By Michael P Coleman
Reading all of the heartfelt messages about Aretha Franklin that poured in following her death, I wistfully wondered whether The Queen Of Soul knew how much fans around the world loved her. I was reminded of the lyrics of an old gospel song: “give me my flowers while I yet live.” It’s important to appreciate our legends — and our divas — while they’re here.
PBS is giving us a chance to do just that starting this weekend, with the premiere of Dionne Warwick: Then Came You (My Music). The documentary is a career respective spanning from Warwick’s introduction to the world with her first single, 1963’s “Don’t Make Me Over” and smashes like “Walk On By” and “I’ll Say A Little Prayer” through her 80s resurgence and the hits “I”ll Never Love This Way Again,” “Heartbreaker,” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”
During THE HUB’s EXCLUSIVE interview, the documentary’s producer, Jim Pierson, said for fans of Warwick’s, the film’s not to be missed.
“It’s really focused on the music,” Pierson shared by phone, “and all of the songs that have resonated through the generations — her love songs, her songs of heartbreak…all of the emotions that Dionne is able to evoke through her incredible voice. It’s a celebration…a beautiful pastiche of her musicality.”
Dionne Warwick: Then Came You is being presented as a PBS pledge special, which presents other great news for Warwick’s fans: the availability of some of her performances — in audio and video formats — for the first time in decades.
“One of the CDs features all of the Scepter Records A and B sides of her historic singles,” Pierson promised. “These are the mono singles, what we heard on AM radio, so most of these were never issued on CD. And we have an additional CD, Hits & Rarities, that covers 1974 to 1999, and a lot of unreleased songs, like duets with Barry Gibb and Barry Manilow. It also includes some movie songs and live recordings that have never been out. It’s a real collector’s item.”
More information on Dionne Warwick: Then Came You and all local PBS programming is available at kvie.org.
Look to The Hub in the coming weeks for our EXCLUSIVE interview with the legendary Dionne Warwick. She chats about the new documentary, and many of the highlights of her illustrious career.
Connect with Sacramento-based freelancer Michael P Coleman and Coleman Communications at michaelpcoleman.com, or or follow him on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP.
