Evergreen Dionne Warwick says recording a new album
LOS ANGELES: Evergreen hitmaker Dionne Warwick, 77, is recording a new album, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In a discussion with Larry King after a screening of ‘Dionne Warwick: Then Came You’ on Wednesday night, the Grammy winner also reminisced on how serendipity came her way time and again.
Said Warwick: “I feel like I’ve truly been blessed. I’ve been fortunate enough to have people who have been loyal over the years to me and have enjoyed the music I’ve given them, as I have. I always say things happen the way they’re supposed to happen, and here I am.”
TJ Lubinsky, the producer of Dionne Warwick: Then Came You up on the songs of Warwick. Not only does he and the “Walk on By” singer share a home state (New Jersey), but Warwick recorded her first background session with Lubinsky’s grandfather — Herman Lubinsky, founder of Savoy Records — in the 1940s.
And so, when Lubinsky found the opportunity to produce a special for his PBS series ‘My Music’ on the singer, he jumped at it.
“You know how you hear a voice in your head? Hearing Dionne’s music is like hearing a voice,” he said at the Paley Centre for Media. He added, “And I wanted to share that kind of love and respect with her, because she deserves it, and I don’t think she’s been as recognised for what she means to the human condition.”
Lubinsky, 46, said that he felt he could shine a light on Warwick’s unique place in American culture. “So many Motown artistes were influenced by (Warwick) and what she brought us. But the thing is, we don’t think of her as a woman, we think of her as a person. We don’t think of her as an African-American performer, we think of her as a performer. We just respect her as a person.”
The special showcases the five-time Grammy winner’s five-decade career, from her first meeting with songwriters Hal David and Burt Bacharach to becoming a US ambassador of health for her support of AIDS awareness. It features some of her most popular hits, as well as interviews with those close to Warwick, including Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson.
I feel like I’ve truly been blessed. I’ve been fortunate enough to have people who have been loyal over the years to me and have enjoyed the music I’ve given them, as I have. I always say things happen the way they’re supposed to happen, and here I am. Dionne Warwick, evergreen hitmaker