Dionne Warwick

For every quote, cliché, or saying, there is something or someone to disprove it. Dionne Warwick has disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald's "no second acts in American lives" quip famously. With a voice both honeyed and dusky, Warwick was frontwoman for one of the greatest partnerships in pop history, Burt Bacharach...

By Mark Keresman

January 17, 2008

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For every quote, cliché, or saying, there is something or someone to disprove it. Dionne Warwick has disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald's "no second acts in American lives" quip famously. With a voice both honeyed and dusky, Warwick was frontwoman for one of the greatest partnerships in pop history, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Their 1960s chart run withstood even the British Invasion with hits "Walk On By" and "(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls." After the early 1970s dissolution of this triumvirate, things were quiet for Warwick until her 1974 "duet" with the Spinners yielded the Number One hit "Then Came You." The late '70s and early '80s saw Ms. Dionne's renaissance with a succession of hits capped by "That's What Friends Are For," benefiting AIDS charities. Warwick also dabbled in acting (The Rockford Files, the Burt Reynolds/Liza Minnelli anti-classic Rent-A-Cop), TV (hostess of Solid Gold), and business (the Psychic Friends Network, which, oddly enough, no one foresaw going bankrupt). Warwick has also acquired a rep as something of a tough cookie — urban legend has it that the moniker of her KIMBA production company is an acronym for Kiss My Black Ass. Celebrate this young year with one of America's classic voices.

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