Culture
Dionne Warwick talks honoring lost loved ones in concert, befriending her idols, and new duets album
By: Ian Saint
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WARREN, Ohio (WOUB) — When Dionne Warwick performed Walk On By at her 2024 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the sold-out crowd at Rocket Arena — filled with fellow artists, industry figures, and music enthusiasts — roared along to the song’s familiar chorus. The 1964 single’s fusion of bossa nova inspiration and brass instrumentation, paired with Warwick’s jazzy but soulful voice, broke racial and geographic barriers — notching the Top 10 in both the USA and UK, a rank many subsequent Warwick singles would attain globally into the late ‘80s.
Louisville Public Media recently showcased Warwick’s Walk On By performance in Belgium on New Year’s Eve 1964. Her poised stage presence reflected the influence of earlier performers she admired and later came to know — artists she discussed in conversation with WOUB’s Ian Saint ahead of her concert at the Robins Theatre (160 E. Market St.) tomorrow. A transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.
IAN SAINT: Welcome back for your first Ohio show since your Rock Hall induction. What stands out about that remarkable day in Cleveland?
DIONNE WARWICK: It was a wonderful event. And it’s so nice to know people think that way about me.
The emotion was palpable. I’m sorry you lost your dear aunt, Cissy Houston, days before. Richard Kerr and Will Jennings, who wrote I’ll Never Love This Way Again, died months prior; your collaborator, Burt Bacharach, shortly beforehand. Does singing their songs provoke new honor, for keeping their memories alive?
WARWICK: Oh, absolutely. These people are part of my existence. They’ve written wonderful songs for me to sing, and the collaborations were more than just (between) songwriter and singer — they’re friendships. So it means an awful lot.
As a young woman, you’d go see Eartha Kitt at the Persian Room, Ella Fitzgerald at Basin Street East, Johnny Mathis and Lena Horne at the Waldorf — and take notes on a yellow legal pad?
WARWICK: Yes, I did. It was everything. These were the places I wanted to eventually be able to work at. I learned the kinds of songs that were being sung.
Did any particular performance leave an especially strong impression on you?
WARWICK: No, they all did. I mean, you can’t compare any of those (legends). Each one had their own style and ways of doing things. So I learned an awful lot; it really was like going to school. And eventually, they all became friends.
That’s incredible, because that certainly doesn’t always happen.
WARWICK: I know, tell me about it.
When you met Lena Horne, you learned she’d already been studying you, too?
WARWICK: It was amazing. I attended her (1964) show at London’s Talk of the Town. After the show, we were invited back to her dressing room. She let me know, “I have all your recordings.” When someone like that says that, you want to get up and say, “Okay, thank you very much. Goodbye.” Until she started naming songs nobody but me knew, it was like, “Oh, okay, you do know my stuff.”
1962’s Don’t Make Me Over was your first Top 40 hit. I believe you came up with the song’s title?
WARWICK: I did. I let Mr. Bacharach and Mr. David know that was something they could never do, try to “make me over.” It was a wonderful thing to say, because then Hal David put pen to paper and gave me my first hit.
Do you recall when you first heard it on the radio?
WARWICK: Yes, I do. I remember vividly. I was in my car, on the freeway, heading home from Newark Airport, with my radio on. All of a sudden, my speakers played me singing.
You must be a good driver; I probably would’ve had an accident.
WARWICK: Well, no; I pulled over.
Then, on your first French tour shortly after, Marlene Dietrich introduced you at L’Olympia in Paris?
WARWICK: That’s true. I met Marlene because Burt (Bacharach) was her musical conductor. They were getting ready to tour, and I literally bumped into her as she was leaving his office, and I was coming in. She turned around and looked at me; I looked back at her. I couldn’t believe who I was seeing.
You’ve collaborated in seemingly every genre. Except maybe polka?
WARWICK: No, I’ve not done polka. That’s the one thing I’ve not done.
Speaking of musical versatility, you’ve collaborated with country artists including Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd, and, most recently, Dolly Parton. What was it like duetting with Dolly on Peace Like a River?
WARWICK: Dolly is one of the sweetest, most engaging people I’ve met in quite a while. Then, for her to have, of course, given the song (I Will Always Love You) that my dear cousin Whitney (Houston) took to the rafters made quite a difference. She is a beautiful person. She’s lovely, fun, and has great talent. So it was a joy to get a call from her saying, “I have a song I want you to sing with me.” And I said, “Okay, I’m coming.”
Who else would you like to collaborate with?
WARWICK: Well, you’re going to have to wait, because I’m finishing a CD of duets with the icons of our industry right now. So you’ll find out as everybody else will.
That’s What Friends Are For, written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, was the biggest hit of 1986. You recorded it with Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Gladys Knight, with the royalties donated to amfAR to support HIV/AIDS research. What is it like performing that song today?
WARWICK: It’s absolutely wonderful, because everybody in my audience knows the song — when the introduction starts, they all start singing. So I really don’t have to sing the song; they sing it for me.
Thank you, Ms. Warwick, for speaking with me. I felt daunted by narrowing down what to ask about your illustrious career, but this has been a pleasure. We’re excited for you to play Ohio again.
WARWICK: Thank you, darling. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you. Take care.