Warwick stops on by

Young Chang

Dionne Warwick has to stop and think. She’s trying -- she really is --

to rattle off contemporary artists whom she admires. But it’s hard for

her to do this, especially coming from a musical era defined by such

names as Johnny Mathis,Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle.

One comes to mind quickly.

“My cousin, for one,” she says of Whitney Houston. She pauses. “And

Boyz II Men. Not to say there aren’t some very very talented young people

coming up.”

For Warwick, who’s been entertaining the world for almost four

decades, the standards by which she measures music include the work of

songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the team who wrote most of the

music on her more than 40 albums. Many of those songs have topped the

charts, helping her to win five Grammy Awards.

She will perform some of her hits today and Saturday with the Pacific

Symphony Pops. Carl Topilow will guest conduct the performance at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center.

The first half of the show will feature Topilow leading the orchestra

in classics including Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown” from “Rodeo,” and Louis

Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Warwick will steal the second half.

“I remember we brought Bacharach here a few years ago,” said John

Forsyte, president of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. “I remember they

said it was time to bring his greatest disciple.”

A personal Warwick fan, Forsyte characterized her voice as “unique,”

“massive” and “light.”

“She manages to convey so much emotion in a very sort of effortless

way,” he said.

Warwick can’t describe her own voice though. She said that if she

tries to, it’ll be a “pat” answer.

“I kinda leave that up to the listening ear to decide,” said the

performer, who already has multiple “Best of . . .” albums out.

Her recent release, “Dionne sings Dionne II,” showcases some of her

classic tunes as well as some new ones. It’s Warwick’s goal to bring to

the surface some of the “hidden gems” of yesterday that lived in the

shadow of international hits like “Walk On By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love

Again” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”

“And the fortunate part of being associated with Bacharach and David

all these years is they had a wonderful way of not recording album

fillers,” she said.

In Warwick’s opinion, Bacharach never wrote anything that was easy for

anybody.

“You literally almost have to be a music major or have the capability

to read music because of his technique in writing,” she said. “You really

have to have your faculties in order.”

Warwick, who once was part of the now-defunct Psychic Friends Network,

remembers how some of her earlier songs were a bit harder to internalize

lyric-wise. They had to do with unrequited love, and she was a little too

young -- just past her teenage years -- to have experienced all that

“stuff.”

“Over the years, of course, they became a part of me, and there are

quite a few things lyrically that I have experienced by this time in my

life,” Warwick added.

Throughout the decades, she has also achieved the type of fame that is

given tribute in works of popular culture. Take the scene in “My Best

Friend’s Wedding” where Rupert Everett leads an ensemble rendition of “I

Say a Little Prayer.”

“I loved it, I absolutely loved it,” Warwick said. “It was so much

fun.”

FYI

WHAT: Dionne Warwick performs with the Pacific Symphony Pops

WHEN: 8 p.m. today and Saturday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

COST: $23-$72

CALL: (714) 755-5799 or (714) 740-7878.