The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland, Ohio. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC, but Scoop had a chance to speak with Dionne Warwick about her career, the induction, and more…
The inimitable Dionne Warwick, the original “it” girl, who, in a career that began in the 1960s, gave us pop music as “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Alfie,” “Walk On By,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” the songs that opened our eyes to her loving voice and made us fall in love with her. The singer never stopped performing, and at the age of 83, is still moving on. She has earned five Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Kennedy Center Honor.
In 2023, the singer, activist, host, community organizer, and groundbreaking entertainer was honored with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, where Debbie Allen, Cynthia Erivo, Chloe Bailey, Ego Nwodim (who laughingly and lovingly plays Dionne on “The Dionne Warwick Show” skits on SNL), country superstar Mickey Guyton as well as The Spinners, the group with whom she recorded the #1 R&B/Pop hit “Then Came You,” sang and spoke her praises.
This year, Dionne shows us that there is no stopping the train of triumphs and successes for an icon when that icon is Dionne Warwick! She will FINALLY be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She acknowledges with a wit that made her the Queen of Twitter: “It is quite interesting that it’s happening now because I’ve been nominated a couple of times before, and now they’ve finally gotten it right!”
Adding to her accolades this year, the woman who put the music of Burt Bachrach and Hal David on the musical map and who is hugely responsible for the many compositions that were the rhyme and reason behind their 2021 Gershwin Prize for songwriting will be honored by that same institution this year. In a tribute to her stellar career and a legacy that has given us songs like “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Message to Michael” and so many more, The Library of Congress will honor Warwick later this year.
If that weren’t enough, Dionne has been recording new music. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and with so much that’s going on in the world, the “What the World Needs Now” singer has been recording inspirational music for a new project that will be released this year–songs for the heart and for the soul.
She said, “This is what we need right now. So much is going on, and I know what music can do to help us move the conversation forward.” Dionne knows better than many as she rallied her friends Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight to perform, “That’s What Friends Are For,” which became the anthem for the HIV/AIDS rallying cry that brought the country together to destigmatize the disease and called us to help each other. The song helped to raise awareness and raised millions for AIDS research and care. She hopes this will have the same effect.
Born in East Orange, NJ, Dionne grew up in a gospel-singing family, including her aunt Cissy Houston and her cousin Whitney Houston. Warwick said music was in her DNA. Her soulful sound propelled her to hit after hit across decades. “Being inducted in the Rock of Roll Hall of Fame is a true honor,” said Dionne. “I never felt that I had belonged in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but this is a very prestigious award, and I am thrilled they think I’m a rock and roller.” But Dionne said her music ranges are jazz, R&B, and Gospel, but she considers herself a “pure pop singer.”
MTV co-founder John Sykes has been the chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation since 2020, and he believes that Rock & Roll is an inclusive genre. “The best way to describe rock and roll, it’s not one sound,” Sykes said. “You can see it over the years… rock and roll is an ever-changing sound and spirit.”
That “ever-changing” sound is reflected in this year’s class. Warwick will be inducted for Musical Excellence along with the rock band MC5, the late songwriter Norman Whitfield, and the late Jimmy Buffet. The performer category is equally wide-ranging, including the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige and Cher, the only woman to have a number-one hit on the Billboard chart in each of the past seven decades.
Dionne said, “The true icons of the industry have embraced me and made me one of their babies.” She added, “I cannot tell you how completely grateful I am for that.
Just this past week, Dionne received a special honor in her hometown in New Jersey on Friday afternoon. A street was renamed after the music legend in East Orange, where she grew up.
To see my full interview with Dionne Warwick and to learn about her life experiences, inspirations, recent collaborations, thoughts on different issues, upcoming projects, Miss Cleo, Burt Bachrach, and more go to Inda House Media Entertainment. Hats off to Dionne, you Rock girl!!
Well, That’s The Philly Beat!!
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