Dionne Warwick

Bio:
Dionne Warwick (born Marie Dionne Warrick on December 12, 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey) is an American singer and TV host. Dionne comes for a family of singers, as her mother, aunts and uncles were members of the renowned family gospel group, the Drinkard Singers. Dionne began singing gospel as a child and performed her first solo at the age of six. After graduating high school in 1959, she was awarded a scholarship to the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. Dionne formed the group, The Gospelaires, in 1958. The group began singing background sessions in New York, leading Dionne to connect with Burt Bacharach, who helped get her first solo record deal in 1962. Her first single, “Don’t Make Me Over,” was her first Top 40 Pop hit. From there, she found additional success in the 1960s and ‘70s, including “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” which won her first Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. “Then Came You” in 1974 was her first No.1 hit, a success she replicated only in 1985 with “That’s What Friends Are For.” During the 1990s, Dionne hosted infomercials for the Psychic Friends Network, but was dismayed when she was being referred to as “the psychic lady on TV.” Dionne declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy due to mismanagement of her business affairs in 2013. Dionne continues to sing and record.

Best Known For:
Dionne Warwick is best known as a legendary R&B singer of the hit songs, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “Déjà vu” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”

Personal Life:
Dionne’s aunt is Cissy Houston and she was cousins with Whitney Houston. Dionne married actor and drummer William David Elliot in 1966. They divorced a year later, before reconciling. They welcomed their first son, David Elliot, in 1969 and second son, Damon, in 1973. They divorced again in 1975. Dionne was named a UN Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2002. Her “That’s What Friends Are For” single was a American Foundation for AIDS Research benefit song, helping to raise over three million dollars.