Death Of Dee Dee Warwick

[RossyBoy]

Apologies to all you better informed members, but I only learned yesterday about the death of Dee Dee in October. I was abroad when the obituaries were in the papers, so that's probably why I missed it. I always thought she was one of the greats, and to mark her passing I'm attaching one of my favourites "Foolish Fool". RIP.

RossyFoolishFool.mp3Boy

Here is one of the obituaries:

The Guardian, Tuesday 28 October 2008

Dee Dee Warwick, the American singer and younger sister of Dionne Warwick, has died, aged 63, after a long illness. Celebrated in the 1960s and early 1970s for the beauty of her voice and appearance, her career was overshadowed by record-company mismanagement and the fame of her sibling, older by five years.

Born Delia Mae Warrick in East Orange, New Jersey, Dee Dee came from a family who were prominent members of the East Coast gospel community. Her father was the director of gospel promotion for the Chicago black-music powerhouse Chess Records, while her mother managed the Drinkard Singers, a gospel group that recorded for Savoy, Verve and RCA Victor during the 1950s. The Drinkard Singers were led by Dee Dee's aunt, Cissy Houston (the mother of Whitney Houston), and both Dee Dee and Dionne sang with the group as teenagers. The sisters then formed a trio called the Gospelaires that sang both in church and on secular recording sessions in the late 1950s. Dee Dee's dulcet tones graced hundreds of soul and pop recordings over the next decade and she can be heard on hits cut by Garnet Mimms, the Drifters, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone.

Dionne Warwick was discovered by the songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David in early 1963. Dee Dee was signed later that year by the celebrated songwriting-production team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and, following her sister's lead, changed her surname from Warrick to Warwick. Leiber & Stoller produced her first single, You're No Good. Although not a hit when it was released, the song became a US hit for Betty Everett in 1964 (and a UK No 3 when covered by the Swinging Blue Jeans) and topped the US charts in 1975 when sung by Linda Ronstadt. Leiber & Stoller tried again with Standing By (1964), but the single failed and Warwick signed with Blue Rock, a black-music subsidiary of Mercury Records and, with Ed Townsend as the producer, scored R&B top 30 hits with We're Doing Fine and I Want To Be With You.

Dee Dee's 1966 hit I'm Gonna Make You Love Me was remade into a huge pop hit the following year by Madeline Bell and then reached No 2 in the US pop charts (No 3 in the UK) when recorded as a duet between the Supremes and the Temptations. Warwick continued to issue high-quality soul music, her records possessing stronger rhythmic and gospel vocals than those of her sister, and in 1969 she scored an R&B and pop hit with Foolish Fool. The song won Warwick a Grammy nomination and a guest spot singing on Dick Cavett's popular talk show. She then signed with Atco, a subsidiary of Atlantic, and was sent to Miami to record with top session band the Dixie Flyers, immediately enjoying a top 10 R&B hit with She Didn't Know (She Kept on Talking). This won Warwick her second Grammy nomination. Her 1970 album Turning Around was well received, yet her career stalled, with the singles Suspicious Minds and Cold Night in Georgia being minor R&B chart hits.

Dee Dee returned to Mercury in 1973, claiming that Atlantic concentrated its energies on Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to the detriment of her career. In 1975 she enjoyed an R&B hit with Get Out of My Life. It was her last chart placing. Thereafter, she recorded for a variety of small labels before concentrating on providing backing vocals for commercial sessions and singing with her sister (most notably on Dionne's Why We Sing gospel album). Earlier this year the sisters toured Europe, Dee Dee providing background vocals for her celebrated sibling's My Music and Me performances. She is survived by her sister.

- Dee Dee Warwick (Delia Mae Warrick), singer, born September 25 1945; died October 18 2008

[Sean Hampsey]

So sorry to hear this.

A great artist with a fine body of work to her credit.

RIP

Sean

[Keithw]

So sorry to hear this.

A great artist with a fine body of work to her credit.

RIP

Sean

yes a great loss

after Linda Jones.possibly my fav female voice

you had soul babe

[Guest Polyvelts]

'Where is that rainbow' is one of my all time faves by her or anyone, what a beautiful voice she had.

yes a great loss

after Linda Jones.possibly my fav female voice

you had soul babe

[RossyBoy]

I see a few other fans missed the passing of Dee Dee too. Thanks for the comments and the references to your faves - all great memories.

I'm gonna have a Dee Dee night to myself tonight.

There are quite a few tracks of hers on Refosoul already, but I have some more I can put up quickly.

Is there any protocol about swamping Refosoul? Or are attachments better?

I've got:

Suspicious Minds

Monday Monday

You Don't Know What You Mean To Me

Lock In Your Love

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me

I'm Only Human

She Didn't Know She Just Kept On Talking

I Want To Be With You

I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else

Any comments or requests?

[RossyBoy]

Nice one, Lenny.

I'm a Big Soul Man originally from the people's republic too !!!

My granny lived in the Citadel.

Ross

[Bigsoulman]

Nice one, Lenny.

I'm a Big Soul Man originally from the people's republic too !!!

My granny lived in the Citadel.

Ross

Get away!, just roond the corner fi me Ross!

Lenny