Entertainment
DIONNE DOES IT AGAIN!
The Legendary Songstress is enjoying the time of her life…at 83!
The inimitable Dionne Warwick, the original “it” girl, who, in a career that began in the 1960s, gave us such staples to pop music as “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Alfie,” “Walk On By” and “Do You Know The Way to San Jose,” could be resting on her laurels, but she is doing anything but that! In 2023, the singer, activist, host, community organizer and groundbreaking entertainer was honored with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, where Debbie Allen, Cynthia Erivo, Chloe Bailey, Ego Nwodim (who laughingly and lovingly plays Dionne on “The Dionne Warwick Show” skits on SNL), country superstar Mickey Guyton as well as The Spinners, the group with whom she recorded the #1 R&B/Pop hit “Then Came You,” sang and spoke her praises.
2024 shows that there is no stopping the train of triumphs and successes for an icon when that icon is Dionne Warwick! She will FINALLY be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She acknowledges with a wit that made her the Queen of Twitter: “It is quite interesting that it’s happening now, because I’ve been nominated a couple of times before, and now they’ve finally gotten it right!”
Adding to her accolades this year, the woman who put the music of Burt Bachrach and Hal David on the musical map and who is hugely responsible for the many compositions that were the rhyme and reason behind their 2021 Gershwin Prize for songwriting, will be honored by that same institution this year. In a tribute to her stellar career and a legacy that has given us songs like “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Message to Michael” and so many more, The Library of Congress will honor Warwick later this year.
If that weren’t enough, Warwick, the consummate song stylist and performer, has been recording new music. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and with so much that’s going on in the world, the “What The World Needs Now” singer has been recording inspirational music for a new project that will be released this year, of songs for the heart and for the soul because “it’s what we need right now. So much is going on and I know what music can do to help us move the conversation forward.” Dionne knows better that many as she rallied her friends Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight to perform “That’s What Friends Are For,” which became the anthem for the HIV/AIDS rallying cry that brought the country together to destigmatize the disease and called us to help each other. The song helped to raise awareness and raised millions for AIDS research and care.
