Drinkard Singers Many members of Warwick's family were members of
the Drinkard Singers, a family gospel group and
RCA recording artists who frequently performed throughout the New York metropolitan area. The original group, known as the Drinkard Jubilairs, consisted of Cissy, Anne, Larry, and Nicky, and later included Warwick's grandparents, Nicholas and Delia Drinkard, and their children: William, Lee (Warwick's mother) and Hansom. When the Drinkard Singers performed on
TV Gospel Time, Dionne Warwick had her television performance debut. Marie instructed the group, and they were managed by Lee. As they became more successful, Lee and Marie began performing with the group, and they were augmented by pop/R&B singer
Judy Clay, whom Lee had unofficially adopted.
Elvis Presley eventually expressed an interest in having them join his touring entourage.
The Gospelaires Other talented singers joined the Gospelaires from time-to-time, including Judy Clay,
Cissy Houston (mother of
Whitney Houston), and
Doris "Rikii" Troy, whose chart selection "
Just One Look" (when she recorded it in 1963) featured backing vocals from the Gospelaires. After personnel changes (Dionne and Doris left the group after achieving solo success), the Gospelaires became the recording group
the Sweet Inspirations, and had some chart success, but were much sought after as studio background singers. The Gospelaires, and later the Sweet Inspirations, performed on many records cut in New York City for artists such as
Garnet Mimms,
the Drifters,
Jerry Butler,
Solomon Burke and, later, Warwick's solo recordings,
Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. Warwick recalled, in 2002's
Biography, that "a man came running frantically backstage at the Apollo and said he needed background singers for a session for
Sam "the Man" Taylor and old big-mouth here spoke up and said 'We'll do it!' and we left and did the session. I wish I remembered the gentleman's name because he was responsible for the beginning of my professional career." The chance encounter led to the group being asked to provide background vocals at recording sessions around New York. Soon, the group was in-demand for their harmonies among New York musicians and producers, after hearing their work with the Drifters,
Ben E. King,
Chuck Jackson,
Dinah Washington,
Ronnie Hawkins, and Solomon Burke, among many others. In the aforementioned
Biography interview, Warwick recalled that, on weekdays after school, the girls would catch a bus from East Orange to the
Port Authority Terminal, then take the
subway to the recording studios in
Manhattan, perform their background vocal work, and still be back at home in East Orange with time to do their school homework. Warwick's music work would continue while she pursued her studies at Hartt.
Discovery While she was performing background on the Drifters' recording of their 1962 release "
Mexican Divorce", Warwick's voice and star presence were noticed by the song's composer,
Burt Bacharach, a
Brill Building songwriter who was writing songs with many other songwriters, including lyricist
Hal David. According to a July 14, 1967, article on Warwick in
Time, Bacharach stated, "She has a tremendous strong side and a delicacy when singing softly – like miniature ships in bottles." Musically, she was no "play-safe girl. What emotion I could get away with!" During the session, Bacharach asked Warwick if she would be interested in recording demonstration recordings of his compositions to pitch the tunes to record labels, paying her $12.50 per demo recording session (). One such demo, "It's Love That Really Counts"destined to be recorded by Scepter-signed act
the Shirellescaught the attention of the President of
Scepter Records,
Florence Greenberg, who, according to
Current Biography (1969 Yearbook), told Bacharach, "Forget the song, get the girl!" Warwick was signed to Bacharach's and David's production company, according to Warwick, which in turn was signed to Scepter Records in 1962 by Greenberg. The partnership would provide Bacharach with the freedom to produce Warwick without the control of recording company executives and company
A&R men. Warwick's musical ability and education would also allow Bacharach to compose more challenging tunes. Warwick had found out that "
Make It Easy on Yourself" – a song on which she had recorded the original demo and had wanted to be her first single release – had been given to another artist,
Jerry Butler. From the phrase "don't make me over", Bacharach and David created their first top-40 pop hit (No. 21) and a top-5 U.S. R&B hit. Warrick's name was misspelled on the single's label, and she began using the new spelling, "Warwick", both professionally and personally. After "Don't Make Me Over" hit in 1962, she answered the call of her manager, left school and went on a tour of
France, where critics crowned her "Paris' Black Pearl", having been introduced on stage at
Paris Olympia that year by
Marlene Dietrich. The two immediate follow-ups to "Don't Make Me Over" – "This Empty Place" (with "B" side "
Wishin' and Hopin'" later recorded by
Dusty Springfield) and "Make The Music Play" – charted briefly in the top 100. Her fourth single, "
Anyone Who Had a Heart", was Warwick's first top 10 pop hit (No. 8) in the U.S. and an international million seller. This was followed by "
Walk On By" in April 1964, another major international hit and million seller that solidified her career. For the rest of the 1960s, Warwick was a fixture on the U.S. and Canadian charts, and much of her output from 1962 to 1971 was written and produced by the Bacharach/David team. Warwick weathered the
British Invasion better than most American artists. Her biggest UK hits were "
Walk On By" and "
Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Warwick later covered two of Cilla's songs – "You're My World" appeared on
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls, released in 1968 and on the soundtrack to
Alfie. Warwick was named the Bestselling Female Vocalist in the
Cash Box Magazine poll in 1964, with six chart hits in that year.
Cash Box named her the Top Female Vocalist in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In the 1967
Cash Box poll, she was second to
Petula Clark, and in 1968's poll second to
Aretha Franklin.
Playboys influential Music Poll of 1970 named her the Top Female Vocalist. In 1969, Harvard's
Hasty Pudding Society named her Woman of the Year. In
Times cover article of May 21, 1965, entitled "Rock 'n' Roll: The Sound of the Sixties", Warwick's sound was described as: Swinging World. Scholarly articles probe the relationship between the
Beatles and the nouvelle vague films of
Jean-Luc Godard, discuss "the brio and elegance" of Dionne Warwick's singing style as a 'pleasurable but complex' event to be 'experienced without condescension.' In chic circles, anyone damning
rock 'n' roll is labeled not only square but uncultured. For inspirational purposes, such hip artists as
Robert Rauschenberg,
Larry Rivers and
Andy Warhol occasionally paint while listening to rock 'n' roll music. Explains Warhol: "It makes me mindless, and I paint better." After gallery openings in Manhattan, the black-tie gatherings often adjourn to a
discothèque. In 1965, Eon Productions intended to use Warwick's song titled "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" as the theme song of the
James Bond film
Thunderball, until
Albert R. Broccoli insisted that the theme song include the film's title. A new song titled "Thunderball" was composed and recorded at the eleventh hour, performed by
Tom Jones. The melody of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" remains a major component of the film score. The Ultimate Edition DVD of
Thunderball has the Warwick song playing over the titles on one of the commentary track extras, and the song was released on the 30th-anniversary CD of Bond songs.
Chart success (1966–1971) The mid-1960s to early 1970s were a more successful time period for Warwick, who saw a string of gold-selling albums and Top 20 and Top 10 hit singles. "
Message to Michael", a Bacharach-David composition Later that same year, Warwick earned her first RIAA certified Gold single for U.S. sales of over one million units for the single "
I Say a Little Prayer". When disc jockeys across the nation began to play the track from the album in late 1967 and demanded its release as a single, Scepter Records complied and "I Say a Little Prayer" became Warwick's biggest U.S. hit to that point, reaching No. 4 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Chart. The tune was also the first RIAA certified USA million seller for Bacharach-David. Her follow-up to "I Say a Little Prayer", "
(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", was unusual in several respects. It was not written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David; it was the "B" side of her "I Say a Little Prayer" single, and it was a song that she almost did not record. While the
film version of
Valley of the Dolls was being made, actress
Barbara Parkins suggested that Warwick be considered to sing the film's theme song, written by songwriting team
André and
Dory Previn. The song was to be recorded by
Judy Garland, who was subsequently fired from the film. Warwick performed the song, and when the film became a success in the early weeks of 1968, disc jockeys flipped the single and made the single one of the biggest double-sided hits of the rock era and another million seller. At the time, RIAA rules allowed only one side of a double-sided hit single to be certified as gold, but Scepter awarded Warwick an "in-house award" to recognize "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" as a million selling tune. Warwick had re-recorded a Pat Williams-arranged version of the theme at A&R Studios in New York because contractual restrictions with her label would not allow the Warwick version from the film to be included on the
20th Century Fox soundtrack LP, and reverse legal restrictions would not allow the film version to be used anyplace else in a commercial LP. The LP
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls, released in early 1968 and containing the re-recorded version of the movie theme (No. 2 for three weeks), "
Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and several new Bacharach-David compositions, hit the No. 6 position on the
Billboard album chart and would remain on the chart for over a year. The film soundtrack LP, without Warwick vocals, failed to impress the public, while
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls earned an RIAA Gold certification. The single "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (an international million seller and a Top-10 hit in several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Mexico) was also a double-sided hit, with the "B" side "Let Me Be Lonely" charting at No. 79. More hits followed into 1971, including "Who Is Gonna Love Me" (No. 32, 1968) with "B" side, "
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" becoming another double-sided hit; "Promises, Promises" (No. 19, 1968); "
This Girl's in Love with You" (No. 7, 1969); "The April Fools" (No. 37, 1969); "
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (No. 15, 1969); "
I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (No. 6 Pop, No. 1 AC, 1969); "
Make It Easy on Yourself" (No. 37 Pop, No. 10 AC, 1970); "Let Me Go to Him" (No. 32 Pop, No. 4 AC, 1970); and "Paper Mache" (No. 43 Pop, No. 3 AC), 1970). Warwick's final Bacharach/David penned single on the Scepter label was March 1971's "Who Gets the Guy" (No. 52 Pop, No. 6 AC), 1971), and her final "official" Scepter single release was "He's Moving On" b/w "Amanda", (No. 83 Pop, No. 12 AC) both from the soundtrack of the motion picture adaptation of
Jacqueline Susann's
The Love Machine. Warwick had become the priority act of Scepter Records with the release of "
Anyone Who Had a Heart" in 1963. Other Scepter LPs certified RIAA Gold include ''Dionne Warwick's Golden Hits Part 1
released in 1967 and The Dionne Warwicke Story: A Decade of Gold'' released in 1971. By the end of 1971, Warwick had sold an estimated 35 million singles and albums internationally in less than nine years and more than 16 million singles in the U.S. alone. Exact figures of her sales are unknown and probably underestimated, due to Scepter Records' apparently lax accounting policies and the company policy of not submitting recordings for RIAA audit. Warwick became the first Scepter artist to request RIAA audits of her recordings in 1967 with the release of "I Say a Little Prayer". On September 17, 1969,
CBS Television aired Warwick's first television special, entitled
The Dionne Warwick Chevy Special. Warwick's guests were Burt Bacharach,
George Kirby,
Glen Campbell, and
Creedence Clearwater Revival. In 1970, Warwick formed her own label, Sonday Records, of which she was president. Sonday was distributed by Scepter. In 1970, she was a performer on the prestigious
Royal Variety Performance at the
London Palladium, singing
The Look of Love, What the World Needs Now and
Come Together. in 1971 In 1971, Warwick left the family atmosphere of Scepter Records for
Warner Bros. Records, for a $5 million contract, the most lucrative recording contract given to a female vocalist up to that time, according to
Variety. Warwick's last LP for Scepter was the soundtrack for the motion picture
The Love Machine, in which she appeared in an uncredited cameo, released in July 1971. In 1975, Bacharach and David sued Scepter Records for an accurate accounting of royalties due the team from their recordings with Warwick and labelmate
B.J. Thomas. They were awarded almost $600,000 and the rights to all Bacharach/David recordings on the Scepter label. The label, with the defection of Warwick to Warner Bros. Records, filed for bankruptcy in 1975 and was sold to Springboard International Records in 1976. Following her signing with Warners, with Bacharach and David as writers and producers, Warwick returned to New York City's A&R Studios in late 1971 to begin recording her first album for the new label, the self-titled
Dionne (not to be confused with her later Arista debut album) in January 1972. The album peaked at No. 57 on the
Billboard Hot 100 Album Chart. In 1972, Burt Bacharach and Hal David scored and wrote the tunes for the motion picture
Lost Horizon. However, the film was panned by the critics, and in the fallout, the songwriting duo decided to terminate their working relationship. The break-up left Warwick devoid of their services as her producers and songwriters. She was contractually obligated to fulfill her contract with Warners without Bacharach and David, and she would team with a variety of producers during her tenure with the label. Faced with the prospect of being sued by Warner Bros. Records due to the breakup of Bacharach/David and their failure to honor their contract with Warwick, she filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against her former partners for breach of contract. The suit was settled out of court in 1979 for $5 million, including the rights to all Warwick recordings produced by Bacharach and David. Also in 1971, Warwick had her name changed to "Warwicke" per the advice of
Linda Goodman, an astrologer friend, who believed it would bring greater success. A few years later, she reverted to the old spelling after a string of disappointments and an absence from the
Billboard top 40.
Warner era (1972–1978) ,
Helen Reddy and
Olivia Newton-John in 1974 Without the guidance and songwriting that Bacharach/David had provided, Warwick's career stalled in the early 1970s although she remained a top concert draw throughout the world. There were no big hits during the early and mid part of the decade, aside from 1974's "
Then Came You", recorded as a duet with
the Spinners and produced by
Thom Bell. Bell later noted, "Dionne made a (strange) face when we finished [the song]. She didn't like it much, but I knew we had something. So we ripped a dollar in two, signed each half and exchanged them. I told her, 'If it doesn't go number one, I'll send you my half.' When it took off, Dionne sent hers back. There was an apology on it." It was her first U.S. No. 1 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100. Other than this success, Warwick's five years on
Warner Bros. Records produced no other major hits, but "Then Came You" was issued by co-owned
Atlantic Records, the Spinners' label. Two notable songs recorded during this period were "His House and Me" and "Once You Hit The Road" (No. 79 pop, No. 5 R&B, No. 22 Adult Contemporary), both of which were produced in 1975 by
Thom Bell. Warwick recorded five albums with Warners:
Dionne (1972), produced by Bacharach and David and a modest chart success;
Just Being Myself (1973), produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland;
Then Came You (1975), produced by
Jerry Ragovoy;
Track of the Cat (1975), produced by
Thom Bell; and
Love at First Sight (1977), produced by
Steve Barri and
Michael Omartian. Her five-year contract with Warners expired in 1977, and with that, she ended her stay at the label.
A Man and a Woman is a duet live album by American singers Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick, released in 1977 by ABC Records. The album was recorded during one of the concerts of the artists' 1976 joint tour. Warwick's dry spell on the American charts ended with her signing to Arista Records in 1979, where she began a second highly successful run of hit records and albums well into the late 1980s.
Heartbreaker and move to Arista (1979–1989) With the move to Arista Records and the release of her RIAA-certified million seller "
I'll Never Love This Way Again" in 1979, Warwick was again enjoying top success on the charts. The song was produced by
Barry Manilow. The accompanying album,
Dionne, was
certified platinum in the United States for sales exceeding one million units. The album peaked at No. 12 on the
Billboard albums chart and made the top 10 of the
Billboard R&B albums chart. Warwick had been personally signed and guided by the label's founder
Clive Davis, who told her, "You may be ready to give the business up, but the business is not ready to give you up." Warwick's next single release was another major hit. "
Deja Vu" was co-written by
Isaac Hayes and hit No. 1 Adult Contemporary as well as No. 15 on
Billboards Hot 100. In 1980, Warwick won two
Grammy Awards for
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "
I'll Never Love This Way Again" and
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Déjà Vu". She became the first female artist in the history of the awards to win in both categories the same year. – and the album peaked at No. 23 on the
Billboard albums chart. In January 1980, while under contract to Arista Records, Warwick hosted a two-hour TV special called ''Solid Gold '79
. This was adapted into the weekly one-hour show Solid Gold'', which she hosted throughout 1980 and 1981 and again in 1985–86. Major highlights of each show were the duets she performed with her co-hosts, which often included some of Warwick's hits and her co-hosts' hits, intermingled and arranged by
Solid Gold musical director Michael Miller. Another highlight in each show was Warwick's vocal rendition of the
Solid Gold theme, composed by Miller (with lyrics by
Dean Pitchford). Warwick recorded "That's What Friends Are For" as a benefit single for the
American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) alongside
Gladys Knight,
Elton John and
Stevie Wonder in 1985. The single, credited to "Dionne and Friends", was released in October and eventually raised more than three million dollars for that cause. The tune was a triple No. 1 – R&B, Adult Contemporary, and four weeks at the summit on the
Billboard Hot 100 in early 1986 – selling close to two million 45s in the United States alone. "Working against AIDS, especially after years of raising money for work on many blood-related diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, seemed the right thing to do. You have to be granite not to want to help people with AIDS, because the devastation that it causes is so painful to see. I was so hurt to see my friend die with such agony", Warwick told
The Washington Post in 1988. "I am tired of hurting and it does hurt." The single won the performers the
NARAS Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Bacharach and Bayer Sager. It also was ranked by
Billboard magazine as the most popular song of 1986. With this single, Warwick also released her most successful album of the 1980s, titled
Friends, which reached No. 12 on the
Billboard albums chart.
Friends Can Be Lovers (1990–2000) During the 1990s, Warwick hosted
infomercials for the
Psychic Friends Network, which featured self-described psychic Linda Georgian. The
900 number psychic service was active from 1991 to 1998. According to press statements throughout the 1990s, the program was the most successful infomercial for several years and Warwick earned in excess of three million dollars per year as spokesperson for the network. In 1998, Inphomation, the corporation owning the network, filed for bankruptcy and Warwick ended her association with the organization. Warwick's longtime friend and tour manager Henry Carr acknowledged that "when Dionne was going through an airport and a child recognized her as 'that psychic lady on TV', Dionne was crushed and said she had worked too hard as an entertainer to become known as 'the psychic lady. Warwick's most publicized album during this period was 1993's
Friends Can Be Lovers, which was produced in part by Ian Devaney and
Lisa Stansfield. Featured on the album was "Sunny Weather Lover", which was the first song that Burt Bacharach and Hal David had written together for Warwick since 1972. It was Warwick's lead single in the United States, and was heavily promoted by
Arista, but failed to chart. A follow-up "Where My Lips Have Been" peaked at No. 95 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The 1994
Aquarela Do Brasil album marked the end of Warwick's contract with Arista Records. In 1990, Warwick recorded the song "
It's All Over" with former member of
Modern Talking Dieter Bohlen (
Blue System). The single peaked at No. 60 (No. 33 airplay) on the German pop charts and it was covered on Blue System's album
Déjà Vu. In 1993,
Forrest Sawyer, host of the ABC news/entertainment program
Day One, alleged financial improprieties by the Warwick Foundation, founded in 1989 to benefit AIDS patients, and particularly Warwick's charity concert performances organized to benefit the organization as "America's Ambassador of Health". The network news magazine story, "That's What Friends Are For", reported that the Warwick Foundation was operating at more than 90% administrative cost, donating only about 3% of the money it raised to AIDS groups. Several AIDS groups and nonprofit experts criticized her foundation, including an AIDS group in the Virgin Islands that claimed she nearly bankrupted them after extravagant expenses left nothing for local charities. ABC reported that Warwick flew first class and was accommodated at first-class hotels for charity concerts and events in which she participated for the Warwick Foundation, managed by her close confidante, Guy Draper, a former chief of protocol for former Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry, and who had a history of bankruptcies. Warwick alleged that the ABC report was racially motivated and threatened to sue ABC News for defamation, although a suit was never filed. The Internal Revenue Service began an investigation of the Warwick Foundation after other complaints were filed, and the Warwick Foundation was later dissolved. ABC's story was nominated for a national Emmy award in 1994 and won a prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors national television award in 1993.
My Favorite Time of the Year and move to Concord Records (2000–2010) On October 16, 2002, Warwick was nominated to be
Goodwill Ambassador of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2004, Warwick's first Christmas album was released. Entitled
My Favorite Time of the Year, the CD featured jazzy interpretations of many holiday classics. In 2007, Rhino Records re-released the CD with new cover art. In 2005, Warwick was honored by
Oprah Winfrey at her Legends Ball. She appeared on the May 24, 2006, fifth-season finale of
American Idol. Warwick sang a medley of "
Walk On By" and "
That's What Friends Are For", with longtime collaborator Burt Bacharach accompanying her on the piano. In 2006, Warwick signed with
Concord Records after a 15-year tenure at Arista, which had ended in 1994. Her first and only release for the label was
My Friends and Me, a duets album containing reworkings of her old hits, very similar to her 1998 CD
Dionne Sings Dionne. Among her singing partners were
Gloria Estefan,
Olivia Newton-John,
Wynonna Judd and
Reba McEntire. The album peaked at No. 66 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was produced by her son,
Damon Elliott. A follow-up album featuring Warwick's old hits as duets with male vocalists was planned, but the project was cancelled. The relationship with Concord concluded with the release of
My Friends and Me. A compilation CD of her greatest hits and love songs,
The Love Collection, entered the UK album chart at number 27 on February 16, 2008. Warwick's second gospel album,
Why We Sing, was released on February 26, 2008, in the United Kingdom and on April 1, 2008, in the United States. The album features guest spots by her sister
Dee Dee Warwick and
BeBe Winans. On October 18, 2008, Warwick's sister Dee Dee died in a nursing home in
Essex County, New Jersey. She had been in failing health for several months. On November 24, 2008, Warwick was the star performer on
Divas II, a UK ITV1 special show that also featured
Rihanna,
Leona Lewis, the
Sugababes,
Pink,
Gabriella Climi and
Anastacia. In 2008, Warwick began recording an album of songs from the
Sammy Cahn and
Jack Wolf songbooks. The finished recording, entitled
Only Trust Your Heart, was released in 2011. On October 20, 2009, Starlight Children's Foundation and New Gold Music Ltd. released a song that Warwick had recorded about ten years prior called "Starlight". The lyrics were written by
Dean Pitchford, prolific writer of
Fame, screenwriter of – and sole or joint lyricist of every song in the soundtrack of – the original 1984 film
Footloose, and lyricist of the
Solid Gold theme. The music had been composed by
Bill Goldstein, whose versatile career included the original music for NBC's
Fame TV series. Warwick, Pitchford and Goldstein announced that they would be donating 100% of their royalties to Starlight Children's Foundation, to support Starlight's mission to help seriously ill children and their families cope with pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. When Bill and Dean brought this song to me, I instantly felt connected to its message of shining a little light into the lives of people who need it most", said Warwick. "I admire the work of Starlight Children's Foundation and know that if the song brings hope to even just one sick child, we have succeeded.
Only Trust Your Heart and Grammy Award (2010–2019) In 2011, the New Jazz style CD
Only Trust Your Heart was released, featuring many Sammy Cahn songs. In March 2011, Warwick appeared on
The Celebrity Apprentice 4. Her charity was
the Hunger Project. She was dismissed from her "apprenticeship" to
Donald Trump during the fourth task of the season. In February 2012, Warwick performed "Walk On By" on
The Jonathan Ross Show. She also received the Goldene Kamera Musical Lifetime Achievement Award in Germany, and performed "That's What Friends Are For" at the ceremony. On May 28, 2012, Warwick headlined the World Hunger Day concert at
London's
Royal Albert Hall. She sang "One World One Song", specially written for the
Hunger Project by
Tony Hatch and Tim Holder and was joined by
Joe McElderry, the
London Community Gospel Choir and a choir from
Woodbridge School,
Woodbridge, Suffolk. In 2012, the 50th anniversary CD entitled
NOW was released; Warwick recorded 12 Bacharach/David tracks produced by Phil Ramone. On September 19, 2013, she collaborated with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus for his song "Hope Is Just Ahead". In 2014, the duets album
Feels So Good was released. Funkytowngrooves re-issued the remastered Arista albums
No Night So Long,
How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye ("So Amazing"), and
Finder of Lost Loves ("Without Your Love"), all expanded with bonus material. In December 2015, Warwick's website released the
Tropical Love EP with five tracks previously unreleased from the Aquarel Do Brasil Sessions in 1994 – To Say Goodbye (Pra Dizer Adeus) with Edu Lobo – Love Me – Lullaby – Bridges (Travessia) – Rainy Day Girl with Ivan Lins. A
Heartbreaker two-disc expanded edition was planned for a 2016 release by Funkytowngrooves, which would include the original Heartbreaker album and up to 15 bonus tracks consisting of a mixture of unreleased songs, alternate takes, and instrumentals, with more remastered and expanded Arista albums to follow. In 2016, she was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2017, she performed a benefit in Chicago for the Center on Halsted, an organization that contributes to the LGBTQ community. This event was co-chaired by Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama. Also that year, she made a cameo appearance in the Christian drama
Let There Be Light directed by
Kevin Sorbo. In 2019 she was awarded the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Documentary and The Masked Singer (2020–present) , 2023 In 2020, she appeared as "Mouse" on the
third season of
The Masked Singer. She was eliminated in the fifth round, but came back during the first part of the season three finale to sing "
What the World Needs Now Is Love" with the finalists
Night Angel,
Frog and
Turtle as a tribute to the healthcare workers working on the front lines during the
coronavirus pandemic. This performance was created after the season wrapped production in March. Warwick made a guest appearance during Gladys Knight's and Patti Labelle's
Verzuz battle. Together they performed Warwick's song, "
That's What Friends Are For". They closed with their collaborative song "
Superwoman". In
My Life, as I See It: An Autobiography, Warwick lists her honorary doctorate from Hartt among those awarded by six other institutions: Hartt College, Bethune-Cookman University, Shaw University, Columbia College of Chicago,
Lincoln College, Illinois [May 2010, Doctor of Arts (hon.)], and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. On February 10, 2021, Dionne was nominated for inclusion in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. On December 3, 2021, Dionne was honored with a star on the
Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Warwick appears in a documentary revolving around her life and career, ''
Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over'', which had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021. Organizers of the Toronto Film Festival announced that she would be honored in the upcoming event as a music icon. On November 26, 2021, Warwick released the single "Nothing's Impossible" a duet featuring
Chance the Rapper. Two charities are being supported by the duet: SocialWorks, a Chicago-based nonprofit that Chance founded to empower the youth through the arts, education and civic engagement, and Hunger: Not Impossible, a text-based service connecting kids and their families in need with prepaid, nutritious, to-go meals from local restaurants. On January 1, 2023, the documentary premiered on national television on CNN. In December 2023, Warwick participated in the
fifth series of
The Masked Singer UK as "Weather". She was eliminated and unmasked on the first episode. On April 26, 2024, Warwick along with the vocal group
the Chi-Lites, were inducted into The Atlantic City Walk of Fame. Producer, writer and director
Dave Wooley was the presenter for Warwick. The induction ceremony was held at Brighton Park in Atlantic City, NJ. In 2024, Warwick was selected for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the musical excellence category. She also competed on episode of
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. == Voice and artistry ==