The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Wow this just gets weirder.... I was very happy to see that Cissy issued a statement on behalf of herself, her son Michael AND her niece Dionne stating their disgust that this allegation was leveled against Deedee in a movie of all places and their disbelief in it. Cissy even mentions her love for D...

I have always felt that Dionne does not get the respect from the black community at large because she did not sing an overtly gospel-tinged style and her voice was so perfectly tuned to perform Bacharach/David's more sophisticated pop-leaning compositions. Dionne was just too supper club and apparen...

I share Bachtobacharach's assessment of the Houstons. They seem very messy and I am sure Pat Houston was heavily involved in the decision to air this 'revelation'. I have no idea if this is really true but I don't understand why Gary thinks a movie is the best place to reveal such information, nearl...

I loved the medley. Her performance of the medley from Hot Live & Otherwise was breathtaking. Unfortunately, I think Dionne dropped it because it was too difficult to sing with her declining vocal abilities.

Well, I caught the Bacharach special on PBS for the first time yesterday, and they showed some behind-the-scenes footage of the "Say A Little Prayer" recording session. Present as the background singers were Myrna Smith, Cissy Houston, and I'm pretty sure the third was Dionne's aunt Annie ...

I don't know the name of a single one of those Taylor Swift songs. Dionne and Madonna achieved these feats over a 30 and 50 year career. How in the world has Swift done this in 5 or 6 years? They must be releasing a lot more singles than they used to!

Oh boy, another version of I Say A Little Prayer! At least there will be 6 new songs, and 2 new Bacharach/Davids. I really did enjoy Sunny Weather Lover, so looking forward to these. The best thing to me is Phil Ramone's involvement. I think he will ensure a certain level of quality. But I really wi...

Follow this youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xilUdd8apTw There is some sort of documentary that is coming out that will focus on Whitney Houston and the incredible Drinkard family, including Dionne, DeeDee, Cissy, and the others. In the short clip, Whitney talks about being proud to be D...

Great read, Bach.

I love reading stuff like this. Please post more, and I appreciate your contributions to the board greatly.

Nikray, you are right. Dionne's talents as a vocalist or interpreter go far beyond just her voice. She is indeed an amazing musician--sort of akin to Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan. Her voice became another one of the instruments in the band, and she always served the song instead of trying to mak...

BtB, I watched that clip a few weeks ago and was stunned. I have never heard Dionne sound so horrible. I wonder if she had a cold or something at that time, or was feeling ill. She really should have begged off singing that night. I felt so embarassed for her. Dionne, Dionne, Dionne, why another alb...

Have to admit Dionne wasn't looking too good in that first clip. Thanks goodness the stylists made "her over"

From Youtube:

I absolutely love those quirky songs Dionne Burt and Hal did. Green Grass, Loneliness Remembers, Paper Maché, etc. Other than the Beatles, was there another mainstream act that was putting out such creative and unique material at this time? Another one of my quirky favorites is "Walk Little Dol...

I absolutely love the quirky songs in Dionne/Burt/Hal's catalog such as Paper Mache, Loneliness Remembers, Green Grass, etc. One of my particular favorites is Walk Little Dolly. The great interplay between Dionne and Cissy doing their "la la la las" and then Dionne singing her heart out in...