The legendary lady of song, Dionne Warwick, is starting this year off with a trifecta of honors, interviews and a new record - her latest in five years.
First up, Dionne is one of several legends who've been chosen to receive one of the Grammy Awards' highest honors - the Lifetime Achievement Award. She joins music greats such as George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias as well as Sam & Dave in this bestowed class. The honorees were mentioned in the Grammy Awards live telecast this past Sunday, February 10th on CBS. A separate award presentation ceremony and concert celebrating the honorees will be held on May 11, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Next, CBS News chatted with Dionne for their esteemed weekend series, Sunday Morning. The long running program, now in its 40th year, has interviewed several music legends - many of whom are Dionne's contemporaries and colleagues (Johnny Mathis, Ronald Isley, Carlos Santana, Herb Alpert, Cher, John Mellencamp - to name a few). Dionne discussed her stellar career - from the East Orange, New Jersey roots and upbringing within the Drinkard family dynasty to ascension in music and entertainment. The Sunday Morning interview aired sometime before CBS' Grammy Award telecast on February 10th.
Finally, a new album from Dionne, "She's Back" - produced by her son, Damon Elliott, will be available in the spring of 2019. Her 36th full-length studio recording, the album will contain ten tracks with new songs as well as remakes of pop/soul gems. The recording also will be Dionne's first R&B/soul album in fifty years, since the release of her stellar 1969 Scepter LP, "Soulful", which she co-produced in Memphis with the late Chips Moman (who'd manned the boards for Dionne's then-label mate, B.J. Thomas). In addition, "She's Back" will also include duets with Kenny Latimore ("What Color Is Love") as well as Musiq Soulchild. The album will be released in partnership with Entertainment One (EoNE) Distribution and available for CD and download purchase as well as all streaming platforms.