| Heartbreaker | |
| Cover: | Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song).jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Dionne Warwick |
| Album: | Heartbreaker |
| B-Side: | I Can't See Anything (But You) |
| Released: | September 1982 |
| Studio: |
|
| Length: | 4:16 |
| Label: | Arista |
| Producer: | Gibb-Galuten-Richardson |
| Prev Title: | For You |
| Prev Year: | 1982 |
| Next Title: | Take the Short Way Home |
| Next Year: | 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.
"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]
All tracks produced by Gibb-Galuten-Richardson.
| Chart (1982–1983) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 2 | |
| Denmark (Hitlisten)[7] | 2 | |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 3 | |
| France (IFOP)[9] | 17 | |
| scope=row | Italy (Musica e dischi)[10] | 24 |
| Portugal (AFP)[11] | 1 | |
| South Africa (Springbok)[12] | 4 | |
| Spain (AFYVE)[13] | 3 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[14] | 15 | |
| Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[15] | 3 |
| Chart (1982) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] | 40 | |
| Denmark (Hitlisten) | 27 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] | 66 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] | 65 | |
| UK Singles (BMRB)[19] | 18 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[20] | 94 |
| Chart (1983) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] [22] | 18 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[23] | 80 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[24] | 35 |
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 .[25] A live version was released in 1998 on the live album One Night Only.
