Dionne At The Dekelboum

Dionne Warwick : Artist, Advocate

Artist

She is one of those rare breeds of Divas, who only requires one name to be recognized-existing in the same diva-sphere as Diana, Re-Re, Whitney, Tina, Patti…we know her simply as Dionne.

When you say Warwick, You know her songs - “Don’t Make Me Over”, “Walk On By”, “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” among scores of others.

In 1968, she became the first African American woman to win a Grammy in the pop music category. And who does not remember her amazing collaboration with composer Burt Bacharach and songwriter Hal David, who produced 39 chart-topping hits (including the 1985 hit “That’s What Friends Are For” (with writer Carole Bayer Sager)?

Humanitarian

We know Warwick is an AIDS activist, an advocate of human rights and former US Ambassador of Health under The Reagan and Bush Administrations. It was during this time, 1985, that Warwick and friends- Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder released the single, “That’s What Friends Are For” raising three million dollars for the American Foundation For AIDS Research (amfAR)

 “I Say A Little Tweet For You”

Lately Warwick spends time on the social media platform Twitter connecting her with younger audiences. In an interview with Nicole Pajer, March 4, 2022, the topic of “The Queen of Twitter” came up. The Diva explains she got onto the platform to help spread positivity to young people who are seeing the world going through more downs than ups, offering words of encouragement. She also tweets to “correct” or help young people with some of the “colorful” language they use in their twitter conversation. She adds a little sass, a little spice when tweeting. And the Twitter-verse now calls her the “Queen Of Twitter”.

On February 22, Dionne Warwick will be joining Dean Stephanie Shonekan at the 2022–23 Arts & Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series. The two will discuss the connection between music and social justice and how celebrities can catalyze positive change in the world. The event will take place at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Dekelboum Concert Hall at 5:30pm