Warwick, Dionne (1940—)

views updated

Warwick, Dionne (1940—)

Popular African-American vocalist who collaborated with Burt Bacharach and Hal David to produce 30 hit singles. Name variations: Dionne Warwicke. Born Marie Dionne Warrick on December 12, 1940, in East Orange, New Jersey; daughter of Mancel (some sources cite Marcel) Warrick (a chef and gospel music promoter) and Lee Warrick (manager of a gospel group); earned a master's degree in music from the Hartt College of Music at the University of Hartford, 1976; married Bill Elliot (a drummer and actor), in September 1967 (divorced 1975); children: David, Damion.

Selected discography:

Presenting Dionne Warwick (1964); Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964); Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964); The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick (1965); Here I Am (1965); Dionne Warwick in Paris (1965); Here Where There Is Love (1967); On Stage and in the Movies (1967); Windows of the World (1967); The Magic of Believing (1967); Valley of the Dolls and Others (1968); Soulful (1969); Greatest Motion Picture Hits (1969); Dionne Warwick's Golden Hits, Volume 1 (1969); Dionne Warwick's Golden Hits, Volume 2 (1970); I'll Never Fall in Love Again (1970); Very Dionne (1971); Promises, Promises (1971); From Within, Volume 1 (1972); Dionne (1973); Just Being Myself (1973); Then Came You (1975); Track of the Cat (1975); Love at First Sight (1977); Dionne (1979); No Night So Long (1980); Hot! Live and Otherwise (1981); Heartbreaker (1983); Dionne and Friends (1986); Anthology, 1962–1971 (1986); Masterpieces (1986); Reservations for Two (1987); Dionne Warwick Sings Cole Porter (1990); Hidden Gems: The Best of Dionne Warwick (1992); Friends Can Be Lovers (1993); Aquarela do Brasil (1994); From the Vaults (1995); Dionne Sings Dionne (1998).

Five-time Grammy winner Dionne Warwick was born Marie Dionne Warrick in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1940. Her parents, devout Methodists, were both in the music business: her father Mancel Warrick was the director of gospel music promotion for Chess Records while also working as a chef and butcher, and her mother Lee Warrick managed the Drinkard Singers, a popular gospel group. The family included Warwick's younger sister and brother, Dee Dee Warrick and Mancel Warrick, Jr.

During the mid-1950s, Warwick, her sister, and two cousins formed a group called The Gospelaires and performed primarily as a backup group for other singers. Anticipating a career as a music teacher in the public schools, Warwick accepted a scholarship to study piano, music, and voice at the University of Hartford's Hartt College of Music. However, in 1960, during a summer vacation from college, Warwick rejoined The Gospelaires as back-up accompaniment to The Drifters on their recording of "Mexican Divorce." Burt Bacharach, the composer of the song, was directing the session. Captivated by Warwick's voice, he and his lyricist Hal David asked her to cut a demonstration recording of one of their other compositions, and Warwick soon signed a contract with Scepter Records, a small rhythm-and-blues label. For her first Scepter release in 1962, Warwick sang more Bacharach-David material, and the "B" side, "Don't Make Me Over," immediately soared to the #21 position on the Billboard chart.

Throughout the 1960s, the Warwick-Bacharach-David collaboration produced 30 hit singles and nearly 20 bestselling albums. Some of the more famous titles include "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Walk on By" (both 1964), "Message to Michael" (1966), "I Say a Little Prayer for You" (1968), and "This Girl's in Love with You" (1969). Other hits included "Trains and Boats and Planes," "Alfie," "You'll Never Get to Heaven," and "Make It Easy on Yourself." Warwick won the Grammy Award for Contemporary Pop Vocal twice during this period—for "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (1968) and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (1970). Although numerous other performers made hits of Bacharach-David material, it was the duo's work with Warwick that best exemplified their distinctive style. According to Notable Black American Women, Warwick was "one of the few singers who could do justice to Bacharach's unusual, rhythmically challenging, and difficult compositions."

Warwick appealed to a wide audience, much like Nat King Cole had a decade earlier. Her immense talent and popularity led to a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II in 1968—the first black female performer to be so honored. However, when the Bacharach and David partnership disintegrated in 1972, it left Warwick facing a breach of contract suit from Warner Bros. since she would be unable to cut a new album of their material. She successfully sued Bacharach and David, settling out of court.

In 1974, Warwick collaborated with The Spinners on the single "Then Came You," which went to the top of the Billboard chart. However, for much of the 1970s, Warwick's career waned. Her personal life also reached a low point when her 1967 marriage to musician and actor Bill Elliott began to founder. On the advice of an astrologer and numerologist, Warwick added an "e" to the end of her last name, which had been misspelled on her first record, in the hope of improving her fortunes. The extra letter did not help. She and Elliott were divorced in 1975, and two years later Warwick's father died unexpectedly and her mother suffered a stroke. However, Warwick maintains a strong belief in the power of numerology and astrology. In the 1990s, she became a spokes-woman for the Psychic Friends Network.

Warwick's career revived in 1979 when Arista Records president Clive Davis, who would also be instrumental in the career of Warwick's cousin Whitney Houston , signed Warwick to a contract. He also arranged for Barry Manilow to produce her first Arista album, Dionne. Warwick was initially concerned that Manilow might give the album the "disco" sound that Warwick had deliberately avoided; however, their collaboration was spectacularly successful. Some of their hits include "I'll Never Love This Way Again" and "Deja Vu," Warwick's initial platinum record. Both songs earned Grammy Awards for Warwick, making her the first female artist to win in both the Pop Female Vocal and the Rhythm and Blues Female Vocal categories.

In June 1980, Warwick began hosting the television show "Solid Gold," which featured a countdown of the week's top hits and guest appearances by popular recording artists. She was fired the following spring, ostensibly because the producers thought a younger host would attract a younger audience; however, rumors circulated that Warwick was temperamental and difficult. Although Warwick acknowledged being a perfectionist, she believed that racism and sexism resulted in her abrupt departure from the show. The controversy did not affect Warwick's popularity, however, as she proved when the title song from her 1982 album Heartbreaker rose to the top ten on the Billboard chart. During the 1980s and 1990s, she co-hosted and helped originate "The Soul Train Music Awards" program and hosted her own television program, "Dionne and Friends."

Warwick is known for her humanitarian work, devoting much of her time to charitable activities. In 1984, she joined 45 other top performers to produce the hit single "We Are the World," the proceeds of which benefited Africa's

hunger-relief program. Warwick also brought together Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight , and Elton John to join her on the recording "That's What Friends Are For," written by Bacharach, with whom Warwick had reconciled. In January 1986, the song soared to #1 on the Billboard chart and raised an estimated $2 million for AIDS research. Warwick, who hosted countless fund-raising benefits for AIDS research, also became involved in boosting awareness of other health issues, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and sickle-cell anemia. To focus attention on blood diseases generally, she founded the group Blood Revolves Around Victorious Optimism (BRAVO) in the mid-1980s. On behalf of her work on these health issues, she was U.S. Ambassador for Health during this decade.

Still touring and recording regularly, in 1992 she released the album Friends Can Be Lovers, which featured the song "Sunny Weather Lover," Warwick's first Bacharach-David material in 20 years. Another notable album is Aquarela do Brasil (Watercolors of Brazil), a collection of Brazilian music released in 1994. Warwick first visited Brazil in the early 1960s and was so enthralled by the South American country that she made her home there and studied Portuguese. As the 20th century came to a close, Warwick celebrated her decades-long career with the album Dionne Sings Dionne (1998), comprising her classic hits and lesser-known "gems." More recently, she has created Carr-Todd-Warwick Productions, Inc., a production company that focuses on film and television projects.