Dionne Warwick: Viva la diva

Feb 1 2008 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

Mike Chapple finds Dionne Warwick looking forward to her date in the city

THERE could be no higher form of praise from no higher standard of songwriter. “She has a delicacy when singing – like miniature ships in bottles,” said Burt Bacharach of Dionne Warwick, the chanteuse who best translated the muse captured in the classic creations he moulded with lyricist Hal David.

Now she’s returning to Liverpool as part of a 12-date UK tour – and for those who have never heard classic pop delivered in style this is a live performance not to be missed.

She’s looking forward to it as well.

“Liverpool has always been supportive of me, and it’s nice to know nothing has changed,” says the 67-year old New Jerseyite, still fresh from stepping off the transatlantic plane after a gig at Coral Springs Centre for the Arts, in Florida.

“I’ve played Liverpool many times and it has always been wonderful – and I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful this time, too.”

Indeed, Dionne has had a special place in the hearts of fans in this city ever since her very first single, Don’t Make Me Over, recorded way back in 1962.

As proof, a little Liver Bird, thrilled at Ms Warwick’s imminent arrival, told Yours Truly that her records were particularly popular with The Beatles’ teenybopper fans down in the dank depths of the Cavern.

“We really did dance around our handbags to that one,” she trilled, before bursting into a word perfect – if not quite as tuneful – version of Dionne’s debut.

Don’t Make Me Over was in fact the start of the very beautiful working relationship she cultivated with Bacharach and David. At the time, the songwriters were working at New York’s legendary “music factory”, the Brill Building where she first came to Burt’s notice while singing backing to The Drifters’ song Mexican Divorce, which he composed. He asked her to sing demos which he was presenting to various record labels – and the rest became history as she signed to Scepter Records along with the songwriting duo as producers.

In the subsequent period up until 1971, Warwick scored an amazing 33 US chart entries singing their work. Two of the most sublime, Walk On By from 1964 and 1968’s Do You Know The Way To San Jose?, also became monster smashes for her in this country.

One that didn’t, however, was somewhat notoriously, Anyone Who Had A Heart. This rocketed to the toppermost of the poppermost in this country strapped to the back of our very own Cilla Black, while Dionne’s version only reached number 42. It’s something that still rankles, especially since it remains the top-selling single by a British female artist.

On a 1995 production of Great Performances highlighting Burt Bacharach, Warwick stated that the cover was so much of a copycat that if she had coughed or the organ player hit a wrong note in the middle of the song, Black would have done the same.

On the same programme, Our Cilla said of her recording: “It was a Number One; Dionne was dead choked, and she’s never forgiven me to this day.”

This was confirmed by a music biz friend in the know.

“Dionne hates Cilla and she hates her version of the song,” she said with emphasis.

So, when the cage-rattling Daily Post predictably raises the issue, it receives a predictably frosty reaction from the lady herself.

“What did I think on first hearing Cilla’s version? Hmm, I’m sure you already know the answer to that question – in so far as comparison is concerned, there is none,” she says imperiously before adding: “And no. I’ve not heard Atomic Kitten’s version.”

Our Cilla apart, however, the female vocalist who stands only second to Aretha Franklin for the number of hits in the US Billboard Hot 100 in the 20th century, is sweetness and light especially when it comes to picking her fave Bacharach/David composition.