Dionne Warrick is 74 years old today. Having been in a partnership with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest hit makers of the entire rock era (1955–2012), based on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Charts. A singer, actress and TV show host, Warrick became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health. Warwick is second only to Aretha Franklin as the most-charted female vocalist of all time with 56 of Dionnes singles making the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998. Warwick was born in East Orange, New Jersey, to Mancel Warrick (1911–1977), who began his career as a Pullman porter and subsequently became a chef, a gospel record promoter for Chess Records and later a Certified Public Accountant; and Lee Drinkard Warwick (1920–2005), manager of The Drinkard Singers (see below). Warwick had a sister Delia Dee Dee and a brother, Mancel Jr., who was killed in an accident in 1968 at the age of 21. She has African American, Native American, Brazilian and Dutch ancestry. Dionne came from a family of singers. Dionnes mother, aunts and uncles were members of the Drinkard Singers, a renowned family gospel group and RCA recording artists that frequently performed throughout the New York metropolitan area. The Drinkard family originated from Blakley, Georgia and migrated to Newark, New Jersey in 1923. While she was performing background on The Drifterss recording of Mexican Divorce, Warwicks voice and star presence were noticed by the songs composer, Burt Bacharach, a Brill Building songwriter who was writing songs with many other songwriters, including lyricist Hal David. During the session, Bacharach asked Warwick, if she would be interested in recording demonstration recordings of his compositions to be used to pitch the tunes to record labels. One such demo, Its Love That Really Counts — destined to be recorded by Scepter-signed act The Shirelles — caught the attention of Scepter Records president Florence Greenberg. Greenberg, according to Current Biography 1969 Yearbook, told Bacharach, Forget the song, get the girl! Warwick was signed to Bacharachs and Davids production company, according to Warwick, which in turn was signed to Scepter Records in 1962 by Greenberg. The partnership would provide Bacharach with the freedom to produce Warwick without the control of recording company executives and company A&R men. Warwicks musical ability and education would also allow Bacharach to compose more challenging tunes. The demo version of Its Love That Really Counts, along with her original demo of Make It Easy on Yourself, would surface on Dionnes debut Scepter album, titled Presenting Dionne Warwick, which was released early in 1963. From there, her successful career was born. Here, Warwick performs “Walk On by,” an early song by Bacharach.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 10:26:20 +0000