Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: Dionne Warwick

Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: 

Dionne Warwick

In my own personal big gay church there is a special wing dedicated to The Working Girls. These are ladies whom have had long careers spanning decades with great chart success. They've hosted shows, appeared on variety shows, championed causes and had their ups and downs. But they kept working.

Dionne Warwick.

She ranks second only to Aretha Franklin as the most charted female vocalist, with 69 singles making the Billboard Hot 100 during the rock era (1955–1999), 30 of which hit the Top 40. Selling over 75 million singles and 25 million albums worldwide? Well, that's saying something.

Her vocal style is one of a kind - earthy and immediate with a touch of heart-earned ache. 

Those songs written by Burt Bachrach and Hal David didn't sing themselves. She breathed life and energy into those compositions and in the process helped create a new kind of female sophistication.  

Oh, it didn't stop with the music. There were the clothes, the hair, the look, the image... the women has style and grace wrapped around her perfectly manicured nails. But then, what else becomes a legend most?

And that, she most certainly is!

Cementing her place forever in the hearts of the gay community, in a time of ignorance, silence and fear, she gathered two other renowned divas and a Motown legend, lifted a forgotten Burt Bachrach song from a from the forgotten soundtrack of a forgotten movie and made magic. The kind that goes to #1 and captures the attention of the entire world. 

And all for a cause. Yes, she gave voice and a song to those who had none.

To this day, I cannot hear that song without remembering what it meant... to see such stellar talents unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It became an anthem... an anthem for heartbreaking times.  

The gospel according to her?

Well, here's three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Earning it!

"It was step by step that I earned my way into the lives and hearts of people by giving them recordings that I grew to love and as I found my listening audience also grew to love."

"I have bought a lot of beautiful clothes with my money, but I've also earned it."

"All my friends and peers keep asking me when I'm going to rest - I just tell them it's another dirty four-letter word!"

Anyone Who Had A Heart - Dionne Warwick

No Night So Long - Dionne Warwick

That's What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick,

Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder

And... one last parting shot.

"Dust does rise, doesn't it? And so can I."