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This Series: This much I knowPrevious | Index This much I know: Dionne WarwickThe singer, 71, on her cousin Whitney Houston's funeral, a spat with Cilla Black and feeling at home in Brazil

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Megan Conner
The Observer, Saturday 21 April 2012 Article history
" I don’t get time to dream, you should see my schedule. I get four to five hours’ sleep a night": Dionne Warwick. Photograph: David Vance
I remember singing as early as six years old, performing "Jesus Loves Me" in my grandfather's church. I was wearing organza and ribbon, which my mother always dressed me in, and I closed my eyes as tight as I could possibly get them. When I opened them everybody was smiling.

The last time I cried was at my cousin Whitney [Houston]'s funeral. I cry when I feel the need to, which is not very often.

Brazil is where I belong, the place that feels like home. They love their family, their country and God, and are not afraid to let anybody know it.

Being a breadwinner is not easy when you're married. The man's ego becomes a bit of a problem and I have experienced that somewhat. I think we need a level playing field.

My worst habit is smoking. I've smoked since college and I don't want to give up. I like it.

I don't get time to dream, you should see my schedule. I get four to five hours' sleep a night and mostly I'm on a plane by 7am. I would like to sleep more.

There are people who have sung my songs and made them their own: Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross. And then there's a lady called Cilla Black [Warwick was annoyed when Black had a No 1 with "Anyone Who Had a Heart"]. I've met her a few times and it wasn't her fault – it was her management.

I respect young artists who are working towards longevity. I don't know anything about Lady Gaga, but I do know about Mariah Carey and Beyoncé, about Toni Braxton and Anita Baker – people with a lot of bone in their body.

Britain has always been very good to me and apparently I have been good for it. It has embraced me since the early 60s and been consistent and truly loyal.

The problem with fame is you no longer belong to you. You lose your persona and become the object of other people's obsession. I feel watched 90% of the time, but that is something I drew with the cards that I drew.

There are lots of people I consider friends who I also am a fan of. Paul McCartney is a dear friend, so is Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder is wonderful. We met when he was nine, in Paris, and he was adorably talented.

We are all here to be a service to those who can't be a service to themselves. We can give people hope and more reasons for being human. Our greatest flaw is selfishness – Me, My and I syndrome. There are simple ways to solve it.

Music has changed drastically. We're living in the computer age and I wish we could go back to live musicians and studios, making records together with people who love doing it.

My mainstay is shopping. I like going down to Givenchy and the boutiques. I have bought a lot of beautiful clothes with my money, but I've also earned it.

When it comes to my skills as a parent, I think the proof is in the pudding – two incredible sons and six grandchildren.

Dionne Warwick will be performing across the UK in association with Jazz FM in May and June in support of World Hunger Day (jazzfm.com and worldhungerday.org)
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Are these little snippets from her "memoir"? I never bothered with it.

Hi Blair. Thank you for posting that. I don't think it's too odd but it is most uncharacteristic! Dionne's never this honest or intimate!!

Another uncharacteristically intimate piece from the Guardian yesterday:



What I see in the mirror: Dionne Warwick

Dionne Warwick: 'I love the way I've started ageing; the process has a way of changing things inside as well as outside.'
When I look in the mirror, I see a head full of beautiful, greying hair, a plump, healthy skin and bright eyes. I am still rather young-looking for my age – I'm 71 – and credit my mother's gift of beautiful skin and family genes. As well as my mother, I see bits of my dad, and sometimes even traces of the twentysomething girl who sang Walk On By back in 1964.

At a very young age, I was influenced by the style of stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Lena Horne and Loretta Young – as soon as I saw them, I knew those were the looks I wanted to emulate.

I love the way I've started ageing; the process has a way of changing things inside as well as outside. My voice, for example, has changed somewhat; as I've matured, so has it – but in a good way, I think.

I don't exercise, I drink and I eat what I want. I wish I had a stricter sleep regime but that's virtually impossible. I am continually flying into various time zones and try to catch up by sleeping on flights.

I have never had the desire for Botox or plastic surgery. I believe all that I am is the way God planned it, and who am I to think I can improve on what he did?

• To mark her 50th anniversary in the music business, Dionne Warwick will be performing across the UK this month and next, including a 28 May show at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in support of World Hunger Day.

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Another surprisingly personal interview from "bigissue" called "letter to my younger self":

LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF » DIONNE WARWICK, AGED 71

Grammy-winning soul legend Dionne Warwick on her dancing dreams, 1960s segregation, and 'quitting every day'


I had big plans when I was 16. I was going to be a prima ballerina, a concert pianist, a teacher... I still think any of those things could have given me as much pleasure as singing – but when I tore the ligaments on my foot and couldn’t stand on my toes any more, I knew I couldn’t be a ballerina, so I changed my focus from my toes to my throat. I was born singing, I come from a singing family, so maybe it was pre-destined. But it wasn’t till I had a hit record, when I was 19, that I decided singing was definitely the way I was going to go.

I’d instantly like the teenage Dionne. I can say that without any reservations whatsoever. I’ve never had a problem liking who I was. I think that attributes to the amount of friendships I made with people who are still my friends today. I also had a very strong family around me, and family is the anchor of anybody’s being. One of the biggest things the young Dionne will have to learn is the art of making decisions and, for that, she’ll have to draw from the environment she’s been brought up in. Fortunately for me, I was brought up in an environment of love, support and promise.

There isn’t much I could tell my younger self about the industry that would help her. Back then, there wasn’t really a pattern – you either had it or you didn’t. In the ’60s, when I started, it wasn’t the massive competition it is today. We were all comrades, we all cared about each other and supported each other. And still, when I have an opportunity to go and see Gladys Knight or Smokey Robinson or Patti LaBelle – who all happen to be my friends – I take the time to do that.

If I told the young Dionne what was going to happen in her future she’d say, ‘You’re kidding me!’ All the awards, performing before kings and queens, performing with some of the major icons of our industry... At the time, I was so busy touring, I didn’t really have time to think about how overwhelming those things were, so I was able to handle them. That said, I quit every day. You get a point when you’re just so tired. But you know there’s a room full of people waiting for you, so you have to pull yourself together and get on out there.

I still remember the first time I heard my voice coming out of the radio. I thought, ‘Woah, wait a minute, is that really me?’ And I still remember the first Grammy and the first platinum record. I experienced some instances of segregation, which was really rampant here in the States in the ’60s, but because I was alongside my peers and those I revered as music icons at the time, it was just part of what I had to go through. I remember hearing about the death of Martin Luther King. I was on a plane heading towards a concert and when I got there I was told that he’d been shot. I felt awful, absolutely terrible.

Sometimes this life can be hard because there is no privacy at all. I accept the appreciation for what I do, but I’m at the disposal of the general public. I do, however, draw the line when I’m with my children or grandchildren. If we’re out having dinner I expect to be able to eat in peace. I feel I’m as human as the next person.

When I was 16 I always wanted to be 40. There was something very magical about that number for me, I couldn’t wait to be 40. And now that I’m 71 I feel the same way. And I’m not looking forward to 105. But that’s the way God planned it, that’s the way you have to look at it.

In 1956, the year that Dionne Turned 16...
Elvis Presley has his first US number-one hit with Heartbreak Hotel... Morocco declares independence from France... Marilyn Monroe marries playwright Arthur Miller... Britain and France launch attacks in Egypt as the Suez Crisis deepens…

Dionne Warwick will be performing across the UK during May and June, and at the Royal Albert Hall on May 28 in support of World Hunger Day. For more information visit www.worldhungerday.org

Interview by Jane Graham

And one on her Heroes and Heroeines from yesterday's Telegraph:

My Heroes and Heroines: Dionne Warwick
The singer on her 'surrogate mother' Marlene Dietrich and the other people who inspired her

Mrs Daniels
Thanks to my third-grade teacher, the word “can’t” doesn’t exist in my vocabulary. She told me to always remember this one particular phrase: “I am an Amer-I-can. So I can.” That mantra has stayed with me throughout my whole career.

Marlene Dietrich
She basically became my surrogate mother and gave me meticulous advice, which I always followed. She impressed upon me the fact that how I looked and who I associated with was paramount. And she gave me my work ethic.

Lena Horne
She was my style inspiration, carrying herself with such grace and sophistication. When I got into this industry I aspired to have her kind of class and persona. I recently recorded her legendary song If You Can Dream and it was an total honour.

Barbara Jordan
The Texan congresswoman and professor was one of the most inspirational orators I’ve met, and an incredible attorney. If anyone could inspire me to give up singing and practise law, it would be her.

Reverend Elzae Warrick
My grandfather taught me the importance of friendships, particularly that “you choose your friends, they don’t choose you”. That is something I have and will continue to live by.

Dionne’s UK tour begins on May 28 with a charity gala at the Royal Albert Hall
Dionne was speaking to Francesca Teoh. This article also appeared in SEVEN magazine, free with the Sunday Telegraph. Follow SEVEN on Twitter @TelegraphSeven