“Walk On By” was composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David. The song was originally recorded in 1964 by Dionne Warwick on her album “Make Way for Dionne Warwick”. Warwick’s version peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a 1965 Grammy Award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. The song was ranked number 70 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the second highest song by a solo female on the list after “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.
Burt Bacharach (from Record Collector magazine):
“Walk On By” was the first time that I tried putting two grand pianos on a record in the studio. I can’t remember if I played and Artie Butler played or if Paul Griffin and Artie Butler played but here were two grand pianos going on. I knew the song had something. It was a great date. I walked out of that studio and we had done two tunes in a three-hour session, ‘Walk On By’ and ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart.’ I felt very good leaving knowing that I had two monster hits on my hands. You never know for sure but you feel a great satisfaction.
This was released as the B-side to Warwick’s single “Any Old Time Of The Day.” She’d had several releases that went nowhere, and her latest tune was, in the opinion of her label, her manager, and herself, her last shot at making the Top 40. Murray the K, whose show on radio station WINS was the top-rated program in New York, wouldn’t play the A-side. No matter how many people called and pleaded with him, he played the B-side instead because he knew that was the tune with potential. Warwick’s record company wasn’t happy with this, but listeners agreed with Murray and “Walk On By” became the hit.
Marie Dionne Warwick was born December 12, 1940. Her mother was manager of the Drinkard Singers, a renowned family gospel group and recording artists who frequently performed throughout the New York metropolitan area. Also in the group was Cissy Houston, Dionne’s aunt and mother of Whitney Houston.
After some personnel changes and group names (Gospelaires, Sweet Inspirations), they became in demand as background session singers for artists such as The Drifters, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, and Dinah Washington. While she was performing background on the Drifters’ recording of “Mexican Divorce,” Warwick’s voice and star presence were noticed by the song’s composer, Burt Bacharach, a Brill Building songwriter who was writing songs with many other songwriters, including lyricist Hal David. Together, Warwick and her songwriting team of Burt Bacharach & Hal David, accumulated more than 30 hit singles, and close to 20 best-selling albums, during their first decade together.
In November 1962, Scepter Records released her first solo single, “Don’t Make Me Over”, the title of which (according to the A&E Biography of Dionne Warwick) Warwick supplied herself when she snapped the phrase at producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David in anger.
Dionne Warwick ranks second to Aretha Franklin as the most charted female vocalist with 69 singles making the Billboard Hot 100 during the rock era (1955–1999). Warwick has sold over 75 million singles and 25 million albums worldwide.
Over the span of her career, from 1965 to 2014, she has been nominated for 9 Grammy awards and won an additional 5. She became the first African-American solo female artist of her generation to win the prestigious award for Best Contemporary Female Vocalist Performance. This award was only presented to one other legend, Ella Fitzgerald. The list of other major industry awards is extensive, such as the Grammy Hall of Fame, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, RIAA, Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and ASCAP Awards, and many more.
In addition to her music career she has been an accomplished actress, appearing in 21 movie and television parts.
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