The Soulful Voice That Paved The Way
Dionne Warwick’s enduring influence continues to shine
Do you remember the first song you ever heard? Childhood nursery rhymes and your mother singing to you don’t count.
It was the early 1970s and I must’ve been four years old when I first remember hearing Dionne Warwick sing “Walk On By.”
Now, I may have heard other recording artists before hers (because my parents were always playing music from their vast record collection), but it was the slightly raspy yet intriguingly beautiful voice of Dionne Warwick that stood out to me the most.
Originally from East Orange, New Jersey, Warwick burst onto the music scene in 1962 with her first major hit “Don’t Make Me Over.” That was the start of a musical journey that yielded scores of other Top 100 singles over the next two decades, including the million-selling single she recorded in 1974 with The Spinners titled, “Then Came You,” and her 1982 hit “Heartbreaker.”
During a time when White radio stations refused to play Black music, Warwick was one of the first Black women to achieve widespread success. Her sound of “sophisticated soul” helped to break down racial barriers in the music industry.
She paved the way for so many other R&B and pop singers, including her first cousin, Whitney Houston, and she was one of the first celebrities to speak out in the fight against AIDS in the 1980s.
I loved singing her catchy lyrics as a child:
If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk on by, walk on by ( from “Walk On By”)
I know he’s out to break my heart
And he’ll rip my dreams apart
But I love that fella so
And I’ll never let him go (from”Get Rid Of Him”).
Some of ya’ll don’t know nothin’ about that. This is where Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube come in handy. We all now have the ability explore the history of music (but, of course, I’m declaring the music I grew up on was the absolute best).
While numerous other female recording artists have taken center stage since Warwick topped the charts, it was just announced that she’ll be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for 2024, along with Mary J. Blige, Cher, Kool & The Gang, and others.
Warwick had been nominated twice before but wasn’t among the finalists. This year’s announcement came as a surprise to her since she didn’t realize she was once again up for consideration.
“So it was kind of surprising. I’ve never considered myself a rock & roller. I guess everybody else did, except me. Which is OK, you know. I’ll be a rock & roller if that’s what you want me to be,” Warwick said of her upcoming induction.
That’s exciting news regarding the 83-year-old songstress, and it’s another milestone in an illustrious career filled with over 60 years of making music, selling over 100 million records, and garnering a host of other awards and honors. Among them, six Grammys (including a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a 2023 Kennedy Center Honor.
Shine on, Ms. Warwick.
Kelly’s debut book, THE WEATHER OFFICER, will be available Summer/Fall 2024.
