5 Amazing Dionne Warwick Facts
By Michael Jones and Eric Grigs | December 12, 2020
We say a little prayer of thanks for Dionne Warwick reaching her birthday milestone of 80 years today. These five facts demonstrate how much Dionne has contributed to the Great American Songbook.
The title of her first hit single “Don’t Make Me Over” reportedly came from Warwick snapping back at writers Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the phrase.
She started out doing back-up vocals and singing in groups that were largely family affairs (The Gospelaires and the Drinkard Sisters), but her big break came after meeting Burt Bacharach who paid her to record demos of his songs. When Florence Greenberg, the head of Scepter Records, heard some of the demos, he told Bacharach “Forget the songs, get the girl!” and she was signed to the record label. “Don’t Make Me Over” is a fitting start to the solo career of the fiercely independent and trailblazing artist.
Warwick signed with Warner Brothers Records for $5 million — the highest paid contract for a female vocalist up to that time in 1971.
Unfortunately, after a decade-long string of 60s hits at Scepter Records, fueled by the Bacharach-David songwriting team, the two writers had a falling out right after her move to her new label. Warwick was shuttled around with other writers and producers that never quite clicked in the same way, resulting in only one significant major hit from her time at Warners. But what a hit it was: the chart-topping duet “Then Came You” with the Spinners. She would have a career renaissance throughout the 80s under the guidance of Clive Davis on the Arista label—beginning with her “comeback” song “I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again” from the 1979 Barry Manilow produced album Dionne.
Dionne is on record as not particularly liking one of her biggest hits, Heartbreaker, from the album of the same name.
Written and produced by Barry Gibb and the Gibb brothers of Bee Gees fame, she trusted their judgment even though the song didn’t resonate with her. Later, she joked, “I cried all the way to the bank.” Someone else who reportedly cried over the song: co-writer Maurice Gibb. It seems his heart was broken over the Bee Gees not recording “Heartbreaker” themselves, instead giving it away to another artist. Warwick took it to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and the top ten of the main chart.
Her most recent #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was Released as a charity single and it raised over $3 million for AIDS causes.
Although she’s had continued success on the R&B and AC charts, her last #1 on the main Billboard Hot 100 is actually attributed to “Dionne & Friends.” Those friends include Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John who recorded the smash “That’s What Friends Are For.” A return to the Bacharach catalog (he co-wrote it with wife Carole Bayer Sager, but originally recorded by Rod Stewart for the movie Night Shift). It dominated radio airwaves in 1986 and snagged two Grammys, including Song of the Year and Best Performance by a Duo or Group.
ARTISTS WHO RELEASED MUSIC BEFORE THE 1970s CAN, IN PART, THANK DIONNE FOR SOME UPCOMING ROYALTY PAYMENTS.
Songs recorded prior to 1972 were left out of copyright laws that facilitated royalties paid to artists for music when used by digital services. Warwick’s testimony before Congress, alongside other artists like Smokey Robinson who were affected, helped to pass the Music Modernization Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2021. During her remarks, she referenced one of her biggest hits that falls into the copyright loophole: “I’m sure you all thought I walked on by with a check in my hand. I wish I did, but I just walked on by.”
Learn more about this living legend by listening to our most recent Pop Trash Playlist on Stationhead.
Pop Trash Podcast co-hosts Mike Jones and Eric Grigs spin some of her best work and discuss highlights of Dionne’s 80 years!