7" single, CD single
Recorded 1994 at
Middle Ear, Miami Beach, Florida
Genre Pop, adult contemporary
Length 4:25
Label Polydor (UK)
Universal (US)
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
"Heartbreaker"
Song by Barry Gibb from the album The Heartbreaker Demos
Released November 2006
Format Digital download
Recorded February 1982 at
Miami Beach, Florida
Genre R&B
Length 4:32
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos track listing

"Heartbreaker"
(1)		 "It Makes No Difference
(2)

Bee Gees version

The Bee Gees' own version was recorded during the sessions for Still Waters in 1994. It was originally planned for an album called Love Songs to be released in 1995. It was eventually released in 2001 on Their Greatest Hits: The Record.[8]

Barry Gibb version

"Heartbreaker" was originally recorded by Barry Gibb for Dionne Warwick, for her album Heartbreaker released in 1982. This demo version was not released until 2006.

This song blended the two Gibb brothers 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, so that it has instant appeal but takes repeated listenings to fully appreciate. 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.[9]

Personnel

Other versions

In 2004, J-pop singer Junichi Inagaki released a Japanese-language cover version of "Heartbreaker" on his album Revival II. In 2005, the German reggae-pop band Blue Lagoon included a cover version of "Heartbreaker" on their album Clublagoon

References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Andrew. The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2006. Record Research. p. 254.
  3. ↑ "Dionne Warwick – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Dionne Warwick.
  4. ↑ "Top 100 1982 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  7. ↑ "American Top 40 Year-End Survey 1983". Lionking.org. 2004-12-28. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  8. ↑ "Gibb Songs : 1994". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  9. ↑ "Gibb Songs : 1982". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2012-09-02.

External links

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