For more than six decades, Dionne Warwick has captivated audiences. The six-time Grammy Award winner is as outspoken as she is talented, and she has never shied away from serious issues—like the AIDS epidemic, as she played a crucial role in bringing much-needed attention to the crisis.
Warwick, still going strong at 84 years old, will return to the Coachella Valley for a show at Spotlight 29 on Friday, March 21. During a wide-ranging interview with the Independent, she was warm, down-to-earth and refreshingly candid. Yet one question unexpectedly gave her pause, leaving her momentarily—and uncharacteristically—at a loss for words: When asked to describe herself in a single word, she said, “Oh gosh! Ooh, I don’t know. The only word I can think of is me. Honest me.”
Born and raised in East Orange, N.J., Warwick grew up in a family deeply immersed in music. Her father was a Pullman porter (in other words, he served railway customers), and her mother sang. Various members of her family performed in a gospel group, the Drinkard Singers.
“The Drinkard Singers were renowned; they were the first gospel group to perform at (the Newport Jazz Festival) and the first Black gospel group to record for RCA,” Warwick said.
Though not a member of the Drinkard Singers, Warwick recalled, “I kind of substituted whenever there was someone needed. I had my own gospel group, the Gospelaires, with my sister and some cousins.”
Despite the musical background, Warwick initially chose not to pursue it professionally. “I wanted to be a teacher,” she said.
To help pay her college tuition, she worked as a background singer on records. One day, Warwick sang backup vocals for the Drifters’ recording of “Mexican Divorce,” written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard.
“After the session was over, (Bacharach) approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing demonstration records and more background work with songs he’d be writing with another songwriting partner named Hal David,” she said.
Warwick signed with the songwriting team—and the rest is history. That said, the partnership had some rocky early moments.
“Because I had no intentions of recording, as it turned out, they gave (what was supposed to be) my song away,” Warwick said. “The song was ‘Make It Easy on Yourself.’ They gave it to Jerry Butler, and I was not very happy about that. As a result of it, though, I thanked them for giving it away, because along came a song, ‘Don’t Make Me Over,’ which is my very first recording.”
The song, recorded and released in 1962, became a hit, reaching No. 21 on the Billboard charts.
The Bacharach-David-Warwick partnership flourished for years, cementing the trio as musical powerhouses. A string of hits followed, with seven records reaching the Billboard Top 10, and 12 songs landing in the Top 40. These timeless classics include “Walk on By,” “Message to Michael,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.”
Breaking Barriers
Warwick toured across the country, including the racially segregated South, early in her career.
“It was quite interesting,” she said. “It was something I had no knowledge of, coming from East Orange, where I literally lived in a neighborhood I called, basically, the United Nations—every race, creed, color and religion lived there.”
Her music transcended barriers. In 1969, she won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.”
“I was never one to be put in a box,” she said. “I’m thrilled to be able to say, you know, I crossed all genres of music. That’s what it should be. Music is music, regardless.”
Warwick and her then-husband, William Elliott, welcomed their first son, David, in 1969, followed by Damon four years later. The early 1970s saw her step back from the spotlight as her partnership with Bacharach and David ended.
“It was wonderful! I was Mommy,” she said with a laugh. “I had a wonderful time raising my babies, sending them to school and carpooling and doing all of the things mommies do.”
“He just refused to say the word. I finally got him to say it. If his eyes could have killed me, I’d be dead today.”
Dionne warwick, on Ronald Reagan and HIV/AIDS
In 1979, her career took another turn when Clive Davis signed her to Arista Records.
“He put me with a wonderful young man, who now has become one of my best friends, Barry Manilow, to record this particular album of mine, Dionne,” she said. “It was my very first platinum album.”
The record included the hits “Déjà Vu” and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again.”
Taking on the AIDS Crisis
Throughout her career, Warwick has used her platform to advocate for change, most notably during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
“We were losing so many people within the entertainment industry. In fact, I lost two people in my group,” she said. “We didn’t know what this thing was. Nobody knew what it was. Everybody thought it was cancer of some sort.
“I started becoming the nosy person that I am, asking doctors what they knew about it, and I finally decided to call the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and I spoke to Dr. (Anthony) Fauci. In fact, to this very day, he still calls me his nemesis,” she said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to give me some information.’”
Warwick became a driving force for AIDS awareness, working with the American Foundation for AIDS Research. She reunited with Bacharach for “That’s What Friends Are For,” bringing her friends Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder to record the song with her. The song became the biggest Billboard hit of 1986, with all the proceeds going to AIDS research, raising millions of dollars.
Her advocacy extended to the White House, where she pressured President Ronald Reagan to publicly acknowledge the epidemic.
“He just refused to say the word,” she said. “I finally got him to say it. If his eyes could have killed me, I’d be dead today.”
In recognition of her efforts, Reagan named her a U.S. Ambassador of Health in 1987.
In recent years, Warwick has received numerous honors, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
Despite her accolades, she remains as active as ever. She’s embarking on a European tour in April, recording new music with her son Damon, a successful music producer, and entertaining fans with her sharp wit on X/Twitter. At Spotlight 29, her son David will join her onstage as her drummer and a vocalist.
Dionne Warwick will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, March 21, at Spotlight 29, 46200 Harrison Place, in Coachella. Available tickets start at $38.80. For tickets or more information, call 760-775-5566, or visit spotlight29.com.