By Bernadette Clohesy
My grandfather was a minister and the wisest man who walked this earth – second only to Jesus. When I was just six years old he invited me up to the pulpit to sing. He had to stand me on a stack of books so people could see me over the lectern and I sang Jesus Loves Me. After that, I was always a member of the choir, singing gospel music. Being a solo artist never entered my mind until much later.
My daddy, Mancel Warwick, was my best friend; I loved him dearly and he loved me. We spent a lot of time together. He was a fine singer, too. He was on the road with me at the beginning of my career; he took care of my taxes. I was always looking for a man just like him to marry.
Dionne Warwick, Singer and actor, 75, single
While I was growing up, everybody in my extended family – with the exception of my brother, Mancel jnr, and my nephew – were singers. My cousin, Whitney Houston, was known as The Voice. That title was deserved; she was very, very talented.
I remember my first boyfriend vividly. His name was Ribie and I met him at high school when I was 15. We stayed together until we graduated, then we went our separate ways. I hadn't seen him for more than 50 years and then five months ago we bumped into each other in a supermarket. We recognised each other instantly – he hasn't changed much at all. It was a wonderful reunion.
Songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David had a huge impact on my career. I met them when I was 17 while I was doing a session as a backing singer in New York; they were recording there and asked me if I'd like to work with them. We worked together for about 30 years and were known as "the triangle marriage" because we got along so well and produced so many hit songs.
Don't Make Me Over was written after I spoke those words to Burt and Hal quite angrily. I'd done a demonstration record for them called Make It Easy on Yourself. I fell in love with that song and they'd promised me it would be my first recording for them. And they gave it to Jerry Butler. I heard it on the radio on the way to see them, so I walked in and told them how unhappy I was – to put it mildly. It culminated in me saying, "Don't make me over." They immediately put pen to paper and that became my first recording.
I've sung with countless great male singers – among them Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis jnr. They were the icons of our industry back then and I often say that they are the people whose shoulders I am standing on.
My current CD, Feels So Good, has duets with some great young artists like Jamie Foxx. I had so much respect for those who've gone before me and now these young performers have respect for me.
I've been married twice to the same man, William Elliott. I met him back in the mid-60s and we just hit it off. He was a cutie and a very talented musician, a drummer, and an actor.
We got married in 1966 but at 25 I was too young. I woke up after a couple of months and said, "You know what? I don't think I'm supposed to be married." So I proceeded to go to Mexico and I got a Mexican divorce.
Then, about two years later, I was in Italy touring and Bill's sister, who lived in Italy, came up to me after one of my concerts and said, "Guess who's here?" So Bill hung around and wooed me all over again and we got married again in Italy. This time we were married for eight years.
From that marriage we got two wonderful sons, David and Damon, who have grown into incredible young men. David used to be a police officer and is now a singer-songwriter and Damon is a music producer who has worked with artists like Pink and Christina Aguilera.
My sons have given me seven beautiful grandchildren – five girls and two boys. They are all very special to me and to this day have a bunch of fun.
Some people expect it to be the male who brings home the larger portion of everything and in my marriage that just didn't work out. But the male ego is a very fragile thing. After my marriage broke up a second time, I became much more independent. All my life, the only man who ever took care of me financially was my father.
I never married again. Bill died in 1983, so I'm a widow. I decided I didn't really need to be married.
I live in both New Jersey and Brazil. Brazilian men are – how can I say it? – yadi yada! Most of my male friends who come to Brazil say, "My goodness, the girls are beautiful." Well, guess what? We ladies have eye candy here, too!
Dionne Warwick will be performing live in Melbourne on November 13 and in Sydney on November 17.