# Dee Dee Warwick
**Dee Dee Warwick** was an American soul singer, the younger sister of [Dionne Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/dionne-warwick), whose gritty, gospel-rooted voice produced a string of R&B hits in the 1960s and early 1970s even as her commercial success stayed in the shadow of her older sibling and of other singers who covered songs she recorded first.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) She was born Delia Mae Warrick in New Jersey; her birth year is given as 1942 by AllMusic and a 1969 Cash Box profile, but as 1945 by The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The HistoryMakers, a discrepancy the sources do not resolve.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) • [4](https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dee-dee-warwick-41) She died on October 18, 2008, at a nursing home in [Essex County, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/essex-county-new-jersey), aged 63; the family declined to provide a cause of death.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Born Delia Mae Warrick; birth year given as 1942 by AllMusic and 1945 by The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The HistoryMakers[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) |
| Died | October 18, 2008, at a nursing home in Essex County, New Jersey, aged 63[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) |
| First solo record | "You're No Good" (1963), produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; a hit for Betty Everett and later a 1975 number one for Linda Ronstadt[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) |
| R&B hits | "I Want to Be With You", "Foolish Fool", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" all reached the R&B Top 20[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309) |
| Grammy nominations | Two: "Foolish Fool" (1969) and "She Didn't Know (She Kept on Talking)" (1970)[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) |
| Background work | Recorded background vocals for over 500 songs, most actively 1961 to 1965[5](https://deedeewarwick.com/background-vocals/) |
| Honor | Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, 1999[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) |
## Family and gospel roots
Warwick came from a family prominent in the East Coast gospel community. Her mother, Lee Drinkard Warrick, managed the Drinkard Singers, a gospel group that recorded for Savoy, Verve, and RCA Victor during the 1950s, and her father worked in gospel promotion for [Chess Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/chess-records).[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) The Drinkard Singers were led by her aunt [Cissy Houston](https://www.edgepedia.org/cissy-houston), the mother of [Whitney Houston](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitney-houston), and both Warwick sisters sang with the group as teenagers.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick were cousins of Houston, and the family circle also included the singer Leontyne Price as a cousin once removed.[6](https://apnews.com/article/de8e3486134c7acd599ee3f16fb997c6)
In 1958, Cissy Houston, the two sisters, and adopted sister Judy Clay broke from the family group to form the all-female Gospelaires with Doris Troy. After winning a weekly talent show at Harlem's Apollo Theater, they were hired by Savoy Records to sing backup on a single by the saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) The Gospelaires moved into secular session work as the Sweet Inspirations, backing New York recordings by [Ben E. King](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-e-king), [Aretha Franklin](https://www.edgepedia.org/aretha-franklin), Solomon Burke, and [Nina Simone](https://www.edgepedia.org/nina-simone), and they accompanied Doris Troy on her 1963 hit "Just One Look".[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/)
**Session work.** Warwick's own account described the demand for her group in the studios: "Around New York, our group had become known as 'Dee Dee and her girls' because we were used on everything, so going out on a solo career wasn't as much a big deal to me."[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) Her official site counts background vocals on more than 500 songs, with the most active years 1961 to 1965, for artists including [Solomon Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/solomon-burke), Garnet Mimms, Wilson Pickett, Ben E. King, [The Drifters](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-drifters), Chuck Jackson, Brook Benton, and [Van Morrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/van-morrison).[5](https://deedeewarwick.com/background-vocals/) She left the Sweet Inspirations in 1965 and signed with Mercury Records.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/)
## Solo career
Warwick recorded her first solo effort, "You're No Good", in 1963, produced by the songwriting team of [Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-leiber-and-mike-stoller), who had signed her that year; following her sister's lead, she changed her surname from Warrick to Warwick.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) The record failed to chart for her, but Betty Everett's cover was a hit later that year, and [Linda Ronstadt](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-ronstadt)'s 1975 version, arranged closely on the original, took the song to number one.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) Leiber and Stoller tried again with "Standing By" in 1964, which also failed, and Warwick moved to Blue Rock, a black-music subsidiary of Mercury, where [Ed Townsend](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-townsend) produced her R&B top 30 hits "We're Doing Fine" and "I Want To Be With You".[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary)
Her 1966 recording "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" became far better known through covers: Madeline Bell recorded it in 1967, and a duet by the Supremes and the Temptations reached number two on the US pop chart and number three in the UK.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) In the second half of the 1960s she released almost a dozen singles for Mercury along with a couple of albums, and "I Want to Be With You", "Foolish Fool", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" all made the R&B Top 20.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309) "Foolish Fool", a 1969 R&B and pop hit, brought her first Grammy nomination and a guest spot on [Dick Cavett](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-cavett)'s talk show.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) The 1969 Mercury album *Foolish Fool* was produced mainly by Ed Townsend, with one track, "It's Not Fair", by Gamble and Huff.[7](https://www.avclub.com/dee-dee-warwick-foolish-fool-1798210517)
**Atco years.** Warwick signed with Atco, a subsidiary of Atlantic, in 1970 and over the next two years cut 35 tracks for the label.[8](https://www.rhino.com/aod/the-complete-atco-recordings-dee-dee-warwick) Sent to Miami to record with the session band the Dixie Flyers, she scored a top 10 R&B hit with "She Didn't Know (She Kept on Talking)", which won her a second Grammy nomination.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) Her 1970 album *Turning Around*, recorded at Criteria Studios with producer Dave Crawford, was well received, but her career stalled; the singles "Suspicious Minds" and "Cold Night in Georgia" were minor R&B chart hits.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) • [8](https://www.rhino.com/aod/the-complete-atco-recordings-dee-dee-warwick) She returned to Mercury in 1973, saying that Atlantic concentrated its energies on Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to the detriment of her career.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary)
## Later career and recognition
In 1975 Warwick had an R&B hit with "Get Out of My Life", her last chart placing.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) Through the late 1970s and 1980s she recorded for small labels, including the albums *Dee Dee* (Heritage Sound, 1983) and *Call Me* (Sutra, 1984), both of which she co-produced and which were recorded within four days of each other; neither scored a hit.[9](https://deedeewarwick.com/discography/) • [4](https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dee-dee-warwick-41) She made her living largely through session work and sang background vocals on her sister's tours and recordings, including the title song of Dionne's gospel album *Why We Sing* and the 2008 one-woman show "My Music and Me".[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary) • [1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/)
Her peers recognized her in 1999 with a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) Reissues kept her catalog in print: *The Complete Atco Recordings* (Rhino Atlantic, 2014) gathered her Atco releases with a dozen previously unreleased tracks, and a 2012 reissue of *I Want to Be With You: The Mercury/Blue Rock Sessions* carried liner notes in which Dionne Warwick called her sister's voice "the 'special' voice of the family".[8](https://www.rhino.com/aod/the-complete-atco-recordings-dee-dee-warwick) • [10](https://thejerseysound.com/history/dee-dee-warwick)
## Voice and reputation
Critics consistently distinguished Warwick's style from her sister's. Dionne, working with Burt Bacharach, developed a smoother middle-of-the-road pop style, while Dee Dee retained the rougher intensity of her gospel roots throughout her career.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/) AllMusic's biography describes her records as New York pop/soul with a more pronounced R&B influence than Dionne's, and notes that she struggled with the shadow of a superstar sibling.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309) Warwick herself put the difference plainly: "Dionne sings taut, like a doubled-up fist. I'm more relaxed in my singing, even though it is strong... I have my own sound. I just want people to know it when they hear it."[11](https://deedeewarwick.com/) Reviewing her Atco work, AllMusic called her one of the more unjustly neglected soul performers of her time.[12](https://www.allmusic.com/album/she-didnt-know-the-atco-sessions-mw0000176278)
## References
1. [Dee Dee Warwick; Soul Singer, Dionne's Sister, The Washington Post (October 23, 2008)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/10/24/dee-dee-warwick-soul-singer-dionnes-sister/8bde3d8b-2da8-47d2-a79f-47dd0a526419/)
2. [Dee Dee Warwick Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dee-dee-warwick-mn0000225309)
3. [Dee Dee Warwick, obituary by Garth Cartwright, The Guardian (October 27, 2008)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/28/dee-dee-warwick-obituary)
4. [Dee Dee Warwick's Biography, The HistoryMakers](https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dee-dee-warwick-41)
5. [Background Vocals, Dee Dee Warwick Official Website](https://deedeewarwick.com/background-vocals/)
6. [Cissy Houston, a Grammy-winning gospel singer and Whitney Houston's mother, dies at 91, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/de8e3486134c7acd599ee3f16fb997c6)
7. [Dee Dee Warwick: Foolish Fool, The A.V. Club (January 16, 2007)](https://www.avclub.com/dee-dee-warwick-foolish-fool-1798210517)
8. [The Complete ATCO Recordings, Rhino Records](https://www.rhino.com/aod/the-complete-atco-recordings-dee-dee-warwick)
9. [Discography, Dee Dee Warwick Official Website](https://deedeewarwick.com/discography/)
10. [Dee Dee Warwick: Newark's Soulful Voice, The Jersey Sound](https://thejerseysound.com/history/dee-dee-warwick)
11. [Dee Dee Warwick Official Website](https://deedeewarwick.com/)
12. [She Didn't Know: The Atco Sessions, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/she-didnt-know-the-atco-sessions-mw0000176278)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Classic R&B and soul, pre-1970*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license