Dionne Warwick

As the voice of some of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's best songs in the 1960s, Dionne Warwick became a pop icon of the era, with a cool, classy style and plenty of pure vocal power. She was born Marie Dionne Warrick (a record label error eventually inspired a permanent spelling change) in Orange, New Jersey on December 12, 1940. Before beginning her solo career, Warwick sang with The Drinkard Singers, a family gospel group that at various points included her mother, grandparents, aunt Cissy Houston, and other relatives. She also sang with The Gospelaires, who later became The Sweet Inspirations. Their sideline in providing backup vocals for pop records led Warwick to the mainstream pop scene.

She came to the attention of composer/producer Burt Bacharach while singing on a Drifters record, and was invited to sing on demos of Bacharach and David's songs. This led to her signing with Scepter Records as a solo artist, under the production/songwriting wing of Bacharach and David. Her first single, 1962's "Don't Make Me Over," was also Bacharach & David's first visit to the Pop Top 40. Warwick's well-schooled voice was the perfect match for the songwriting team's sophisticated-but-infectious material, and they enjoyed a long string of hits together that came to define '60s pop. "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" are just a few of the many smashes Warwick scored with Bacharach and David.

But in the early '70s, the songwriting duo split up, leaving Warwick to fend for herself. Her career suffered, though she did subsequently score two big hits in the '70s: 1974's "Then Came You" with The Spinners, and 1979's "I'll Never Love This Way Again." In 1982, Warwick returned to the Top 10 with the help of The Bee Gees, who wrote her hit single "Heartbreaker." And three years later she had the biggest smash of her career with "That's What Friends Are For," fittingly co-written by Bacharach. For much of the '90s, Warwick had a strange sideline as a TV infomercial host for the Psychic Friends Network, but she never abandoned performing and recording, remaining active through the 2010s.