Express Yourself! Features
“For Everything You Are”
By Peter Pierce
Compassionate, strong willed, God -fearing, mother, daughter, friend, legend,
humanitarian and a no holds-back individual. Overflowing with talent surviving the last
four decades and still ongoing, one would not be able to omit the name Dionne Warwick
from a list of true and established artists. This article cannot reflect the full extent of Ms.
Warwick’s career; however, it hopefully gives some idea of the contribution that she has
so generously made.
As the unforgettable sixties began, there was a young girl who burst onto the scene in
1962 with her own unique style and powerhouse voice. When you hear the name Dionne
Warwick, you probably first think of “Walk On By”, I Say A Little Prayer”, “Don’t Make Me
Over” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart”. Others may think of “April Fools”, “In Between
the Heartaches”, “It’s Love That Really Counts” and “Unlucky”. These precious gems can
be found on albums such as “Here I Am”, “The Windows Of The World”, “Here Where
There Is Love” and”Soulful”. There was also an unforgettable gospel album entitled, “The
Magic of Believing”. In fact, there are at least twenty albums that Ms. Warwick made in the
sixties. Between studio sessions and sold-out concerts, she was also able to star in the
movie "Slaves," win numerous awards including "Most Popular Female Artist" and garner
her first Grammy for, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”. During the sixties she had six
gold records.
In 1969, she gave birth to her first son, David yet the groovy seventies proved to be an
emotional rollercoaster for Dionne. She started out with a"Best Female Artist" award and
won the Harvard University Hasty Pudding “Woman of the Year” Award and was
recognized by the National T.B. & Respiratory Disease Association for “Outstanding
Participation” in 1970. She had her second son, Damon and in 1971 was billed “Top
Selling Female Vocalist”. Another gold record for “A Decade Of Gold”, second Grammy
for, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, an Image Award for “Best Female Singer Of The Year"
and her very first number one hit song, “Then Came You” in 1974. However, all of this
could not prepare Dionne for the devastating passing of her father, Mancel Warrick. Her
mother, Lee had a stroke the day after her father passed, creating more emotional stress
for the family and Dionne’s shoulders were weighed down even more and she felt that she
had to be strong for everyone else. It was a very difficult time and the best thing that
happened to Dionne in the' 70’s was the extra time she had to raise her two handsome
sons.
She had moved from Scepter Records to Warner Brothers, which proved to be an
unsuccessful move commercially and promotionally for Dionne. Although, she had a few
unbelievable songs for the die-hard fans like, “I Didn’t Mean To Love You” and “Love At
First Sight”, her Warner albums were not promoted which meant sales were very sluggish
during this time. So slow, in fact, that Dionne was ready to hang up the singing hat and
use her credentials that she earned at Hartford University as a teacher. That said, many
Dionne Warwick die-hard fans rate “Just Being Myself” very highly; and another timeless
piece was the live concert album with Isaac Hayes, "A Man And A Woman", highly
recommended if you can find it with such tracks as "I Say A Little Prayer"/"By The Time I
Get To Phoenix" and "Feelings" which are just out of this world! I would love to challenge
any artist today to try and capture the same essence that Dionne put into those songs.
Along with “Love To Love You",“Do A Little Dance…” and “This Will Be” really
showcased how Dionne could 'get down' and funky.
As luck would have it, Clive Davis believed that we, the "listeners”, were not ready to give
Dionne up so he signed Dionne with Arista and teamed Ms. Warwick with Barry Manilow
and created a spectacular album entitled, “Dionne”. This album put Dionne back on track
and was a great success. The eighties were a wonderful decade for Dionne. It’s been
stated before, “… that it was like she could do no wrong…” at least as far as music was
concerned. She was at the top of her game. The album, “Dionne” won her two Grammys
the same night, the first time that a female singer had accomplished this, “Déjà Vu” for
"Best Performance Female R&B" and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” for "Best
Performance Female Pop." Both singles went gold. “No Night So Long” was next with
“Hot! Live and Otherwise” following. This album is another big time favorite among Dionne
fans, with “In The Stone/What You Won’t Do For Love”, “One In A Million” and an
unforgettable live version of “I’ll Never Love This Way Again”, this masterpiece was a
benchmark expression of Dionne's talents.
Teaming with the Bee Gees resulted in another success with “Heartbreaker”; both album
and single and of the same name went gold and other highlights of the LP were the songs,
“It Makes No Difference”, and “Just One More Night”. Other albums in this decade
included, “Friends In Love”, “Finder of Lost Loves”, and “How Many Times Can We Say
Goodbye”, produced by Luther Vandross. If you really want to hear one of Dionne’s
powerhouse songs listen to, “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” on the “Finder of Lost
Loves” album. This was also the era for “Solid Gold” with Dionne again in the forefront
hosting the very first syndicated variety show. 1985 brought Dionne her Star on The
Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was a “We Are The World” participant and earned her fifth
Grammy in 1986 with “That’s What Friends Are For”. 1987 brought another successful
project; “Reservations for Two” which showcased her talent as a duet partner. Not that
we didn’t already know this by watching "Solid Gold" and other fabulous duet ventures.
It’s hard to fathom that during this decade Dionne was also touring all over the world,
once again unselfishly devoting to her fans while finding time to spend with her family
time. Dionne has always been a family-oriented individual. Family and God are extremely
important to her and I’m sure that her immediate family has sometimes had a difficult time
sharing Dionne with others; as she stated in an interview once, she spends about eighty
percent of her time in the air, fifteen percent doing interviews, etc. and the other five-
percent she tries to keep to herself.
Dionne was somewhat controversial in the '90s. Sometimes, it’s not best to be at the
forefront of something new, but there she was again having the number one infomercial
on television. She received a lot of flack for this but you know what? Dionne is a
businesswoman and she was taking care of her business. Record sales were low so she
ventured into other arenas like interior decorating and a furniture business. Still in
demand for concerts and touring, Dionne was keeping busy. She came out with a Cole
Porter collection; the “Friends Can Be Lovers” album included a duet with cousin Whitney
Houston, written by Dionne’s son, David Elliott and some upbeat funky songs; and
"Aquarela Do Brasil," which was a very important project for her personally, with Dionne
expanding her God-given musical talents by singing in Portuguese.
The '90s were a bit disappointing for Dionne sales-wise: her contract at Arista was up and
was not renewed while at the end of the decade, most people were still associating her
with the infamous infomercial for "The Psychic Friends Network." Rounding out the '90’s,
“Dionne Sings Dionne” was a most welcome addition for her fans. This was her last album
of the decade and was released in 1998. I enjoy this album a great deal with the
reinvention of “Walk On By” and “I Say A Little Prayer”. Another important event in Dionne’
s life took place when her elementary school was renamed the “Dionne Warwick Institute
of Economics and Entrepreneurs” School.
As the new Millennium started there was Dionne at the Oscars! She looked quite radiant
and I was so glad to see her getting some great publicity at a prestigious event. I’m not
sure if the record still holds true today, but at the beginning of the millennium she was
recorded to being the second most charted female singer, a very high mark on a brilliant
musical resume. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and on
November 27, 2003, she marked her fortieth year in show business.
She is currently on a world tour and is putting together a 40th anniversary project entitled,
“My Friends and Me”. She’s also promoting her brand new book, “My Point Of View” and
is sampled on one of Usher’s current songs, “Throwback”, the number one CD at the time
of writing. The song being sampled is, “You’re Gonna Need Me” from the “Just Being
Myself” album.
It seems as though Dionne keeps on going and on top of it is looking absolutely beautiful!
In closing, Dionne’s career has had its share of turbulence. The media sometimes loves to
focus on the negative aspects or mishaps of a celebrity and Dionne is not excluded form
this list. However, she seems to always hold her head up high and maintain a positive
attitude. She is a class act, something she was taught to be at an early age and she has
maintained that throughout her entire life. When people ask me what is it that I love about
Dionne, I have to say it is the way that she can take a song and make it her own. A few
examples are, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, “Yesterday”, “Imagine”, “Will You Still
Love Me Tomorrow”, “Touch Me In The Morning”, “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”
and “Man In The Mirror” are just tips of the iceberg. If you’ve followed Dionne from the
beginning of her career you may think of “Make the Night a Little Longer”, “Please Make
Him Love Me”, and “I Could Make You Mine”. If you came onto the Dionne scene later in
her career, you may be partial to “Two Ships Passing In The Night”, “Got A Date”, “Finder
of Lost Loves”, “Walk Away”, “Déjà vu” and “Begin the Beguine”.
Dionne has also been a part of many movie themes that were also hits for her and she has
been involved in soundtracks during every decade of her recording career with work on
"Valley of The Dolls", "Love Machine", "The Woman In Red" and "Isn’t She Great. " As
part of her constant work in the humanitarian arena, she was recently named, “Global
Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization”. As her fans
anxiously await her next duet album, “My Friends and Me”, we watch Dionne very closely
through television interviews and concerts. Dionne is truly loved by her family, friends
and fans alike. I’m hoping that one day Dionne will get the recognition that she so
deserves for giving us forty years of pure entertainment enjoyment. I’ve had the ultimate
pleasure of telling Dionne personally, “I love you so much that I would carry your bags all
over this world”! And I truly mean it!
You can reach Peter by e-mail at: onedwfan@aol.com
By Peter Pierce
Compassionate, strong willed, God -fearing, mother, daughter, friend, legend,
humanitarian and a no holds-back individual. Overflowing with talent surviving the last
four decades and still ongoing, one would not be able to omit the name Dionne Warwick
from a list of true and established artists. This article cannot reflect the full extent of Ms.
Warwick’s career; however, it hopefully gives some idea of the contribution that she has
so generously made.
As the unforgettable sixties began, there was a young girl who burst onto the scene in
1962 with her own unique style and powerhouse voice. When you hear the name Dionne
Warwick, you probably first think of “Walk On By”, I Say A Little Prayer”, “Don’t Make Me
Over” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart”. Others may think of “April Fools”, “In Between
the Heartaches”, “It’s Love That Really Counts” and “Unlucky”. These precious gems can
be found on albums such as “Here I Am”, “The Windows Of The World”, “Here Where
There Is Love” and”Soulful”. There was also an unforgettable gospel album entitled, “The
Magic of Believing”. In fact, there are at least twenty albums that Ms. Warwick made in the
sixties. Between studio sessions and sold-out concerts, she was also able to star in the
movie "Slaves," win numerous awards including "Most Popular Female Artist" and garner
her first Grammy for, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”. During the sixties she had six
gold records.
In 1969, she gave birth to her first son, David yet the groovy seventies proved to be an
emotional rollercoaster for Dionne. She started out with a"Best Female Artist" award and
won the Harvard University Hasty Pudding “Woman of the Year” Award and was
recognized by the National T.B. & Respiratory Disease Association for “Outstanding
Participation” in 1970. She had her second son, Damon and in 1971 was billed “Top
Selling Female Vocalist”. Another gold record for “A Decade Of Gold”, second Grammy
for, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, an Image Award for “Best Female Singer Of The Year"
and her very first number one hit song, “Then Came You” in 1974. However, all of this
could not prepare Dionne for the devastating passing of her father, Mancel Warrick. Her
mother, Lee had a stroke the day after her father passed, creating more emotional stress
for the family and Dionne’s shoulders were weighed down even more and she felt that she
had to be strong for everyone else. It was a very difficult time and the best thing that
happened to Dionne in the' 70’s was the extra time she had to raise her two handsome
sons.
She had moved from Scepter Records to Warner Brothers, which proved to be an
unsuccessful move commercially and promotionally for Dionne. Although, she had a few
unbelievable songs for the die-hard fans like, “I Didn’t Mean To Love You” and “Love At
First Sight”, her Warner albums were not promoted which meant sales were very sluggish
during this time. So slow, in fact, that Dionne was ready to hang up the singing hat and
use her credentials that she earned at Hartford University as a teacher. That said, many
Dionne Warwick die-hard fans rate “Just Being Myself” very highly; and another timeless
piece was the live concert album with Isaac Hayes, "A Man And A Woman", highly
recommended if you can find it with such tracks as "I Say A Little Prayer"/"By The Time I
Get To Phoenix" and "Feelings" which are just out of this world! I would love to challenge
any artist today to try and capture the same essence that Dionne put into those songs.
Along with “Love To Love You",“Do A Little Dance…” and “This Will Be” really
showcased how Dionne could 'get down' and funky.
As luck would have it, Clive Davis believed that we, the "listeners”, were not ready to give
Dionne up so he signed Dionne with Arista and teamed Ms. Warwick with Barry Manilow
and created a spectacular album entitled, “Dionne”. This album put Dionne back on track
and was a great success. The eighties were a wonderful decade for Dionne. It’s been
stated before, “… that it was like she could do no wrong…” at least as far as music was
concerned. She was at the top of her game. The album, “Dionne” won her two Grammys
the same night, the first time that a female singer had accomplished this, “Déjà Vu” for
"Best Performance Female R&B" and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” for "Best
Performance Female Pop." Both singles went gold. “No Night So Long” was next with
“Hot! Live and Otherwise” following. This album is another big time favorite among Dionne
fans, with “In The Stone/What You Won’t Do For Love”, “One In A Million” and an
unforgettable live version of “I’ll Never Love This Way Again”, this masterpiece was a
benchmark expression of Dionne's talents.
Teaming with the Bee Gees resulted in another success with “Heartbreaker”; both album
and single and of the same name went gold and other highlights of the LP were the songs,
“It Makes No Difference”, and “Just One More Night”. Other albums in this decade
included, “Friends In Love”, “Finder of Lost Loves”, and “How Many Times Can We Say
Goodbye”, produced by Luther Vandross. If you really want to hear one of Dionne’s
powerhouse songs listen to, “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” on the “Finder of Lost
Loves” album. This was also the era for “Solid Gold” with Dionne again in the forefront
hosting the very first syndicated variety show. 1985 brought Dionne her Star on The
Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was a “We Are The World” participant and earned her fifth
Grammy in 1986 with “That’s What Friends Are For”. 1987 brought another successful
project; “Reservations for Two” which showcased her talent as a duet partner. Not that
we didn’t already know this by watching "Solid Gold" and other fabulous duet ventures.
It’s hard to fathom that during this decade Dionne was also touring all over the world,
once again unselfishly devoting to her fans while finding time to spend with her family
time. Dionne has always been a family-oriented individual. Family and God are extremely
important to her and I’m sure that her immediate family has sometimes had a difficult time
sharing Dionne with others; as she stated in an interview once, she spends about eighty
percent of her time in the air, fifteen percent doing interviews, etc. and the other five-
percent she tries to keep to herself.
Dionne was somewhat controversial in the '90s. Sometimes, it’s not best to be at the
forefront of something new, but there she was again having the number one infomercial
on television. She received a lot of flack for this but you know what? Dionne is a
businesswoman and she was taking care of her business. Record sales were low so she
ventured into other arenas like interior decorating and a furniture business. Still in
demand for concerts and touring, Dionne was keeping busy. She came out with a Cole
Porter collection; the “Friends Can Be Lovers” album included a duet with cousin Whitney
Houston, written by Dionne’s son, David Elliott and some upbeat funky songs; and
"Aquarela Do Brasil," which was a very important project for her personally, with Dionne
expanding her God-given musical talents by singing in Portuguese.
The '90s were a bit disappointing for Dionne sales-wise: her contract at Arista was up and
was not renewed while at the end of the decade, most people were still associating her
with the infamous infomercial for "The Psychic Friends Network." Rounding out the '90’s,
“Dionne Sings Dionne” was a most welcome addition for her fans. This was her last album
of the decade and was released in 1998. I enjoy this album a great deal with the
reinvention of “Walk On By” and “I Say A Little Prayer”. Another important event in Dionne’
s life took place when her elementary school was renamed the “Dionne Warwick Institute
of Economics and Entrepreneurs” School.
As the new Millennium started there was Dionne at the Oscars! She looked quite radiant
and I was so glad to see her getting some great publicity at a prestigious event. I’m not
sure if the record still holds true today, but at the beginning of the millennium she was
recorded to being the second most charted female singer, a very high mark on a brilliant
musical resume. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and on
November 27, 2003, she marked her fortieth year in show business.
She is currently on a world tour and is putting together a 40th anniversary project entitled,
“My Friends and Me”. She’s also promoting her brand new book, “My Point Of View” and
is sampled on one of Usher’s current songs, “Throwback”, the number one CD at the time
of writing. The song being sampled is, “You’re Gonna Need Me” from the “Just Being
Myself” album.
It seems as though Dionne keeps on going and on top of it is looking absolutely beautiful!
In closing, Dionne’s career has had its share of turbulence. The media sometimes loves to
focus on the negative aspects or mishaps of a celebrity and Dionne is not excluded form
this list. However, she seems to always hold her head up high and maintain a positive
attitude. She is a class act, something she was taught to be at an early age and she has
maintained that throughout her entire life. When people ask me what is it that I love about
Dionne, I have to say it is the way that she can take a song and make it her own. A few
examples are, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, “Yesterday”, “Imagine”, “Will You Still
Love Me Tomorrow”, “Touch Me In The Morning”, “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”
and “Man In The Mirror” are just tips of the iceberg. If you’ve followed Dionne from the
beginning of her career you may think of “Make the Night a Little Longer”, “Please Make
Him Love Me”, and “I Could Make You Mine”. If you came onto the Dionne scene later in
her career, you may be partial to “Two Ships Passing In The Night”, “Got A Date”, “Finder
of Lost Loves”, “Walk Away”, “Déjà vu” and “Begin the Beguine”.
Dionne has also been a part of many movie themes that were also hits for her and she has
been involved in soundtracks during every decade of her recording career with work on
"Valley of The Dolls", "Love Machine", "The Woman In Red" and "Isn’t She Great. " As
part of her constant work in the humanitarian arena, she was recently named, “Global
Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization”. As her fans
anxiously await her next duet album, “My Friends and Me”, we watch Dionne very closely
through television interviews and concerts. Dionne is truly loved by her family, friends
and fans alike. I’m hoping that one day Dionne will get the recognition that she so
deserves for giving us forty years of pure entertainment enjoyment. I’ve had the ultimate
pleasure of telling Dionne personally, “I love you so much that I would carry your bags all
over this world”! And I truly mean it!
You can reach Peter by e-mail at: onedwfan@aol.com
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |