Headed for a Heartbreak
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Headed for a Heartbreak
| cover = Headed_For_a_Heartbreak.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Winger
| album = Winger
| B-side = State of Emergency
| released = May 1989
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Glam metal{{Cite book|last=Maloof|first=Rich|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65197948|title=Shred! : the ultimate guide to warp-speed guitar|date=2006|publisher=Backbeat Books|others=Pete Prown|isbn=0-87930-877-X|location=San Francisco|oclc=65197948}}{{Cite web|last=Iwasaki|first=Scott|date=February 23, 2007|title=Winger's musical roots go back a long way|url=https://www.deseret.com/2007/2/23/20003606/winger-s-musical-roots-go-back-a-long-way|access-date=April 13, 2021|website=Deseret News|language=en|quote=The band had its pop-metal run of success with hits "Madalaine," "Seventeen," "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry."}}
| length = 5:10
| label = Atlantic
| writer = Kip Winger
| producer = Beau Hill
| prev_title = Seventeen
| prev_year = 1989
| next_title = Hungry
| next_year = 1989
}}
"Headed for a Heartbreak" is a single by American glam metal band Winger from their self-titled debut album Winger. Released in May 1989, the power ballad reached No. 19 on the US Hot 100 and No. 8 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The B-side to the single was "State of Emergency".
The music video for "Headed for a Heartbreak" was directed by Mark Rezyka and edited by Scott C. Wilson.
The song's riff was sampled in the song "Ground Zero" by the Diplomats, from the album Diplomatic Immunity.
Background
Singer Kip Winger was fooling around with his keyboard at the end of a day in the studio, and came up with the riff, which is in D Lydian mode. He jammed on the riff a little bit, and "it was just one of those things that happened magically. ... A lot of times I'll sit down and the shit will just drop into my hands and I don't even think about it. That was one of those songs." He added, "Once I figured out what I had, I rotated the bass notes around the common tones of the right hand on the keyboard stuff, so there was some music theory at play in that song, at the end of it. But basically the riff just fell onto me by accident."{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/kip-winger|title=Kip Winger : Songwriter Interviews|last=Wiser|first=Carl|date=July 21, 2014|website=Songfacts|accessdate=August 5, 2021}}
Winger said that for him, the song "exemplifies the band the most because of the way Rod drums and Reb's solo. It's in Lydian and it's more out in the zone of where we all come from."
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Chart (1989) ! Peak |
| {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|77|chartid=6421|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 4, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|19|artist=Winger|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 4, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|8|artist=Winger|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 4, 2023}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Winger}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Beau Hill
Category:Songs written by Kip Winger
Category:Atlantic Records singles
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