MANILA, Philippines?World-renowned singer Dionne Warwick says her music is a healing instrument she hopes would somehow ?be of service? to those suffering from the recent floods and who can make it to her concert Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Speaking to the media at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center eight hours after arriving from the United States, Warwick, 68, wore a sky blue sports suit, aviator sunglasses and a black baseball cap.
?At this point maybe the concert is something that can take their minds off the devastation for at least an hour and a half. I hope the crisis will pass as quickly as possible and those suffering will find self-relief,? Warwick said.
Now on her 48th year as a musical entertainer, Warwick said she has been averaging 200 shows annually, but would like to take it easy in 10 years. ?I?m still enjoying what I do. I love to sing very much, but I?m at a point now where I?m slowing down a bit,? she pointed out.
Warwick was born Marie Dionne Warrick on December 12, 1940, in East Orange, New Jersey. Her father was a chef, gospel record promoter, and later a certified public accountant, while her mother managed a family gospel group called The Drinkard Singers, whose members included Emily Houston?Warwick?s aunt and the mother of another globally famous singer, Whitney Houston.
At the age of 6, Warwick sang her first gospel solo and eventually joined The Drinkard Singers. She was 18 when she, along with friends and her sister Delia, formed their own group, The Gospelaires?whose first performance was at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.
The Gospelaires built a reputation for providing good backup vocals for a number of R&B artists. In one recording session for the song ?Mexican Divorce? by the doowop group Drifters, Warwick?s voice and ?star presence? caught the attention of composer Burt Bacharach.
Commenting on Warwick in a July 14, 1967 article on Time magazine, Bacharach said: ?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!?
Bacharach lost no time in asking Warwick to sing the tunes he was writing with lyricist Hal David. In 1962 she signed to the Bacharach-David production team and the result was her first solo single, ?Don?t Make Me Over,? which likewise gave the songwriters their first Top 40 (No. 21) and Top 5 US R&B hit.
More singles followed, until ?Walk On By,? released in 1964, became a million-seller and turned Warwick into a star. For the rest of the ?60s, Warwick was consistently on the charts and nearly all her records (You?ll Never Get To Heaven,? ?A House Is Not a Home,? ?Reach Out For Me,? ?Alfie,? ?I Say a Little Prayer,? ?Do You Know the Way To San Jose,? ?Promises, Promises? ?This Girl?s in Love With You,? ?Make It Easy on Yourself,? among others) until 1971 were written by Bacharach and David.
In 1972, the songwriting duo parted ways, leaving Warwick with the prospect of being sued by her record label since she had a contract with Bacharach and David as her production team. She was left with no choice but to sue them. The case was settled out of court with $5 million and the rights to all her recordings produced by Bacharach and David.
Warwick has remained friends with them. Every now and then, she said she would get together with Bacharach to do shows. ?Burt wrote wonderful melodies, Hal wrote incredible lyrics and I gave it all for the listening ears of the people. We probably learned a lot from each other,? she told the Inquirer.
In the ?70s and ?80s Warwick moved on and managed to score more hits, starting with ?Then Came You? (with the Spinners in ?74), ?I?ll Never Love This Way Again? (co-written by Will Jennings, produced by Barry Manilow in ?79), ?Déjà Vu? (co-written by Isaac Hayes also in ?79), ?Heartbreaker? (co-written by the Bee Gees in ?82), and the benefit single ?That?s What Friends Are For? (recorded with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder in ?85. In the same year Warwick was part of the all-star charity single ?We Are the World.?
In the ?90s Warwick?s career slowed down but she kept busy by hosting TV infomercials for the Psychic Friends Network.
Asked by the Inquirer if she has a special regimen to maintain her singing voice, Warwick replied: ?The only thing you can do to keep your voice is rest. That?s something not any of us in the entertainment industry ever gets enough of.?
Her concert Friday night at the Big Dome also features a 12-man backing band, and a guest artist, Filipino R&B singer Jay-R.
