Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song)

Last updated
"Heartbreaker"
Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song).jpg
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album Heartbreaker
B-side "I Can't See Anything (But You)"
ReleasedSeptember 1982
Studio
Length4:16
Label Arista
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.

Contents

The song hit 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 reached 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

"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]

Track listings

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

Bee Gees version

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 . [40] A live version was released in 1998 on the live album One Night Only .

See also

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References

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  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. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
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