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Happy Birthday to Dionne Warwick who celebrates her 70th birthday today. Dionne was born Marie Dionne Warrick on December 12, 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey. Dionne began singing in church as a child. Her first professional performances were with the Drinkard Singers gospel group, whose members included her mother, aunts and uncles.

In 1958, Dionne became a member of the Gospelaires group, who appeared as backing singers on many records by artists such as Solomon Burke and The Drifters. The Gospelaires’ line-up changed over time and they eventually became the Sweet Inspirations, who most famously performed with Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.

Warwick’s greatest success came via her association with Burt Bacharach and Hal David. She first came to the attention of Bacharach while singing backing vocals for The Drifters’ “Mexican Divorce.” Initially she was signed on to perform on demo recordings for other artists, but she was soon recording and releasing her own material, starting with the single “Don’t Make Me Over” in 1962.

“Anyone Who Had a Heart”, released in 1963, was Dionne’s first top ten hit and this was followed by a string of classic hits in the 1960s, including “Walk on By”, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”

The 1970s were less kind to Dionne, but there was a number one duet with The Spinners in 1974 on “Then Came You”, and a resurgence at the end of the decade with the hit album “Dionne” and top five single “I’ll Never Love This Way Again.” Hits continued into the 1980s, with the memorable top ten hit “Heartbreaker” in 1982 and a number one collaboration with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder on “That’s What Friends Are For” in 1985. The song was penned by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.

Dionne has continued to record over the last couple of decades, including four studio albums in the past 10 years. She also still performs in concert around the world.

Here’s one of Dionne Warwick’s finest recordings.

Dionne Warwick – Do You Know The Way To San Jose?