Dionne Warwick (born
Marie Dionne Warrick on
December 12,
1940), is a five-time
Grammy Award-winning singer, actress, activist,
United Nations Global Ambassador for the
Food and Agriculture Organization, former United States Ambassador of Health, and humanitarian. She is best known for her partnership with
songwriters and producers
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David. According to
Billboard magazine, Dionne Warwick is second only to
Aretha Franklin as the female vocalist with the most
Billboard Hot 100 chart hits during the rock era (1955-1999). Warwick charted a total of 56 hits in the
Billboard Hot 100.
[Amazon.com - Pop Annual 1955-1999, (Paperback) by Joel Whitburn]. The artist scored crossover hits on the Rhythm & Blues charts and the Adult Contemporary charts. Joel Whitburn's tome on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts entitled "Top Pop Singles 1955-1999" ranked Dionne Warwick as the 20th most popular of the top 200 artists of the rock era based upon the Billboard Pop Singles Charts. She is also the cousin of
Whitney Houston.
Biography
Early life and career
Dionne Warwick was born
Marie Dionne Warrick to parents Mancel Warrick, who began his career as a pullman porter, chef, a gospel record promoter for
Chess Records and later a
certified public accountant; and Lee Drinkard Warrick, manager of a renowned family gospel group and
RCA recording artists
The Drinkard Singers in
East Orange, New Jersey. Dionne began singing gospel as a child at the New Hope Methodist Church in East Orange.
[New Jersey Womans History] She performed her first gospel solo at the age of six and frequently joined The Drinkard Singers. Warrick's aunt
Emily (Cissy) Drinkard Houston and Warrick's sister the late
Delia (Dee Dee) Warrick also performed with the family group.
[Musicanguide.com, Dionne Warwick biography, paragraph 4] Other family members include Dionne's brother, Mancel Warrick, Jr., who was killed in an accident in 1968 at the age of eighteen.
