Anyone Watching the CNN Documentary about Dionne Warwick?

Did it touch on her love affairs with Gianni Russo and Sacha Distel?

Haven’t seen it from the beginning, OP, but why isn’t she in the Rock and Roll HOF and Dolly Parton is? I love Dolly btw. And Snoop Dog, wtf?

People were paid to speak about her in glowing terms.

I thought Dionne and Cissy didn’t get along. Cissy can be such a cunt.

Total puff piece. I hope someone does a real documentary about her someday. Probably after she’s dead since she’s very scary.

I met Dionne years ago. I was surprised at how short she is in person. I expected her to be tall. She was chatty, unpretentious and not a diva. I was no one important, but she was polite and accessible. There was nothing scary about her. Now when it comes to performing maybe she is a Diva and she's demanding, but I never saw it.

They're trying to make Dionne into some kind of activist when she wasn't. There were/are activists who did a lot more. This was definitely a puff piece. And of course Whitney and Cissy featured. Not very much on Dionne's sister.

I got your numbers hussies!

On Celebrity Apprentice all the women were afraid of her. Maybe the editing made her seem scary and she isn’t. I wouldn’t mess with her though.

Bitch wouldn’t even pay her damn taxes.

[R6] If I'd known they'd ever make a documentary about that 2nd-rate, squeaky-voiced, bucktooth Jersey hoodrat, I'd have stayed alive for a few more years.

I've got some tales to tell, believe me!

It was a good doc.

Any mention of Carpenters? I know Richard and Warwick were close at one time (she even recorded a song on his 1987 solo album), but they seem to have had a falling out.

I' sorry I missed this.

I'm having a colon cancer screening today and I was on the can all last night with the shits.

Perhaps some other time when my system can tolerate it.

Don't know much about her and didn't learn much from show. But listening to the music was fantastic. I now have a new appreciation for the Barry Gibb produced "Heartbreaker."

This is news? When did CNN turn into A&E?

R15 I played the HEARTBREAKER cassette to death in the Navy. My shipmates called me Dionne. 😆

They didn’t even MENTION Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls! I mean, WTF?

Well, the photo used in the OP's link makes her look like Rev. Jim Jones, though the title 'Don't Make Me Over' should have clued viewers in that it wasn't going to be a vinegar valentine.

I guess it’s best to admire your heroes from a distance.

Anyone know her relationship with Whitney? Did they get along?

Was a whitewashing? Absolutely.

Did Dionne's industrial-strength crazy come through? Faintly, but enough to be clear.

That voice though.

R21, I read somewhere a few years ago that Dionne's sister is a lesbian. I don't think anyone ever "got along" with Cissy for any extended period. She was always picking fights, finding offense, and generally difficult. As she got older and saw Whitney and Dionne become who they were, she was bitter because she always felt she should have been a bigger star. Definitely a diva who was jealous of her own daughter, and went for months and months not speaking to people. Vicious too.

Do they discuss the Psychic Friends Network?

What do you hope people will gain from the “Don’t Make Me Over” documentary?

I’m hoping that people will finally get to know me, and not think they know me. They’ll get to know Dionne. I’m as human as everybody else.

R24 Dionne says in a NYT interview:

It was during a period of time when my recordings were not being played on radio as much. It was a way to earn a very, very comfortable living. It paid very well — had to keep my lights on, too. So that’s how that all began. I can’t nor would I ever think about taking it seriously. And anybody that does, you have to look at them with a jaundiced eye.

[quote]People were paid to speak about her in glowing terms.

Dionne did the same for a cushy while-she-was-alive documentary of Dusty Springfield that didn't mention LOTS of stuff.

R19 Dionne is no longer feminine looking. For the past several years she looks like Redd Fox (Fred Sanford).

Should have tried to get another Vegas residency. Psychic Friends ruined her brand and reputation.

Her brand was cunt

Her upper row of teeth in the beginning of her career were terrible…they were practically vertical coming out of her mouth!

Dionne's older lesbian sister repeatedly molested and raped Whitney and her brother.

Very sad

First time I ever saw her I thought she was a female impersonator with a fantastic voice.

True, r23. Cissy has always been a nasty piece of work.

Psychic Friends was a debacle, she must have been dead-ass broke to agree to do that garbage.

The other two members of The Sweet Inspirations did not have nice words for Cissy either.

Cissy is quite homophobic too, which is why Whitney couldn't truly be herself and live in her truth as a lesbian.

She may have birth to Whitney and trained her to be the greatest vocalist of my lifetime, but her reputation as a mean bitch is well-reported.

I can look at Cissy’s face and tell she’s a cunt, well before she lost her daughter.

It was a bigger whitewash than Michael Jackson’s face.

Lots of Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder commentary, but nothing from Miss Ross.

[quote]Her upper row of teeth in the beginning of her career were terrible

What you see now is a very white removable plate.

Anyone Who Has a Heart is a good song.

There were several remarkable songs. Alfie is a favorite of mine. It actually makes me tear up. Make it Easy On Yourself. Message to Michael.

People rarely mention this one, but I love it.

You're Gonna Need Me should've been a big hit. One of her best.

What a shit album cover r45

I bet she’ll be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon. Once there’s a reminding with a documentary, everyone suddenly recalls.

Alfie had stupid lyrics

Filthy troll at R48.

Another triumph!

Hear that, Re?

Oh, that's right. You're dead, baby!

R47 she was nominated last year and rejected

This is from Wiki and may shed light on her adventure with the Psychic network: "Warwick declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New Jersey on March 21, 2013.[80] Due to the reported mismanagement of her business affairs, she listed liabilities that included nearly $7 million owed to the Internal Revenue Service for the years 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California. Unable to work out an agreement with tax officials, she and her attorney decided that declaring bankruptcy would be the best course of action.[81]"

Of course nothing like this was mentioned in the "documentary."

They talked about the bankruptcy in the doc.

She blamed her accountant.

I love Promises, Promises.

There would be no Whitney Houston without Dionne Warwick.

Can’t believe she doesn’t have a Kennedy Center Honor or in the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

This doc will remind people about her and she should get these in the next few years.

Heck, even LL Cool J has a Kennedy Center Honor.

R56 everyone knows she’s a shady mean-ass bitch. That’s why she doesn’t get many accolades.

[quote] Can’t believe she doesn’t have a Kennedy Center Honor or in the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

There is controversy in her career -- psychic friends network, financial mismanagement of funds intended for AIDS charities, disparaging Marilyn McCoo for taking her "Solid Gold" gig, etc. I think the Kennedy Center tries to stay away from artists with that kind of baggage.

[quote] Dionne's older lesbian sister repeatedly molested and raped Whitney and her brother.

Untrue. Dee Dee was the younger sister, she was a lesbian and she did NOT molest Whitney or her crackhead brother.

By donating all the proceeds of the chart-topping song “That’s What Friends Are For,” you’ve helped raise millions for AIDS research. What led you to get involved with the cause and how does it feel to leave such a lasting impact?

We were losing performers, we were losing dancers, we were losing hair people, we were losing wardrobe people, cameramen, lighting people.

I’ve lost two people in my group of people around me: my hairdresser and my valet both contracted AIDS. So, now, that’s too close. Let me find out what this is about. And I proceeded to get involved with W.H.O., World Health Organization, and we went to all the health departments in different countries to get a handle on not only what they were doing, but why they were not acknowledging that it’s happening in the country. I was able to help them bring their heads out of the sand and face reality.

R60 such a statement shows everyone how utterly stupid and clueless she was.

There is nothing stupid or clueless about that statement. Dionne spoke up about AIDS when most celebrities were terrified of being associated with it.

So what if Dionne isn't the nicest person? Many great singers have been unpleasant people. Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin were miserable cunts their whole lives. Dusty Springfield was batshit insane. It shouldn't influence your judgement of their talent.

I love the music, OK? But on a personal level based on interviews, etc. I do not like Dionne Warwick. I just don't. She has an unpleasant personality IMO.

I was surprised at how many hits she had.

[quote] I love the music, OK? But on a personal level based on interviews, etc. I do not like Dionne Warwick. I just don't. She has an unpleasant personality IMO.

She's snarky. you'd think she'd be the DL mascot

She is r66. Shed’s known on the DL as Corpse and old man.

Dionne is a tough broad from a very tough neighborhood and upbringing. Newark doesn't produce pansies. So tell me how she is so "mean", in detail.

I didn't know she was with hotties like Gianni Russo and Distel. Tell me more, this wasn't mentioned in the docu. Gurl got some primo dick there.

She's an amazing performer, and should be honored as such. If Bono and his band of dolts can get a KC Honor, she should have one too (and she's American dammit!)....I loved everything she did with Bacharach and her later work with her "Dionne" comeback in '79/80. Deja Vu is a fantastic, sexy tune; I Know I'll Never Love this Way Again a very underrated unrequited love anthem.

[quote]Dionne is a tough broad from a very tough neighborhood and upbringing.

She also had to deal with a ton of racial shit in the 50s and 60s. Black people from Dionne's era tend to be tough as nails.

[quote] There is controversy in her career -- psychic friends network, financial mismanagement of funds intended for AIDS charities, disparaging Marilyn McCoo for taking her "Solid Gold" gig, etc. I think the Kennedy Center tries to stay away from artists with that kind of baggage.

Aren't many singers controversial and shady.

LL Cool J has a Kenney Center Honor

Seeing the scene about the racism she and other such Black singers had to confront in their careers was shocking. We forget so quickly what Blacks endured, particularly but not soley in the South.

R68 doesn’t get reality

You felt very strongly about gangster rap, and set up an early meeting with Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight and others to encourage them to reconsider their lyrics. How did that conversation go?

I called a meeting with them, and I gave them a time to be at my home. I told them not one minute before and not one minute after 7 a.m., I want that doorbell to ring. And it did. We sat and talked for quite a few hours. I told them, “You think I’m part of the problem? Make me part of the solution. Tell me what it is.” I said, “I have no problem with you saying whatever you’re feeling; however, there’s a way to say it.”

Have you reached out to any other rap artists recently?

Chance the Rapper, that was a funny thing as well. Why would you have to put “rapper” in your name when we all know you rap? Duh.

He was more surprised that I even knew who he was, and as a result we’ve become friends. He has my phone number, I have his and we do talk. We recorded together, a wonderful song and not one curse word — a very, very positive message. So it’s not like they can’t do it, and if they need to be led a little bit, hey, that must be my job to do.

Dionne is a tough broad from a very tough neighborhood and upbringing.

What was it like growing up in East Orange, N.J.?

It was virtually the United Nations. We had every race, color, creed and religion on our street. We were friends, we walked to school together, I had dinner at their homes, they had dinner at my home. We played at the playground together. We were just kids and hung out with friends.

[quote]Seeing the scene about the racism she and other such Black singers had to confront in their careers was shocking. We forget so quickly what Blacks endured, particularly but not soley in the South.

I'm white, from the Northeast, and born long after segregation ended. When I see the archival footage of what blacks in the South had to endure under Jim Crow it's appalling to me.

She bragged on Twitter that there might be a hit out on Lisa Rena after she hated on DW on The Apprentice. She holds grudges,

Actually, it was nice seeing a real legend and talent such as Dionne Warwick take down talentless Housewives Lisa Rinna and Nene Leakes on Celebrity Apprentice.

R77 it didn’t work to her benefit because Dionne came out looking like a petty bitch.

What happened to the money from her AIDS organization?

It paid for her new hairdresser and valet.

Copied this from a post in a Prince web forum. The original article is gone, but this remains…read how she answered the reporter’s questions…amazing. So entitled and clueless.

[Quote] What happened to the money from her AIDS organization?a

Profits went to AmFar

Apparently Royalties from That’s What Friends Are For have been 10’s of millions of dollars—and all of that went to amFar

[R58] If KCH stays away from such 'baggage' they would have never honored Diana Ross or Aretha Franklin. Both women had their share of controversy with other performers, and both women had their share of financial problems made very public.

Warwick's documentary covered the good and the bad - she didn't shy away from her financial problems (as she pointed out - even GM filed for bankruptcy to get their finances back on track) . It was very well-done, very open and honest with a sense of humor.

56 charting hits is pretty incredible

Wasn't her duet with Chance "That's What Motherfuckin' Friends are For"?

How did Cher get on the soundtrack? Was this the point where Sonny was trying to push her as a chanteuse?

[quote]There would be no Whitney Houston without Dionne Warwick.

Um, no. There would be someone else. Whenever they say there would be no so-in-so without ____________, it's bullshit. Without Barbara Walters there would be no (any name here)? No, there would be someone else, there's always someone else.

R62, EVERYONE claims that. *Love* how so many pat themselves on the back, it's phony as hell.

Hey, Cher R87, take a lesson:

I've noticed that Warwick's songs require other-worldly breath control. Try to sing through an entire song--It's tough to get through without panting for oxygen

[quote] Both women had their share of controversy with other performers, and both women had their share of financial problems made very public.

No. Neither had any history of bankruptcy or charges of embezzlement from a charity when they were honored.

Why would bankruptcy bee an obstacle for recognition. She had a terrible accountant.

Had she written her songs (or even been given a writer's credit) she would have a much higher net worth.

Currently, the internet lists her as having only $500,000

[quote]Why would bankruptcy bee an obstacle for recognition. She had a terrible accountant.

I never understood this either. Some of the biggest, most powerful companies in the world have declared bankruptcy many times during their existence, and they remain well-respected and powerful. Auto companies, department stores, restuarant chains (and there will be more as we see more Covid fallout) - you name it, part of our every day lives. They declare, get through it, and continue on - just like Warwick did.

[quote] 56 charting hits is pretty incredible

But only two number-one hits, both with assistance from others.

Pathetic.

[R91] Maybe not bankruptcy or embezzlement, but Aretha Franklin was in trouble with the IRS since 1991 when they started putting liens on her home for non-payment of taxes. (She received the KCH in 1994, and her tax liens were not settled by then). She was later investigated for tax fraud (though no charges were brought against her), as she avoided paying taxes from 2010 - 17. Her family finally cleared everything up with the IRS in 2021.

Ross was in trouble in the mid-80s when she pledged to fund a playground named after her in Central Park. She said she would fund the park with 7.5% of the proceeds from her televised concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park which took place in the summer of 1983. By the summer of 1984, she still hadn't forked over one dime - and claimed there was a debt of $1.7M from the concert and said she would not fulfill her promise (which was actually a written contract with the City Parks Department). The city found her financial statements misleading, Mayor Koch publicly shamed her for not fulfilling her end of the bargain, and the city threatened to sue her. Ross finally settled with the city and parks department by funding the playground with her own personal money at the end of 1986. She was awarded the KCH in 2007.

I walk by the Diana Ross Playground in Central Park often

The truth is, Warwick hasn’t gotten those accolades mainly because she was forgotten as an artist.

This documentary will remind everyone and recognition will follow.

It’s mind boggling to me that Glady Knight only got a KC Honor this year…with George Clooney

Ever since watching the documentary, I've been humming all Warwick's tunes.

[quote]This documentary will remind everyone and recognition will follow.

Don't count on it.

[R97] I have visited a few times over the past 35 years, usually in the summer. Every time I had visited, the playground was not in great shape - there was litter thrown around, and the grounds were rather unkempt. Maybe I visited on a few bad days, but it wasn't too inviting at all - especially not for kids. Last time I was there (maybe 15 years ago, the playground looked like it could use a nice renovation and update the playground equipment.

I'm still riveted.

[quote] Every time I had visited, the playground was not in great shape - there was litter thrown around, and the grounds were rather unkempt. Maybe I visited on a few bad days, but it wasn't too inviting at all - especially not for kids. Last time I was there (maybe 15 years ago, the playground looked like it could use a nice renovation and update the playground equipment.

Seems quite appropriate, considering who it's named after.

R90, with those nostrils, she should have awesome breath control 😆

I had never noticed her nostrils before until this documentary. It's like the cameraman was instructed to take the most unflattering angles of her. Her nostrils look like tunnels you can drive an 18 wheeler through.

To her credit, she never bothered to cosmetically alter her nose. Dionne and Barbra have that in common.

Both of their noses were responsible for their one in a million vocal abilities.

Michael Jackson never altered his nose, either. Not even LaToya or Rebie.

I asked my mom if she watched the doc the other night. She replied “fuck no”!

I'm no fan of Dionne Warwick, whom I consider a very ordinary pop singer, but this duet with Frank Sinatra is quite lovely. Skip the talking part -

Warwick seems ordinary because she makes it sound easy.

Try to sing any of her songs all the way through. They’re tough!

Here's a fun, forgotten hit he sang with Jeffrey Osborne: Love Power ... It Rules Us.

My friend saw Dionne in concert and was disappointed how on the night the singer could not reach the high notes on "Walk On By" so she lowered them.

R113, most older singers lower the keys when singing live.

Anyway, here's a very nice live rendition of Alfie.

I love watching Dionne's interviews, the way she talks is very interesting and low-key funny.

She has said that if she wants something, she buys it. That's probably why her reported net worth is so low and why she has to keep on working. She should swallow her pride and get some help with financial planning.

R111, EVERYBODY sang her songs, or the Bacharach songs. Many fine - and some better - versions.

R115, what are some examples of songs that others have sung better than Dionne?

Dionne's range is limited. But her timing and breath control and the emotion (understated) that she puts into a song are unique. She has je ne sais quois. Her voice has a unique tone or timbre, like Diana Ross has.

Dionne is not the most conventionally beautiful woman and people have criticized her looks. But she has stage presence and charisma, IMO.

A zillion people have sung Alfie before Warwick did. Hers became the hit

Diana Ross had a thin voice, but it was a very commercial voice. Her voice was made for pop songs.

Dionne's version of Going Out Of My Head is my favorite.

[Quote] Diana Ross had a thin voice, but it was a very commercial voice. Her voice was made for pop songs.

The weird thing is that her voice only records as thin. Live, it’s a full throated, velvety voice.

It’s weird that there’s such a difference

It was quite a compliment to Dionne when they interviewed Barry Gibb. He told the story of how he and his brothers had gotten into producing albums for other people in the early 1980s. Clive Davis presented him a roster of all his brand new clients on his new Arista label and asked Gibb if there was anyone he wanted to produce (there were such artists as Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin, and Dionne Warwick on the list - along with newer artists.) Gibb said he saw Warwick's name on the list and he exclaimed, "Her! Dionne Warwick!" because Gibb felt Warwick was one of the greatest female vocalists of all time, and always wanted to work with her. SO he produced her 1982 best selling album, 'Heartbreaker'.

This was after he produced Streisand's #1 mega album 'Guilty' in 1980. I wonder what Barbra thought about his comment in the documentary (and I'm sure she watched this.)

I wouldn't describe Dionne's voice as "ordinary" or "limited." I think she had a great range. But the way Burt Bacharach's songs are structured, it doesn't leave much room for a singer to improvise. These weren't simple little pop melodies like the ones that her cousin Whitney used to sing.

This is one of her greatest performances ever.

Youtubers have been making better documentaries than legacy media institutions for years and years.

IIRC, Barbra sought out Barry Gibb, not vice-versa. Barry said that Barbra was scary and could get angry.

Barbra did seek out Barry (I think he and his brothers had put word out through the grapevine that they were interested in producing other artists in 1980). However, I never heard him say one word against Streisand - in the many interviews I've heard and read, he gushed all over Streisand. Same with Warwick, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Diana Ross, on the other hand, was a different story - he does not hide his dislike and frustration about her.

Ironically, Dionne did NOT like the "Heartbreaker" LP. She was vocal about not liking it. Then it became the biggest international seller of her career. Clive Davis wanted Gibb to produce her follow-up but Gibb declined.

I definitely saw at least one, if not two, interviews where Barry said that working with Barbra was scary.

Around 6:15, Barry Gibb talks about Barbra being scary, happy and angry, etc.

This is actually a good interview, overall.

[quote]Clive Davis wanted Gibb to produce her follow-up but Gibb declined.

That's too bad, since her next album produced by Luter Vandross was just awful ('How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye').

Yes, so he then turned to Barry Manilow (who produced her come-back 'Dionne' in 1979) to try and repeat his magic. The result was "Finder of Lost Loves" (aka 'Without Your Love' outside the USA) which wasn't a bad album at all, but was one of her biggest flops on Arista. And that was the end of Manilow working with her.

The next album 'Friends' was a winner.

R116 have you listed to Sarah Vaughan's Alfie in R89?

I agree with Barry Gibb that Dionne Warwick is one of the greatest female vocalists of all time.

R114 it’s funny because of how fucking stupid she is.

R120 it’s call PERCEPTION

The Dionne Warwick fan has been very busy on this thread.

R131 I agree with Barry Gibb that Dionne Warwick is one of the ugliest female vocalists of all time.

I had high hopes for her Vandross-produced album but it was a disappointment. He did such good stuff for Aretha and Cheryl Lynn. FRIENDS was okay; my favorite song from that was WHISPER IN THE DARK. But that was the last consistent thing she made. I wonder if her ego gets in the way of letting producers work their magic.

OP, you've never had a make-up over?

Err, make-over.

Pretty amazing how the BeeGees were able to pivot to producing once their songs fell out of style. They had huge success as producers.

The documentary doesn’t talk about her stint as a host on Solid Gold

I forgot her stint on 'Solid Gold'.

She also sang the theme song.

She also sang the theme songs to "Love Boat" and "FInder of Lost Loves" - both by Aaron Spelling, both on ABC. Unfortunately, she never sang the theme songs to "Alice" or "One Day At A Time".

[quote] FRIENDS was okay; my favorite song from that was WHISPER IN THE DARK.

I love "Whisper In The Dark." One of my favorites from her Arista years.

They didn't cover the whole sordid Brazil episode. Or Damont. Or Nippy.

[quote]She said she would fund the park with 7.5% of the proceeds from her televised concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park which took place in the summer of 1983...and claimed there was a debt of $1.7M from the concert and said she would not fulfill her promise...

Were you even alive back then? The concert was interrupted then cancelled when a huge rainstorm rolled in. She appeared the next night without incident, but they didn't expect twice the expense.

What about Damont? Asking r145.

Next we should see a show about Roberta Flack. She’s a great singer who’s been largely forgotten too

^ we already have. She has ALS.

I wonder if one of her sons is gay...

R149 Corpse Warwick is insufferable like you.

Dionne still smokes. She's fucking 82 years old and she's still sucking down the Virginia Slims Menthols. That's amazing.

Does it cover her personal life?

The male ego is a fragile thing. It's hard when the woman is the breadwinner. All my life, the only man who ever took care of me financially was my father. I have always taken care of myself.

For anybody thinking of going to see her live, here's a taste of what you'll be getting: this is a recent performance from last month in San Diego.

She's lowered the key on the song and altered the melody (Bacharach would have a shit fit if he heard this version), slowed it way down so she has time to breathe, and has one of her male musicians do about 50% of the singing, if not more.

When she does actually sing, she still sounds like Dionne, with that familiar tone and phrasing, but she's pitchy as fuck in places.

Yet somehow it's not terrible. Not sure I'd pay to see her at this point. But not sure that I wouldn't, either.

[R154] I think she's fine in that clip - especially at 82, and singing the same set list for 60 years.

What song is she singing???

Smoking those cigarettes for decades did a number on her voice. She no longer has any range. The musicality is still there, but the clarity and register are gone.

If you see me walking down the street

And I'm smoking Virginia Slims each time we meet.

Do celebrity participants in these documentary biographies get paid for their appearance? Is that correct. For example would Barry Gibb or Stevie Wonder have been paid for their time being interviewed for this program.

I thought famous people did this for free, as a favor to their famous friends/colleagues with the expectation the favor would be returned down the road.

Obligatory.

News organizations say they don’t pay— but this is a film so maybe it’s different

R160, cute little otters!

Dionne's image back in the day was ladylike, classy, controlled. She was a star. I knew her from guest spots and specials, tv shows of my teens, and radio hits. Her appearance on The Apprentice was an eye opener. Somewhat coarse, a bitchy diva, lazy and a back stabber.

Old dumbass bitch

Dionne and Marlee Matlin.

[quote]Her appearance on The Apprentice was an eye opener. Somewhat coarse, a bitchy diva, lazy and a back stabber.

She joined DL in-between and picked up a few pointers.

Dionne was such a fucking bitch on The Apprentice.

"I got your number HUSSY!"

A few years ago, when Trump was in the middle of his term, Warwick was interviewed for an album she released but the questions went to her time on 'The Apprentice' a few years back. Warwick said that she only did the show because Trump personally asked her to, and she accepted because he always booked her for his casinos (when she needed the work in the 90s) and was always courteous and professional to her. She didn't forget this, and she returned the favor to him when he asked her to take a spot on the show (some other celebrity had canceled last minute). She also wanted to raise money for her AIDS charity if she won.

She also made it clear the Trump she knew back in the 90s and on the show was NOT the same person who was sitting in the White House. (And she made it clear she has always been a staunch Democrat all her life).

Whitney sings a Warwick medley

Luthor sings an AMAZING "A House is not a home"!

Very funny, R168.

She shops for piss pads at DG.

I hate that AWF Troll's harassment stopped DL's Miss Warwick from posting. Those threads were some of the funniest shit ever.

I love Dionne, but wouldn't pay much to see her performing as she is at R154. The crowd got excited when her band member sings.

Here she is at the Java Jazz Festival in 2018. Singing, at around the 14:30 mark, Say a Little Prayer. Not great, but not as bad as at R154.

I think the songs lose a lot of the punch from slowing down the tempo so much. The songs Dionne sings (Promises, Promises) have a lot of those fast, percussion-like phrases. You lose that quality when you slow it down so much.

R174 that is painful to see and hear.

[quote] I hate that AWF Troll's harassment stopped DL's Miss Warwick from posting. Those threads were some of the funniest shit ever.

Sometimes it was not funny just coarse and disgusting.

r130, Warwick remains the gold standard. The vast majority of singers are not surpassing Dionne Warwick singing Bacharach.

Least of all Alfie. It took Dionne Warwick to make that song a hit. Nobody can pull it off the way she does. Warwick, Bacharach and David were the Triangle Marriage for a reason.

I’d rather hear Dionne at her worst than Jennifer Lopez at her best.

[quote] [R116] have you listed to Sarah Vaughan's Alfie in [R89]?

Just noticed this comment.

Yes, I listened to Sarah Vaughan's Alfie at R89. Agree with R177 that Dionne's is the gold standard. The emotion conveyed and cadence in Dionne's is just superior, IMO. Vaughan's version does not bring a tear to my eye, but Dionne's definitely does. Yes, Mary!

She killed this cover of the classic Fifth Dimension song…

The above link, like Warwick's music, is stinky.

Patti, you are just pressed because Celine Dion's cover of IF YOU ASKED ME TO is just as good, if not better, than your version. White girl gave your ass a run for your money, hussy

Patti is still richer than you, Warwitch. You had more hits and sold more records, but Patti has more money.

That must hurt your soul, doesn't it? As we used to say in Detroit, "Too bad, too sad. Scratch ya ass and get glad."

Anita, shut your dwarf ass up! Ain't nobody asked your evil Jerry's Kids ass a damn thing!

R183 🔥 🔥 🔥

It’s sad that Warwick still has to perform now to make an income. She’s not wealthy at all

She should be very wealthy. As has been said, Patti Labelle didn't have nearly as many hits as Dionne or sell as many records but she's very well off. WTF happened with Dionne's finances?

Patti bakes for $

Patti saw how many black entertainers were financially ignorant and how much money they squandered or were robbed of by shady business managers. She was smart. Patti kept her same house in Philadelphia for ages; not sure if she sold it or not. She’s only extravagant onstage.

Apparently Dionne did have a form of bone disease in her gums that required surgery. Bone was removed from her hip and placed in her mouth. Her bite definitely changed dramatically over time.

my favorite takeaway was this very simple Paris rooftop video that I'd never seen before.

Sorry Miss Dionne, you stomp on Cilla Black, but it's still Dusty's voice that I hear on Anyone Who Had A Heart.

I really like the early 80's period Dionne, the "Dionne" album and the one following, she had several hit singles. I almost forgot about this one, written by Will Jennings & Richard Kerr who also wrote "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again". Great vocals, romantic lyrics, lush orchestration.

Here she is doing "No Night So Long" on the Tonight Show, sometime in the 1980s or maybe early 90s. Did everyone famous dress like this when performing on television? She looks like my Aunt Sarah when she went to church on the weekend. That dress could have been from Dress Barn.

She's maybe in her 40s in the clip but seems much older, which I guess was in keeping with the times. People looked middle-aged much sooner. Her hands are beautiful though, here, beautifully manicured. I always liked the way she used them when performing.

I've never forgiven her for adding an extra "love" to "Love, exciting and new".

And they cover the "Warwicke" years, which took place on the advice of her psychic WAY before she did Psychic Friends' Network. She's desperately trying to rewrite history when it comes to her Psychic Friends' debacle.

She must've been totally flat broke and desperate for cash to get involved in that Psychic Friends shit. It was so low-rent for a star of her stature.

Didn't Cher do infomercials at the time too?

Cher did the Lori Davis infomercial because she was a personal friend of Lori Davis and just did it as a favor. She thought the infomercial would run late at night on one channel for a month or so and that would be it. It actually ran on multiple channels several times a night for months and months. Cher was totally embarrassed that it got so much exposure.

R199 Not too embarrassed to very soon thereafter come out with Cher's Aquasentials Skin Care line, and produce just as many late night infomercials for the product line.

I happen to think she was a great salesperson, and she looked marvelous.

[Quote] She looks like my Aunt Sarah when she went to church on the weekend. That dress could have been from Dress Barn

She was broke

Didn’t sh have a really wealthy boyfriend at one time?

r192, well it should be noted Dusty was a devotee of Dionne. She saw Dionne as a great singer.

Couldn't the show have given her a more jazzy dress or do they just accept whatever you are wearing when you attend?

I am very weary of this Dionne lovefest. Give it a rest, Dionne.

R203 Granted, but on this particular song I think Dusty excels, while Dionne sounds a bit shrill.

If he's speedily charged and convicted of campaign finance violations, he can be removed right? That's what happened to the congressman from San Diego who blamed everything on his wife. Unlikely on an accelerated schedule, but still possible.

George Santos IS Dionne Warwick!

Says he, R208 (scraping your filth off the sole of my sneaker).

Humblest apologies. Got my threads crossed.

Dionne was never shrill of Bacharach David material. That was Cilla Black's job.

Dionne Warwick: Elvis Presley did me a big favor in Las Vegas

Why was Cilla so popular?

^ She benefitted from being the only female star in the Beatles' orbit, and rose to popularity as part of the "Merseybeat" scene, when Liverpool suddenly became the epicenter of the music business.

She was the coat check girl at the Cavern Club, where the seeds of Beatlemania first started to sprout. She was friends with them. Her not being a great beauty probably helped her, in that the legions of female Beatles fans didn't see her as much of a threat. Lennon and McCartney wrote songs for her to sing. Brian Epstein managed her. George Martin produced her. She had a thick Scouse accent, at a time when that was THE accent to have if you wanted to make it in England.

And, even though she didn't have the greatest voice in the world, she could more or less (Miss Warwick would say less) carry a tune.

In other words, right place, right time, she knew the right people, and she wasn't without talent and charisma. Credit to her for lasting far beyond the initial Merseyside invasion, unlike the majority of the other Liverpool acts.

Cilla

She’s okay, but her version of this lacks vocal nuance and shading.

PS almost like Ethel Merman.

In one of the at-home clips from the 1970s, she had plastic on her furniture!

[Quote] I thought Dionne and Cissy didn’t get along.

Cissy tried to "take" Alfie from Dionne but...

NYT: doing justice to a six-decade career in 95 minutes proves challenging. Overall, “Don’t Make Me Over” gets the job done, albeit in a formulaic, straightforward fashion. But there’s pure joy in just seeing Warwick radiate the kind of charisma and grit you’d hope for from a living legend who has always stayed true to herself. In this ordinary film about her extraordinary life, it’s clear she’s not stopping now.

Aretha: "Let me speak to The Millionairess..."

Noted, all Dionne's hit songs written by white songwriters.

Not all. "Then Came You" was written by two black men, Sherman Marshall and Phillip Pugh. Isaac Hayes wrote "Deja Vu."

R194 That performance gave me chills. Amazing. Imagine watching a talk show and seeing a great performance like that. Now we’re just served stale.garbage.

Old gal still got IT!

R219 so glad that Cissy got her face broke by someone. She’s a bully and an ogress. I would have loved to have seen her face when Burt gave her that demo back.

Nevertheless, Bacharach used Cissy to sing "One Less Bell to Answer" on one of his albums.

I always liked this gem from 1982!

[quote]That's too bad, since her next album produced by Luter Vandross was just awful ('How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye').

BS, the album was great and the title track among the truely amazing and musically sophisticated ballads/duets Luther produced during his career. It's an absolute classic the same way his duet with Cheryl Lynn, If This World Were Mine, is a forever classic.

Cissy was a great, great singer, but she had zero interpretive skills. All those skills went to Whitney who had it in spades.

There is a reason Cissy stayed a background vocalist all her life. She didn't know what to do with a melody.

"Sophisticated." Translation: Old Fogey.

"If This World Were Mine" isn't a very good song. Nice vocals can't save an indifferent piece of writing.

This is probably my fave Cissy track.

I also like her remake of a song originally released by Jean Wells.

You're a moron R232!

Perfect example for why Cissy Houston was only good for oohs and ahhs at R233.

[Quote] You're a moron [R232]!

There's a reason Motown made it a b-side, dear...

The soprano part on "Ain't No Way" is much more than an shoop-shoop...

Cissy had a good disco hit with "Think It Over." Though, like Whitney, she smoked her voice away prematurely.

Cissy couldn't connect well with the camera. I presume she was the same way on stage. Dee Dee Warwick was the same.

It's still not singing a song R238. Cissy was as stiff as a board with a melody, with how to actually fit into a song as a singer and interpreter.

Somebody from Clive Davis' inner circle at Arista once said Cissy was jealous of Whitney. Probably quite a bit of truth to that, bc Whitney was a brilliant and unique interpreter. She could feel a song, it's emotions and meaning. That's why she was so good at connecting with an audience.

Whitney wasn't a first class interpreter. Beautiful sounds but not a lot of depth there.

Cissy was at her best with The Sweet Inspirations.

Whitney must’ve gotten her beauty from her dad’s side of the family. Cissy has Marty Feldman eyes.

[quote] Anita, shut your dwarf ass up! Ain't nobody asked your evil Jerry's Kids ass a damn thing!

Just because you look like Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained these days doesn't mean you have to speak like him, Warwitch.

R242 please elaborate.

This documentary was only soso. No revelations here.

I thought it was well done - though it does sort of gloss over later years and the fact she really hasn't had a hit for a long time.

I was surprised to see mentions of the psychic business as well as her bankruptcies.

Still, there was a lot I didn't know about her early years and she deserves the accolades. I liked most of the docu until the last 10-15 minutes where they just start repeating shit, kissing ass and basically call her the second coming of Christ. (A problem in lots of documentaries when they pad out the time)

Dionne deserves a Kennedy Center Honor.

So did Burt but for some reason they never did it.

This is one of my favorite Whitney live performances (no lip sync). All the Man I Need from the Welcome Home Heroes (post Persian Gulf War) concert.

This montage/collage really cracks me up!

[quote] Anyone Watching the CNN Documentary about Dionne Warwick?

Nah. I walked on by.

R252, why do you have to be a heartbreaker?

But I have all the love in the world

It makes no difference now…

I wasn’t a fan of that FRIENDS IN LOVE album produced by Jay Graydon. He did great with Al Jarreau and even Sheena Easton. But he made Dionne sound metallic and artificial, something her voice definitely isn’t.

R93 get new lenses. She’s only worth $5,000

She hid all her money in Brasil.