Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar song)
"Heartbreaker" | ||||
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Artwork for U.S. vinyl single | ||||
Single by Pat Benatar | ||||
from the album In the Heat of the Night | ||||
B-side | "My Clone Sleeps Alone" | |||
Released | October 26, 1979 | |||
Format | 7" | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Pat Benatar singles chronology | ||||
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"Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer Pat Benatar. Released in 1979 as the third single from her debut studio album In the Heat of the Night. Written and composed by Geoff Gill and Cliff Wade, the song had first been recorded by English singer Jenny Darren on her 1978 album Queen of Fools and Benatar made adjustments in the original lyrics as such references as "A to Zed" and "moonraker" which would have likely confused American listeners. "Heartbreaker" proved to be Benatar's breakthrough single, reaching #23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[1] and #19 on the Cash Box Top 100. In Canada, the song peaked at number 16.
Although "Heartbreaker" is only Benatar's tenth highest-charting US single, it spent four and a half months on the U.S. charts, with only three of her singles surpassing that amount of time.
The song is featured as downloadable content for the music video game series Rock Band,[2] and is a playable song for the game Guitar Hero World Tour. The song is also a playable song for the game Karaoke Revolution: Presents American Idol, as well as downloadable content for its sequel, American Idol Encore. Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1982 album Chipmunk Rock. Former American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta regularly covers the song as part of her set on the Glam Nation Tour.[3] This song was also performed by Benatar and her band in the Charmed episode "Lucky Charmed."
The song was named the 72nd best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
References in popular culture
- In The Nap an eighth season episode of Seinfeld, George's eccentric boss Mr. Steinbrenner gets the song stuck in his head and inaccurately sings the chorus, first to George (who is trying to nap underneath the desk in his office), and then to his very young grandchildren, in an attempt to identify the tune.
- A parody version was sung by Silas Weir Mitchell's character Donny Jones in the My Name Is Earl episode "The Birthday Party."
- In the television series Supernatural in the episode "Black" season 10 it is used in The Road So Far.
- The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tween band The Pop Rocks performed a parody as a Steelers fan song in January 2009.[4]
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 57.
- ↑ "Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar // Songs // Rock Band®". Rockband.com. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
- ↑ "Iraheta happy in support mode for 'big brother' Lambert". Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ↑ Mervis, Scott (2009-01-23). "Kid rockers tackle Steelers song". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ↑ "Lyrics: Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar". Top40db.net. 1979-12-22. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
- ↑
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "charts.org.nz > Pat Benatar 'Heartbreaker'". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1980/Top 100 Songs of 1980". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.