by Kevin Burton
The artist hated them, I loved them and so did millions of others.
From the 60s genius of legendary songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and the 80s (post-70s really) brilliance of the Bee Gees, came two smash hits for Dionne Warwick.
Both songs went to number 10 on the Hot 100 and Warwick hated them both: "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" in 1968 and "Heartbreaker" in 1982.
Each song bore the unmistakable imprint of its Hall-of-Fame songwriters and both were obvious hits. Warwick turned up her nose, but relented and recorded them.
In a May 1983 interview with Ebony, Warwick said of San Jose, "It's a dumb song and I didn't want to sing it. But it was a hit, just like Heartbreaker is. I'm happy these songs were successful, but that still doesn't change my opinion about them."
Warwick told The Daily Mail's Weekend magazine why she hated San Jose, saying "I was like 'Where is San Jose? How could the person who wrote 'Walk On By' have written a song that goes oh woa?'"
Of course the woa woas were beside the point. There is nothing dumb about San Jose. It is a common sad story and cautionary tale, told in an uncommonly bright way.
"The upbeat melody belies the melancholy lyrics about giving up on a dream and going back home," wrote SongFacts. "The juxtaposition was a common technique with Hal David. The lyricist told NPR: 'The idea of doing a lyric that is essentially kind of sad to a very up and optimistic melody is something I've done a lot, and I've always thought it was an effective way of writing a song. Burt played this melody for me, and music says things to me and should say things to me."
"I heard the phrase do you know the way to San Jose, and from that I began to create the storyline that became the person who comes to Los Angeles to make his or her career in the entertainment business and has dreams of being a big star, and for most people it does not turn out to be quite that happy," David said.
"Dionne did not want to record that song. She didn't like it. But we talked her into it and she did it," Bacharach told Record Collector magazine. "Her mind changed once it was a hit (laughs). I knew it was a pretty special song and I knew it was a different kind of song, too."
"I thought it was a really silly song," Warwick said, quoted in SongFacts. " Obviously Hal David had a great affinity for San Jose as I believe he was stationed there during his time in the Navy and he loved the place and he wrote a song about it. I just giggled all the way to the bank, what can I tell you?"
Actually Warwick giggled past the bank, to the Grammies, as the song won for Best Contemporary-Pop Vocal Performance, Female.
I love the song, but must admit upon peeling it apart, that Warwick may have a little more of a case in calling Heartbreaker a dumb song. Nobody offered it a Grammy for sure.
"This song was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees. The Brothers Gibb also added their vocals, which are clearly heard during the chorus," wrote SongFacts.
"This song is about a one-sided relationship, one where Dr. Phil would tell Dionne that 'he's just not that into you.' She knows that he's no good for her, but has to fight through the feelings she has in order to give him up."
"Warwick wasn't thrilled about this song, but she knew that recording something written by The Bee Gees was in the best interests of her career," wrote SongFacts.
"It came about when my boss Clive Davis met Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees at a wedding and he told him he had always been a fan of mine and had a song for me. Clive put us in touch," Warwick told The Mail on Sunday's Event magazine:
After the late70s glut of Bee Gees hits it was refreshing, even exciting on Heartbreaker, to get the Gibbs' musicality without so, so much of that pinched falsetto to deal with.
I have always admired the way the Gibb brothers wrote "I made a life out of loving you" into the first verse and "you made a life out of hurting me" into the second.
The vocal hesitations on the song give it edge. It's catchy and relatable, as we have all had our hearts broken at some point.
More than anything, Warwick, even though she dislikes the song, grabbed it and just sent it soaring with her voice and her phrasing. The song topped the charts in Portugal and Sweeden.
So it's left to a crank blogger to point out that you can't say, "my love is stronger than the universe." Uh, no, no it isn't.
And the line "I'm crying in the rain" seems like something a team of songwriting middle schoolers would come up with, then reject upon further reflection.
The line "Why do you have to be a heartbreaker when I was being what you want me to be" reminds me of one of my early romantic missteps. One particular girl I had my eye on parsed everything I said, in deciding whether I would make the grade. One wrong word or bad joke and I would be out.
"Running for boyfriend" is what I called it. A bad scene, maybe even songworthy.
Anyway, I'm overlooking the few bad lines from "Heartbreaker" and putting it up there with "Do You Know The Way to San Jose" among my Warwick favorites.
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