Dionne Warwick

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About Dionne Warwick

Since her debut in the early ’60s, legendary pop and R&B singer Dionne Warwick has landed 56 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including two No. 1 hits. Among female artists, only Aretha Franklin has more hits to her credit. • Born Marie Dionne Warrick in Orange, New Jersey, the singer grew up in a musical family. Her mother managed the gospel group The Drinkard Singers (which included aunt Cissy Houston), her father was a gospel record promoter for Chess Records, her sister Dee Dee Warwick was a popular soul singer and her cousin was Whitney Houston. • In 1958, Warwick formed The Gospelaires with Myrna Utley, Carol Slade and her sister Dee Dee. • Famed pop songwriter Burt Bacharach discovered Warwick in 1961, when The Gospelaires recorded background vocals for Drifters’ “Mexican Divorce” (composed by Bacharach). That led to their career-long partnership. • Warwick’s 1963 debut solo album, Presenting Dionne Warwick, produced by Bacharach and Hal David, yielded her first Top 40 hit, “Don’t Make Me Over”. • Her 1964 album Make Way for Dionne Warwick features hits like “You’ll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)”, “Reach Out for Me” and her signature song “Walk On By”, a Top 10 pop hit in the US and the UK. • Warwick scored her first Top 5 pop hit with 1967’s “I Say A Little Prayer”. The B-side, “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls”, reached No. 2 the following year. • In 1969, Warwick won her first Grammy—Best Female Pop Vocal Performance—for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”. • She teamed up with The Spinners for 1974’s “Then Came You", her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. • In 1985, Warwick returned to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “That’s What Friends Are For”, a fundraiser for AIDS research and prevention featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. • Throughout the ’90s, Warwick was perhaps best known to young people as the spokesperson for the Psychic Friends Network. • In 2019, the singer released her 29th album, She's Back, and was honored with the Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award. • Warwick was nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the first time in 2021.

HOMETOWN
East Orange, NJ, United States
BORN
12 December 1940
GENRE
R&B/Soul

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