Miss Warwick Appreciation Thread

Well, this thread didn't take off.

I agree, OP. And love your description of her voice as detached. Her phrasing was second to none and she really could bring a forlorn quality to her material. She didn't have Whitney's / Patti's / Gladys' voice but she could command a song and attention and her voice perfectly suited the Bacharach music she mostly sang. You'll never be able to fully appreciate her until you hear Cilla Black try and fail to sing the same songs.

But Datalounge doesn't respect her. She's just too funny, hussy. Sadly, her voice was gone by the end of the eighties. She smoked it away. I mentioned that on the Divas DL Doesn't Like thread.

The other evening I got on some type of tear and listened to every version/cover of 'Walk on By' that I could find - which was probably most of what's out there. It was a small experiment and I realized that there is no point in anyone else ever covering that song. There is nothing new that anyone can bring to it and the original vocals and arrangement could never be improved. Every version I listened to, in the back of my mind was Dionne Warwick's version, which is indelible and unsurpassed.

Just my two cents about Miss Warwick.

Despite her greatly diminished voice she still kinda manages to make it work for her. Whitney couldn’t, though her material was less forgiving.

A pioneer in the cannabis movement.

I must say there are some live versions of Alfie that knock my socks off-

I quite like alot of her music- 60's- 80's..

She had a voice that truly sounded like NO ONE else's and she made it look easy.

Alfie is a BITCH of a song to sing, and it is one of my favorites.

Other than that, she seems like a SUPREMELY MISERABLE human being. Just a nasty, foul, bitch.

But in her prime, I truly loved her voice and music.

Oh, OP!

I got ya number, HUZZY.

If you see a DL Dionne Appreciation thread

Promising praise, to be thrown at my feet

Scroll on by, scroll on by

Oh, you will FIT RIGHT IN, Hunty, Ms. Dionne!

My praise for her:

On some nights, she isn't ripping off AIDS charities for first-class tickets and suites at the Four Seasons for her and her entourage.

Do piss off, dears. I am the only Miss Warwick deserving of appreciation.

If she tells you she is running an AIDS charity for gay men dying of the disease and need assistance, my advise, JUST WALK ON BY.

[quote]A pioneer in the cannabis movement.

And also a pioneer is fake charities where she keeps 80% of the money while many gay men die miserable death thanks to her greed.

[Quote] She didn't have Whitney's / Patti's / Gladys' voice

Are we meant to pity her for that fact? None of those women could do what Warwick in her prime could.

The woman loves her egg rolls, BBQ ribs, and meatballs.

But don't you DARE serve her any seafood, shellfish or mushrooms.

R14- Her rider is actually one of the most basic and non cunty I have seen!!!!

She probably figures raping an AIDS charity is enough!

Has Shirley Bassey's rider been published?

I've told this story on DL before, but my favorite Miss Warwick moment was when she visited our law firm.

The seniormost name partner, who was sort of a big deal in his own right, introduced her to everyone: "It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to one of my very favorite singers -- Miss Diana Ross!"

Miss Warwick was not happy.

That's quite a list of demands at R14, but ole girl fucked up royally by not insisting on a few cartons of Benson & Hedges to go along with those six (6!) glass ashtrays....

Her rider is NOT remotely bad.

2 Bottles of Crystal Champagne? $250 per bottle? Isn't that a waste when you also require 6 ashtrays in the same room because you smoke like chimney and drink Lipton Iced Tea out of a can?

You're assuming everything will be consumed at the venue?

Fucker, R20- Have you READ the other riders on that site??

Bitch I am 42, and OLD, and I remember reading The Smoking Cunt back in 2006 and not believing those riders.

Ms Dionne's is in the bottom 25% of "demands"

And I do not even like the woman.

But her rider is NOTHING

Has there been a thread on riders?

R23 Shall I make one for y'all?

R24, yes please!

R25 Done, doll!

Wooden hangers and Pepsi only.

My kind of girl.

She probably sells the champagne on eBay.

[quote]Other than that, she seems like a SUPREMELY MISERABLE human being. Just a nasty, foul, bitch.

Since when is this a negative on here?

Darlene Love told some funny stories about Dionne in her book. She could be difficult in public, but she had a loyal group of girlfriends who liked to hang out and have a blast when together. Gladys Knight, Leslie Uggams and the late Nancy Wilson were among them. They'd shoot the shit and gossip about everyone in the industry.

Darlene also recounts when Diana Ross came backstage at a Dionne concert. Gladys and some of the other divas were there. Diana beat a hasty retreat.

Darlene also said that none of the ladies wanted to leave to use the restroom because they didn't want to be read in their absence.

I knew one of her personal assistants back in the '80s.

He said everyone called her "Miss War-witch" behind her back.

I love the story that Dionne had to have a lit cigarette waiting for her as soon as she exited the stage.

R31, You give me LIFE, Chile. XOXOXOXOXO

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....

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Billie, what say you?

[quote]I love the story that Dionne had to have a lit cigarette waiting for her as soon as she exited the stage.

That's why her voice is still so lovely.

I miss these. Too bad the originators stopped making these parodies.

If you see me walking down the street

It's because Damont pawned my fucking spare tire. Again. Asshole.

I miss Nancy. Like a lot of us she went more Africaine the older she got. Nyeusi, you know. Want to know why?

Because she finally fucking could.

Not much appreciation here. Why am I not surprised?

Walk on by.

I think the creator of Got2BReal got sick.

R42 No, she just decided a bitch wanted to be PAID for that shit.

Finally, Herselfeses Has Graced Our Thread!

[Quote] No, she just decided a bitch wanted to be PAID for that shit.

Then why didn't she start a Patreon?

R45 I think she had dreams of being hired somewhere....don't think they have panned out, though.

Miss Warwick don't play.

R44 SPEAKS THE TRUTE,

And R44 GIVES ME LIFE, HUNTIES!!!!!!!!

Holy Shit, Dionne looks half dead!!!!!!!!!!!

....

R50- Thank you.

Dinonne looks HALF DEAD, HUZZIES!

I think Dionne looks fine.

Get out your tens, twenties and your Amex, bitches.

Paying homage costs and like Debbie Allen says, it's time to pay. Misss Warwick will be passing around the collection plate shortly.

R53. I have once again been GIVE LIFE. By YOU, BITCH.

IN SWEAT!!!

I recently learned that Cilla Black got involved with a psychic friends helpline, a la Dionne. Dionne might have been onto something with that "If I coughed at one point during a song, Cilla would cough on her cover."

Yaas! Miss Debbie delivers the NEWS!

Touch Me in the Morning.

....

SHIT R56. IN SWEAT, BITCHES!! IN SWEAT!!!

Difficult? NO!!!!

Were she and Glen Campbell lovers? Not only did they sound great together, they also performed several duets throughout their careers.

^ You need to look a lot closer. Neither Dionne nor Burt could stand Glenn Campbell. They bust him out for some ethnic shit talking backstage right there in front of the audience!

^ CALL ME!

Miss Warwick turns eighty this year!

Great article on Dionne's rocky tenure at Solid Gold. She reads Tanya Tucker and Marilyn McCoo to filth.

Starts on page 95.

Interesting article R66!

I wonder why she disliked Tanya Tucker so much.

She also says toward the end that she dislikes Heartbreaker and Do You Know The Way To San Jose as songs.

[Quote] she dislikes Heartbreaker

And she said in the year it was released? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Another few Bee Gees hits could have helped her through the eigthies and beyond.

It WAS a hit when she said it, R68.

She was complimentary of most of what Barry wrote for her but said she wasn't thrilled by Heartbreaker.

FEUD: Miss Warwick v Tanya T.

Wow, r66. And to think she actually sang with Marilyn McCoo (and Florence LaRue) once upon a time.

It's hilarious that Dionne starts that article by declaring she isn't a bitch and doesn't have a temperamental bone in her body. And then EVERYTHING that follows makes her sound like a temperamental bitch.

[Quote] She was complimentary of most of what Barry wrote for her but said she wasn't thrilled by Heartbreaker.

And there was no follow up album with Gibb as a result. In many ways, Dionne is clearly no fool, but she'd have more stature if she built up a bigger catalogue of hits that weren't written by Bacharach/David. I doubt Aretha was into all that Narada Michael Walden produced for her, but I don't think she broadcast that to the world.

Dionne would end up returning to Solid Gold, though.

Didn't Tanya Tucker have a tempestuous relationship with Glenn Cambell?

I wonder if he told Dionne something bad about her.

Or, more likely, Dionne wanted him to fuck her and he wouldn't because of Tanya.

After talking about uplifting her people, she trash talks Marilyn McCoo. How would she know how Marilyn McCoo conducted herself when Dionne was already off the show, was she not?

I love how she was all "I did NOT want my album to sound like Barbra's!"

When Guilty sold so many times more than Heartbreaker.

Interesting posts from a Bacharach forum. R75 You may be on to something

Dionne had vocal cord surgery in Las Vegas in 1972 to remove a node and was afraid after the surgery she would never sing again but it did not have any impact on her singing voice at all. Therefore she does have a history of vocal cord problems. Smoking has definitely had an impact on her voice. And I think her estimate of a pack a day is a little conservative...in the past she could easily put away two or three packs a day. Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle and Dionne's sons intervened and conviced her to quit smoking and from 2002 through 2007 she was either not smoking or smoking very little during that time frame. I saw the same interview and Dionne sometimes comes across as smug and all knowing and it was fully in evidence on the Joy Behar show. Dionne has a wonderful sense of humor at times and a relaxed warmth that comes across on television performances...when singing but seldom in an interview...the only time I have ever seen Dionne truly relax during interview sessions was with Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. Again, Dionne is such a private person and has some wonderful, bitchy stories to tell in conversations but she will never spill anything if there are interviewers anywhere close by. She has been as tightly wrapped about her personal life as well. On the other hand, I have never been a big Connie Francis fan but on the Behar show interview with Dionne, Connie was so witty and relaxed...quite a hoot and obviously enjoying herself...Dionne came across as though she was bored...no animation at all except when she defended her smoking! And Connie looked stunning despite her stroke. Dionne looked as though she was gardening in her ball cap, little make-up and jeans and didn't change for the interview. Dionne used to be so concerned about her public appearance...she looks so slouchy now...sad but I was thinking the other day after Lena Horne died that Lena was so classy and elegant until the day she died...I am like Chris Rock who said "WTF happened to Dionne Warwick? She used to be the classiest black woman who ever lived." I think she's tired and wants to retire but she is supporting so many folks, including her families, an entourage worthy of Liz Taylor and several hangers on. She can't retire! I think that tiredness is written all over her.

Dionne always got along well with most every singer and entertainer you can think of...she was friends with Aretha, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, etc. She had a feud with Tanya Tucker in the early 80s and refused to sing a duet with Tanya on the Solid Gold and holed up in her dressing room while Tanya taped her segments. A lot of the issue had to do with Tanya's alleged unprofessionalism and also with her nasty breakup with Glen Campbell. Dionne and Glen Campbell have been very close friends since the early 60s and when Glen and Tanya were an item in the late 70s and early 80s and their relationship became toxic, Dionne defended her friend Glen. She is known to be extremely loyal and generous to her friends and family. Other than that, there was a minor rift with Patti LaBelle (always a drama queen both on stage and off) which she wrote about in her book; Dionne was a class act and never said a word about it and remains a friend to her. Aretha Franklin has always spoken very highly of Dionne (they were always neck and neck in popularity in the mid and late 60s yet always admired and respected each other) and there was none of the competitive issues Aretha had with others like Tina Turner and later Beyonce. Dionne and Diana Ross were close friends as well. Dionne's voice was rested well when she had her comeback in 1979...she was touring much less by then and even considering retiring when Clive Davis told her that the music business was not finished with her yet...she hadn't recorded in over two years at that time. As far as her voice, I think it matured and was at its full-bodied peak and with a wonderful balance of high and low range and tone in the early to mid 80s. I think though, her heavy smoking habit finally began to take its toll around the mid 80s; listen to her on Love Power from 1987... a very slight deterioration in her voice is just beginning to be heard. When she was well rested at that time, she could still hit and sustain those high notes but if she were touring heavily, the strain showed. By about 1990 when she recorded Take Good Care of You and Me, her voice was still good but not near the same as it had been 5 years earlier. When Dionne hit around 60 in Dec 2000 it seems that her voice began to decline exponentially.

Yes, she likes to uplift "my people" and then all but called McCoo a "house n-word."

What a piece of work.

What did she mean about "best light"? I've seen clips of "Solid Gold" and it looked like a regular performance show - some cheesy "comic" intros and then the act would perform in a straightforward manner, not a huge amount of production value. How were the black acts being showcased differently?

[Quote] Campbell eventually stopped drinking alcohol and taking drugs in 1987

Choices, Miss Warwick. Choices.

[Quote] yet always admired and respected each other

It's hardly respectful to call up someone to gloat over how much better you did their song...

R81 I think she probably meant that she was presented in a more elegant way, not in a stereotypical way. They may have wanted her to appear more "street" but Miss Dee's thing - at that time - was her elegance.

[Quote] there was none of the competitive issues Aretha

See above. Aretha called Dionne "The Dutchess" or a similar name. It wasn't a compliment.

This was certainly a mistake. Dionne comes across as painfully un-hip.

Dionne - Gladys - Patti

SISTERS! in the name of LOVE

Dionne couldn't cope with ME - the REAL star of Solid Gold!

[quote] Ms Dionne's is in the bottom 25% of "demands" And I do not even like the woman. But her rider is NOTHING

That's because she gets most of her cash from ripping off AIDS organizations.

I thought she was the best with those tricky Bacharach rhythms.

I love Aretha calling her to let her know her version of Dionne's song was better and saying, "Put the millionairess on the phone!"

Her wistful, longing voice is unmatched and very distinct. Love her.

[quote] Darlene Love told some funny stories about Dionne in her book. She could be difficult in public, but she had a loyal group of girlfriends who liked to hang out and have a blast when together. Gladys Knight, Leslie Uggams and the late Nancy Wilson were among them. They'd shoot the shit and gossip about everyone in the industry.

Uh-huh. Dionne gave Darlene a job as a background singer on her tour. She also gave her cash money when Darlene was down and out and cleaning white folks' toilets. Sure, Dionne could be a bitch sometimes but she was one of most loyal and decent women in the business.

And Darlene makes that clear in her book, Fani.

Nancy Wilson! I love her. I bet Miz Wilson had a lot of stories to tell!

I saw Nancy Wilson (the REAL one, not the screecher from Heart) at Chastain Park in Atlanta.

She was so glamorous and perfect.

R 78 I am a big Connie fan and I saw that Joy Behar interview and I agree with the post. Connie and Dionne share the same birthday along with Connie's friend Sinatra, and Bob Barker and jazz singer Joe Williams. In addition, Whitney's mother sang backup on several tracks for Connie. Dionne, Cissy, and Connie are all from North Jersey. Also, in her concerts, besides the exceptional vocals when her voice was intact, she was always warms and naturally witty and funny.

Dionne and Connie had a falling out when Dionne ribbed her about secretly liking that BBD at the Hojo's.

I don't blame Connie. It was an obnoxious, cruel thing to say.

They were interviewed at the same time? Why?

You do know I got so sick of that Cilla creature playing my shadow all those years. Even naming herself "Black," which was outrageous. I am a lady and I do not call women cunts even when Cilla was one. So I dee-cided the fucking time had come. Did I set a contract like several time before? No. My money is too precious. And traceable.

So I had one of those shitty tabloids in Nowhere, Limeycountry, notified via re-liable sores that I had a bad case of something terrible and had been given six months to live. Two months later, Cilla had her "fall" and had her "stroke." Ha! Bitch wanted one more Moment and dee-termined to beat me to the boneyard. Got that bitch good. After the funeral I had some "people" arrange for a cremation and I now have them in my "loo" in big old time milk can. One teaspoon plops into in every full bowl. She was so fat I have enough to last me through 30 more years of Fibre Trim. I also mentioned to Re the last time she had cancer that I had something that was a cure but she couldn't have any. Then I left a coffee can of the ashes in my living room and waited for one of her goon sons to break in and take it. Ha! I hope all those heavy metals and bits of hair (Cilla chewed her mustache a lot) didn't do anything to Re's sensitive system and hasten her last shoe display.

Pardon me. I had to take an upper to get my fucking Imhotep Spanx off. I'm a wee bit wired.

I NEVER made fun of Connie's rape(s). All I did was tell her I couldn't imagine that with the way she looked he didn't just turn her over and butt fuck her so he didn't have to see her face.

How was I to know that's exactly what he did? You KNOW I'm fucking psychic!

Gotta go. Heading for a gig tomorrow and that red-eye Greyhound is coming up in a couple hours.

Oh, and by the way, fuck most of you here. Jealousy, envy, and racist hate even among my black sisters are things I've had to live with.

But I'll rescind my curse if you go NOW and buy my fucking CD. Better, buy some of the cassette tapes of it. SOMEONE (I'm looking at YOU, Damont) told me that the retro craze among honky slugs had made it to tapes. A-parent-lee KNOT!

Shit.

Miss Warwick, we are SO not worthy!

Cilla was always a copycat bitch.

Dusty named one of her wigs Cilla, the one that looked the most trashy......

She famously did not like "Heartbreaker." Barry Gibb was incensed by her public comments and vowed never to work with her again. The LP went gold in the U.S. and she had a No.1 hit in the UK. It wasn't her best work but it was tasteful, and I still love "Take The Short Way Home."

Loved her as the 1st Julie on One Life To Live.

R99 They were appearing together in LV.

Dionne is a butch bitch who complains about everything

Dionne has spent at least the last thirty years turning up to concert engagements in whatever's comfy.

She still had one of the nicest and distinctive voices in pop.

R3 the difference is that Warwick smokes "just" cigarettes while Whitney has ruined her voice with all kinds of stuff + cigarettes. Whitney's vocal damage was way severe and sometimes I wonder how she was even able to sing at all in 1999.

She's an icon. Her collaboration with Bacharach and David crafted some of the most beautiful songs ever.

I just wish I didn't know she's such an insufferable cunt.

It makes listening to her love songs more difficult.

This is sad.

R112 Dionne looks like such a greasy mess.

I thought it common knowledge that Miss W has always been a fan of the green Bob Marley stuff.

Wasn't she arrested for drugs?

I appreciate Miss Warwick's legendary talent.

But that bitch stole my good silverware!

She thought smoking gave her a husky tone. It’s mostly left her without any tone at all.

R101, don't I know it.

Anna Mae, your "good silverware" had Colonel Sanders' face on it and for your info (I know you're "out of it" but not every senile old incontinent has to be a liar) "silverware" is silver, not white plastic and not two sporks.

I have tone. Shit. I have a smooth, thick, smooth, fierce but tragic tone that has been compared by Quincy Jones to "the congealed pools left on the winter killing floors at the slaughterhouse, a deep ruby in which the last groans of the fallen herds can still be discerned."

Of course he was tripping. But that's when Quince would get his best notions. I sent him an Omaha Steak in appreciation.

Do you know I have to fucking hitchhike the rest of the way to the oil refinery in ND where I'm appearing? Apparently the Greyhound buses kept exploding because of the cheapness of their fuel any time they got within 30 miles of Watford City. It's below zero and I'm watching my bars and my cell juice go down and the trucks keep passing. I've got to switch to my blonde go-go wig (I close my first set with it) and wear a ski mask if this is going to work. All these honkies have been doing is honking.

The lightbulb jus went on.

Christ. Am I glad I didn't shave or wax for this gig. Dee needs to be fur-lined for this crap. And I asked where the stage is at this plant and they said that "technically it is called a platform."

If Damont pulled another "defang the diva" he's going to get a big fucking surprise.

Oh! School bus! Gotta run!

Watford City. Shit. They should pay me for even having to know they exist.

r66's article is priceless. Throwing shade at Tanya Tucker and Marilyn McCoo, and bitching about Barry Gibb even though Heartbreaker was a huge hit. What a bitch!

Miss Warwick, how are you doing? Can you believe it's been just over eight years since Whitney died?

R120 I wonder if Auntie Dionne's hands are still wet.

You're not paying attention to Miss Warwick if you don't know about Zombie Nippy.

Nippy is okay but has a skin condition that obliges me to keep her, um, em uma masmorra, as we say in Brasil. Lupita (dear fucking Lupita is okay, although the sugar diabetes claimed her left leg and now she has a fake one, but she's dancing in Carnaval as usual this year because of all the wallets that pop out of the tights the boys wear) is keeping her there in a crypt-thing under a colonial church because Nippy seems to like it. Well, as near as we can tell. She does growl a lot but the girl has NEVER been so slim and trim. I don't think she'll ever be anything but a contralto any more, though.

I still plan to get Bobby down there one of these days for a "visit." Wont. He. Be. Surprised.

Asshole.