Dionne's Vocal Range

[Dionnefan]

I notice browsing other boards and looking at youtube comments that for certain singers, posters seem to know exactly which notes people like Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey can hit, how many octaves they have, etc. Has there ever been a similar discussion about Dionne? To me, Dionne has such a technically exacting vocal ability. I would assume she would have an impressive range as well. Does anyone know?

[BachtoBacharach]

I have read some of those same things and some folks out there are making a lot of assumptions about vocal range, chest-head mix etc...and there're all guessing. There have been many references in articles regarding Dionne's vocal technique and suffice it to say that she had in her heydey, she had a several ovtive range...listen to her on Somebody Bigger Than You and I from her 1968 gospel album...she hit some incredibly high notes. Also, please see this link below from the Count Basie television special from 1983...Dionne at age 42 is unhinged on I'll Never Love this Way Again! I'll leave the technical discussion to the trained singers out there!! All I can say is WOW after seeing this rare clip.

[blueonblue]

Burt was right when he said Dionne "could sing the roof off"......incredible !!!!!!

"blue"

[Dionnefan]

Yes I have seen the Count Basie clip and I really don't think I've ever seen nor heard a vocal display of that amount of power, outside of maybe opera singers. I just wish it was in better quality.

And you know what, I really think Dionne really held back alot on showboating and showing her amazing power. She just really doesn't seem to be a "showy" type of person--she serves the song, she doesn't make the song serve her, a la Patti Labelle. And because Dionne didn't show herself alot, most people have no idea she is capable of this. I feel like starting a national campaign to make people realize what an amazing talent Dionne is.

I vaguely remembering reading somewhere that one of the Sweet Inspirations (not Cissy), who has known and worked extensively with both Dionne and Aretha, stated that contrary to popular opinion, Dionne had Aretha cold when it came to vocal ability. Of course everybody immediately thinks Aretha is unapproachable and laugh when you mention Dionne in the same breath. Well, at least I know the truth!

[blueonblue]

........another staggering performance !!!!!!!!!!!!!


"blue"

[Pablo]

I love how she goes vocally high at the end of "I didn't mean to love you"...

[ron hertel]

Dionne's solo performance of "Finder Of Lost Loves" in concert (recently removed from YouTube) is one of my favorites! ...... Same goes for "I Didn't Mean to Love You" Pablo. .... Stellar performances in concert as well as the studio versions.

[blueonblue]

Ron,
Here's one of the songs you mentioned....a wonderful performance from the great lady !


"blue"

[ron hertel]

"blue"
Many thanks - I recently attempted to find it on YouTube and missed it! ......... I'll try again for the "I Didn't Mean to Love You" concert performance. ..... Studio version is terrific and I remain puzzled by Warner Brothers decision to pull that single shortly after its release - not to appear on CD until included in the "LOVE SONGS" compilation many years later.
Ron

[blueonblue]

Ron.....you're very welcome.
And I fully agree with you "I Didn't Mean To Love You" is another of Dionne's "hidden treasures" !

"blue"

[BachtoBacharach]

Reviewing a sold-out concert at the Philharmonic Hall in New York in October 1966, Newsweek Magazine said the following: "Bacharach songs, old standards, rhythm and blues—all came out Warwick, in her restrained gospel style, deliciously phrased, uncontrived and in a polished, flexible voice that was deep purple below and sky-blue above. Not only does she reach up to E natural comfortably, but she stays there in a dazzling acrobatic display of vocal weightlessness, changing colors and dynamics with chilling impact. Cushioning all her songs is an uncanny rhythmic sense. To the stop-and-go-rhythms of such Bacharach songs as 'Walk On By,' her body pulsates and twitches, and her voice seems somehow to swing to its own built-in rhythm section. Her songs become dramatic monologues, building tensions until the wild finish of 'Don't Make Me Over' or the haunting fade-out of 'Anyone Who Had a Heart.' They also leave Dionne limp. At the end of her concert even a standing ovation failed to bring an encore. She had nothing left to give."