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 Over an
illustrious career that has spanned close to four decades, Dionne Warwick has established
herself as an international household name. Her reputa-tion as a hitmaker has been firmly
etched into public consciousness, thanks to the nearly sixty records that have made the
charts since "Don't Make Me Over" began its fateful climb up the charts in the
early months of
1963. As a performer, she has charmed and entertained audiences quite literally on every
continent, amassing a global audience from Rome to Rio, from London to Lagos and from
Manhattan to Madrid. And while she has been the subject of countless cover stories and
feature articles, there are a few important "firsts" that make Dionne Warwick a
true pioneer.
You may not know that as the recipient of her first of five
Grammy Awards in 1968 (for the classics "Do You Know The Way To San Jose'",
Dionne became the first black solo female artist of her generation to win the prestigious
award for "Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance" a feat only previously
accomplished by one of her own African-American musical "she-roes", the late
Ella Fitzgerald.
Other black female recording artists certainly racked up their
share of crossover pop and R&B hits in the '60s but Dionne Warwick was the first such
artist to rack up a dozen consecutive Top 100 hit singles from 1963-1966, preceding the
mainstream success of some of her musical peers.
By making her debut performance--and introduced by the legendary
Marlene Dietrich--at The Olympia Theater in Paris in 1963, Dionne also became the first
black female pop and soul singer to achieve international stardom. As she was establishing
herself as a major force in American contemporary music, she was simultaneously winning
over audiences throughout Europe through early hits like "Anyone Who Had A
Heart" and "Walk On By". She was also the first black female performer to
appear before the Queen of England at the Royal Command Performance in 1968 and since that
time, Dionne has performed before numerous kings, queens, presidents and heads of state
the world over.
Her recordings of tunes like "A House Is Not A Home",
"Alfie" "(Theme from)The Valley Of The Dolls", "The April
Fools" also made Dionne Warwick a pioneer as one of the first female artists to
popularize classic movie themes. And, as all diehard fans know, Dionne made her film debut
in 1968 in the movie "Slaves" making her the first contemporary black female
recording artist to do so, once again following in the footsteps of one of her
"she-roes", the inimitable Lena Horne.
In recent years, Dionne's pioneering efforts have focused on
leading the music industry in the fight against AIDS; her Grammy-winning chartopping
single "That's What Friends Are For" was the tip of the iceberg, raising
literally millions of dollars for AIDS research. Throughout the world, Dionne
has devoted countless hours to a wide range of humanitarian causes, serving as the U.S.
Ambassador for Health throughout the Eighties. Continuing her work as a socially conscious
and concerned global citizen in the Nineties, Dionne is spearheading the long overdue
development and production of a history book that will finally detail Africa and
African-American history for use in schools, libraries and bookstores throughout the
world.
As the new millennium approaches, with a legacy of
accomplishments and achievements, Dionne Warwick is celebrating her 35th year as a
chartmaker with a brand new album, a timely reminder of the kind of music that first
brought fame and acclaim to a young lady from East Orange, New Jersey who was barely out
of her teens when she had her first hit record. Entitled Dionne Sings Dionne, this fine
collection is her first album for River North Records, a division of Platinum
Entertainment, distributed by PolyGram. "I decided it was time to put 'me' back into
my records", she smiles. "I'm finally with a record company that wants nothing
other than Dionne to be Dionne. We're taking first some of the obvious songs from my early
years and coupling them with the 'hidden gems' that people may not know ormay have
forgotten, some songs that I have loved since I first recorded them, as well as recording
some great new compositions being written specifically for me."
Selecting the music for Dionne Sings Dionne was a labor of love
for the famed entertainer. "I made calls to friends, people in the industry, radio
DJ's and so on and asked everyone to list their top twenty favorite tunes I've recorded. I
asked them to exclude the obvious hits and the results were surprising -- so many people
picked the same songs!" In addition to revisiting some of her classics hits like
"Walk On By," "I Say A Little Prayer" (which was featured in the 1996
hit movie "My Best Friend's Wedding") and "Anyone Who Had A Heart,"
the new album will also include songs like "In The Land of Make Believe,"
"The Last One To Be Loved" and "Be Aware," tracks on early LPs all
penned by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David who masterminded all of
Dionne's hits from 1963 to 1971. "I was really elated by the choices people
made," Dionne says. "So many of these songs were like buried treasure, tunes
that were tucked away on my albums for Scepter and Warner Brothers. I'm thrilled that I
can now re-introduce them to my audiences as well as presenting them to many people for
the first time."
Captivating audiences with music tailor-made for her unique,
distinctive vocal style is something that Dionne Warwick has been doing since Burt
Bacharach first heard back in 1960. Before she ever made it to the studio, Dionne had been
singing since her childhood days in East Orange, initially in church and occasionally a
soloist and fill-in voice for the renowned Drinkard Singers which consisted of members of
her family, managed by her mother. During her teens, Dionne and sister Dee Dee
startedtheir own gospel group, The Gospelaires and it was while visiting The Drinkard
Singers at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem that Dionne got her first opportunity to
sing on a background session for saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor. Some
thirty-eight years later, The Apollo Theater paid tribute to Dionne in a special event in
February 1998 noting her constant support for the venue and her work as a musical
trailblazer.
While attending The Hartt College of Music, Dionne began doing
regular session work in New York, singing behind many of the biggest stars of the '60s
including Dinah Washington, Brook Benton, Chuck Jackson andSolomon Burke, to name a few.
Once composer, arranger and producer Bacharach heard her while doing a session for The
Drifters, he asked her to sing on demos of songs he was writing with new partner Hal
David. In 1962, Bacharach & David presented one such demo to Scepter Records: the
label president Florence Greenberg did not want the song but wanted the voice and Dionne
began a hit-filled twelve-year association with the New York label.
In all, Dionne, Burt & Hal racked up thirty hit singles and
close to twenty best-selling albums during their first decade of gold. Tunes like "Do
You Know The Way To San Jose'", "Message To Michael", "This Girl's In
Love With You", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" and "Reach Out For
Me" established Dionne Warwick as a consummate artist and performer. Known as the
artist who "bridged the gap", Dionne's music transcended race, culture and
musical boundaries, a soulful blend of pop, gospel and R&B.
In 1970, Dionne received her second Grammy Award for the
best-selling album, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" and she began her second
decade of hits by signing with Warner Brothers Records. Working with top producers like
Thom Bell, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Ragavoy, Steve Barri and Michael Omartian, Dionne
recorded half-a-dozen albums. In 1974, she hit the top of the charts for the first time
with "Then Came You", a million-selling duet with The Spinners and three years
later, she teamed up with Isaac Hayes for the highly successful "A Man And A
Woman" world tour.
In 1976, fresh from earning a Master's Degree in Music from her
alma mater, The Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, Dionne signed with Arista
Records, beginning a third decade of hitmaking with the album "Dionne". Produced
by labelmate Barry Manilow, the album included back-to-back hits "I'll Never Love
This Way Agan" and "Deja Vu", which both earned Grammy Awards, making
Dionne the first female artist to win both Best Female Pop and Best Female R&B
Performance Awards, and giving her a first platinum album. Hot on the heels of her renewed
success, Dionne began her first stint as host for the highly successful television show
"Solid Gold".
Dionne's tenure with Arista was marked by further milestones: her
1982 album "Heartbreaker", co-produced by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees became an
international chartopper, and in 1985, Dionne reunited with producer Burt Bacharach and
teamed up with longtime friends Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John to record the
classic "That's What Friends Are For", with profits donated to the American
Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR). In 1990 she joined forces with a number of her
labelmates to raise over $2.5 million for various AIDS organizations at the star-studded
"That's What Friends Are For" benefit at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Dionne's album "Friends" achieved gold status and
throughout the Eighties, Dionne collaborated with many of her musical peers including
Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Luther Vandross and others. Working with Stevie Wonder,
Dionne was the music coordinator for the film and Academy Award winning soundtrack The
Woman In Red. She was one of the key participants in the all-star charity single "We
Are The World" and performed at "Live Aid" in 1984.
In addition to co-hosting and helping to launch "The Soul
Train Music Awards, she also starred in her own show, "Dionne And Friends" and
was co-executive producer of "Celebrate The Soul of American Music" giving honor
and recognition to many of her fellow musical pioneers. Throughout the '80s and '90s,
Dionne has toured extensively with Burt Bacharach, winning rave reviews from fans, press
and alike for a show that reinforces the timeless musical legacy the team of Bacharach,
David & Warwick created. Her recent musical achievements have included performances as
part of the "National Symphony With The Divas", and in Tokyo, with The National
Opera Company of Japan --yes, Dionne even sings classical music.
Known for her entrepreneurial spirit, Dionne's recent activities
have included the creation of Carr/Todd/Warwick Productions Inc., geared to produce
television and film projects and, for the past fifteen years, the Dionne Warwick Design
Group, Inc. With partner Bruce Garrick, Dionne has been responsible for creating numerous
international projects ranging from private estates to world class hotels which she notes
are "all affordable!"
One of Dionne's special projects has been the design of her own
home in Brazil where she now resides, dividing her time equally between Brazil and the
U.S.A. Showcasing her long-term love affair with the people and music of Brazil, Dionne's
final album for Arista was the critically-acclaimed "Aquarela Do Brazil"
(Watercolors of Brazil), released in 1994.
The recipient of countless awards, Dionne's status as a musical
icon and humanitarian is legendary. With her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she
continues to work tirelessly with various organizations dedicated to empowering and
inspiring others: in 1997, she was awarded the "Luminary Award" by the American
Society of Young Musicians and the same year she joined General Colin Powell incelebrating
the tenth anniversary of the "Best Friends" Program, an abstinence and
character-building program for young women. It came as no surprise to her friends and
family that Dionne's alma mater, the Lincoln Elementary School in East Orange, New Jersey
honored her by renaming it "The Dionne Warwick Institute of Economics
andEntrepreneurship". Displaying her own business skills, Dionne plans to reactivate
her skin care regimen and fragrance in 1998.
In early 1998, Dionne was given the Chairman's Award for
Sustained Creative Achievement NARM (The National Association of Record Merchandisers) and
as she looks forward to another decade of great music, Dionne Warwick says she still has
some personal goals. With a warm smile, she reflects that she has always remembered the
words of wisdom imparted by her grandfather who told her many years ago, "If you can
think if, you can do it!" With a life filled with accomplishments and achievement,
Dionne Warwick can proudly say she has and will continue to adhere to this wisdom.
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