Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick song)

"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.

"Heartbreaker"
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album Heartbreaker
B-side	"I Can't See Anything (But You)"
Released	September 1982
Studio	Middle Ear, Miami Mediasound, New York City
Length	4:16
Label	Arista
Songwriter(s)	Barry Gibb Robin Gibb Maurice Gibb
Producer(s)	Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Dionne Warwick singles chronology
"For You" (1982) "Heartbreaker" (1982) "Take the Short Way Home" (1983)

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 as the title track for singer Dionne Warwick's album of the same name. Maurice Gibb said later that he wished they had saved the song for themselves.^[2] The Bee Gees' demo version, sung by Barry Gibb, was not released until 2006 when it appeared on The Heartbreaker Demos (2006), the group's album of demo tracks that formed the basis for 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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heartbreaker"	Barry Gibb Robin Gibb Maurice Gibb	4:16
2.	"I Can't See Anything (But You)"	Barry Gibb Albhy Galuten Maurice Gibb	3:24

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1982–1983) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 10 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 15 Denmark (Hitlisten)[10] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 3 France (IFOP)[12] 17 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 2 Italy (Musica e dischi)[14] 24 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 4 Norway (VG-lista)[18] 2 Portugal (AFP)[19] 1 South Africa (Springbok)[20] 4 Spain (AFYVE)[21] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[24] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 10 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 14 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[27] 1 US Cash Box Top 100[28] 15 West Germany (GfK)[29] 10 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[30] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Rank Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 40 Denmark (Hitlisten)[10] 27 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 66 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 65 UK Singles (BMRB)[34] 18 US Cash Box Top 100[35] 94 Chart (1983) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[36][37] 18 US Billboard Hot 100[38] 80 West Germany (Official German Charts)[39] 35

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

• List of number-one singles and albums in Sweden
• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 1982