I’ll Never Love This Way Again – Dionne Warwick | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5) and Adult Contemporary (#1); 1979
Story Behind The Song By Harris Sterling
By the late 1970s, Dionne Warwick was reestablishing her chart presence after a period away from major pop success. In 1979, she recorded I’ll Never Love This Way Again, marking the beginning of her collaboration with producers Barry Manilow and Ron Dante.
The song was written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings. Originally recorded by Kerr, it was Warwick’s version that brought it to a wide audience. Released as the lead single from her album Dionne, the record reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart.
Produced by Manilow, the arrangement features a polished late-1970s pop sound, built around piano, strings, and Warwick’s controlled vocal delivery.
The lyric reflects on a love that has ended but will not be repeated with the same intensity. Rather than anger or regret, the tone is reflective, acknowledging that certain emotional experiences are unique and final.
I’ll Never Love This Way Again earned Warwick the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1980 and became one of the signature recordings of her later career resurgence.
This content was created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Harris Sterling. © 2026 Harris Sterling. All rights reserved.
Produced by:
Barry Manilow
Lyrics Written by:
Will Jennings
Richard Kerr
Awards:
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (1980)
Harris Sterling
Independent music label executive Harris Sterling has worked in the music industry for most of his career.
As Executive Vice President for independent music label Madacy Entertainment, he led the strategic marketing and business development for the label, negotiating agreements with the major record labels to release custom music compilations under license with major brands, such as Ford Motor Company, Crayola, Care Bears and Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Harris also led Madacy’s strategy for the licensing of its entire music catalogue to Apple for their launch of the IPOD.
In 2011, Harris co-founded Starting Five Media, a company that specializes in recording and licensing custom renditions of popular songs as well as clearing the rights to the music composition for use by their clients in media projects.
Harris has negotiated publishing and master recording rights for many Top 40 songs for use in various media projects, TV Commercials and more.