Dionne Warwick's 20 best songs, ranked

22 September 2026, 14:10

With Burt Bacharach and Hal David's songs or otherwise, Dionne Warwick released some of the greatest music of the 20th century.

Dionne Warwick gets plenty of attention these days for her dry wit and hilarious comments on X.

She's also grabbed headlines over the years for her feuds with Cilla Black and Aretha Franklin, but it's her voice and her songs that made her a star and are why she's so beloved.

• Why did Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick dislike each other? Inside the singers' long-running feud
• Dionne Warwick explains why she had such a problem with Cilla Black
• Listen to the Gold Radio 60s Live Playlist on Global Player, the official Gold app

Many of her greatest hits came from the pens of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who tailored their writing for Dionne with stunning effects.

But even when she parted ways from that songwriting duo, Warwick recorded music that has endured to this day.

Of her hundred odd singles across her career, we've picked 20 of her top songs and ranked them all the way up to the very best.

1. Don't Make Me Over

   

   Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over - Live 1963

   Where it all began: Dionne Warwick's first single (originally as the B-side of 'I Smiled Yesterday') released in October 1962 it raced to number 21 on the Hot 100.

   That made it not only Dionne's first hit, but also Burt Bacharach and Hal David's first US top 40, too.

   A slick, soulful melody beautifully sung by Dionne, it featured backing vocals from The Gospelaires, who included Dionne's sister Dee Dee, Sylvia Shemwell and aunt Cissy Houston (Whitney's mum).

2. How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (with Luther Vandross)

   

   Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross - How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (Official Video)

   While she has a stunning and singular voice, one of the remarkable things about Dionne Warwick was how well she duetted with others, including some pretty major stars.

   This lead single (and title track) of Warwick 1983 album also appeared on Luther Vandross's Busy Body album from the same year was deservedly a major hit, with its soft rock soul sound showcasing its two stars beautifully.

3. (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls

   

   (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls

   Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls was a publishing sensation on its release in 1966. Adapted into a film the following year, Judy Garland was in line to sing the theme, written by the then husband-wife team of André and Dory Previn.

   After Garland was axed from the movie, star Barbra Parkins suggested Warwick. Dionne performed the song on the film, but Dory sung the version on the soundtrack disc for contractual reasons.

   Warwick later released a pop cover as the B-side of her version of the Bacharach/David hit 'I Say A Little Prayer' and featured on her own Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls album.

4. Love Power (with Jeffrey Osborne)

   

   Dionne Warwick, Jeffrey Osborne - Love Power (Official Video)

   Warwick's 1987 duet with the former LTD drummer/singer Jeffrey Osborne was one of her great '80s moments, and reached number 12 on the Hot 100, her last Top 40 hit.

   Written by Bacharach not with Hal David, but with his then-wife Carole Bayer Sager, it also topped the Adult Contemporary chart and features a sax solo from Kenny G, so you can imagine its slick, pop-soul sound without even listening.

5. All The Love in The World

   

   All the Love in the World

   As the Bee Gees' star began to fade, the Brothers Gibb picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and leant into writing and production for other stars.

   In 1980, Barry Gibb wrote and co-produced Guilty for Barbra Streisand. Two years later, Gibb did the same for Dionne with the absolutely MASSIVE Heartbreaker album.

   Much of the album was written with Maurice and Robin, including this single 'All The Love in The World'. Gibb and production partners Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson provide the pop/funk/soul/disco gloss, and you can even hear Barry pitching in with some classic backing vocals.

6. I'll Never Love This Way Again

   

   Dionne Warwick "I'll Never Love This Way Again" (ORIGINAL)

   1972's Dionne was her last album mainly written by Bacharach and David before their split, and she had her ups and downs after that, with a low point being her Warner Bros flop Love at First Sight in 1977.

   Warwick moved to Arista and had Barry Manilow produce her comeback album, also called Dionne, led by this slow build smash, which got her back to being as popular as ever, soaring to number 5 on the Hot 100.

   The song was written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings and first released by Kerr, before being covered by Cheryl Ladd, before Dionne made it her own.

7. I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself

   

   I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself

   Having originally been released by Tommy Hunt (who actually recorded his vocals over a backing track originally made for an unreleased Chuck Jackson version), the best-known version of 'I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself' in the UK is undoubtedly Dusty Springfield's number 3 hit.

   But Dusty didn't even touch the US charts with her take, leaving room for Dionne Warwick to swoop in a couple of years later and score a number 26 hit on the Billboard Hot 100,

   Sure, Dusty's dynamics probably win out, but on its own merits, Dionne's 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself' is another classic slice of Bacharach/David/Warwick magic.

8. That's What Friends Are For (with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder)

   

   That's What Friends Are For (Official Video)

   There are collaborations and collaborations.

   'That's What Friends Are For' was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and first recorded by a pretty big name: Rod Stewart for the Night Shift soundtrack 1982.

   But then Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder released a the song in 1985 as Dionne Warwick & Friends as an charity single for AIDS research and prevention.

   Now That's What I Call A Supergroup.

   Warwick's first collaboration with Bacharach since the 1970s topped the Billboard Hot 100 and more importantly raised over $3 million for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

9. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

   

   You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

   Another song where it would be pretty disingenuous to argue that Dionne recorded the definitive version. Written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, it was The Righteous Brothers original version – produced by Spector – that is the version.

   So why try to improve on perfection? Well, maybe Cilla Black scoring a massive UK hit (her take was produced by George Martin) put the idea in her head, given their pop rivalry?

   Whatever the reason, we're glad she did it, with her gutsy version from the Soulful album in 1969 proving that she could get down with the R&B sound every bit as much as the lush orchestrated Bacharach and David work she was best known for.

10. I'll Never Fall in Love Again

    

    I'll Never Fall in Love Again (2013 Remaster)

    "We're missing a song in the middle of the second act, and what we need is something the audience can whistle on their way out of the theater," said Promises, Promises producer David Merrick.

    That's not the sort of task many writers could deal with at breakneck speed, but Hal David and Burt Bacharach turned it around almost instantly (despite Burt being in hospital with pneumonia).

    Originally a duet performed by Jill O'Hara and Jerry Orbach on stage, Johnny Mathis and Bobbie Gentry both scored hits before Dionne Warwick took the song took to to number 6, making the track her own.

11. What The World Needs Now (Is Love)

    

    Dionne Warwick - What The World Needs Now

    Another (you've got it) Bacharach/David number, and another that was recorded definitively before Dionne Warwick had a go.

    The song was actually offered to Warwick first, but she apparently turned it down for being "too country" and "too preachy", so Jackie DeShannon recorded the track in 1965 and it soared to number seven on the Hot 100.

    Once it was a hit, Dionne reconsidered, recording it first for Here Where There Is Love in 1966 and again 30 years later as a single in 1996. Not quite the DeShannon classic, but both Warwick versions are worthy additions to her catalogue.

12. Déjà Vu

    

    Dionne Warwick - Deja Vu | Live at Rialto Theatre, 1983 (Remastered, 60fps)

    Who's the top singer-songwriter that's a soul machine to Dionne Warwick? (Shaft). You're damn right.

    Yep, Isaac "Shaft" Hayes wrote (with lyricist Adrienne Anderson) 'Déjà Vu', the second single from the hit 1979 album Dionne, with Barry Manilow stepping back into the producer's chair for the slick bit of soul, which got to number 15 on the Hot 100.

13. This Girl's in Love with You

    

    Dionne Warwick "This Girl's In Love With You" on The Ed Sullivan show

    Back to the Bacharach/David numbers, and another one that found its way to other performers before Dionne got her vocal cords around it.

    First released as 'That Guy's In Love' by Danny Williams for his self-titled album in 1967, a year later it was tweaked a fair bit before becoming a hit single for Herb Alpert, who took it all the way to number one.

    The same year, Dionne Warwick took it to the next level as 'This Girl's in Love With You' on her Promises, Promises album, before scoring a number seven single with it in 1969.

14. Alfie

    

    Dionne Warwick - Alfie (Live) • World of Jazz

    What's in a name? 'Alfie' was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1966 British movie of the same name, but no-one on the musical side of things seemed to enamoured with the moniker.

    "Writing a song about a man called 'Alfie' didn't seem too exciting at the time," admitted David. Cilla Black, who would record it first, added: "I actually said to Brian [Epstein] 'I can't do this.' For a start – Alfie?? You call your dog Alfie! ... [Couldn't] it be Tarquin or something like that?"

    Yes, despite Bacharach/David writing the song for Warwick, Paramount thought a Brit movie needed a Brit singer and after Sandie Shaw apparently turned it down, it ended up with Cilla.

    Her version was on the film, while the Americans got Cher to sing it for the soundtrack album (produced by Sonny Bono), before a whole flurry of covers, including Dionne's sister Dee Dee Warwick, before Dionne herself finally got round to releasing it in 1967.

    It was worth the wait, with Dionne more than matching Cilla and earning a top 15 US hit in the process.

15. Then Came You (with The Spinners)

    

    Then Came You

    Credited Dionne Warwicke and The Spinners (she added the extra "e" for part of the 1970s), this collaboration with The Spinners was a rare chart success for Dionne around this period.

    Warwick duetted with Bobby Smith on the Thom Bell-produced track and was a bona fide R&B hit as well as number one on the Hot 100.

16. Anyone Who Had a Heart

    

    Dionne Warwick - Anyone Who Had A Heart

    The song that was at the root of the Dionne Warwick/Cilla Black feud. 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' was written by Bacharach/David for Dionne and she absolutely bossed it, scoring a number eight hit on the Hot 100.

    In the UK, Cilla Black took the song all the way to number one. But Dionne wasn't best pleased about how she chose to interpret the song (or not, as the case may be).

    "I don't blame Cilla for her interpretation of 'Anyone Who Had A Heart'," she said. "I later met her – she was a nice woman, really cute.

    "My complaint was that the treatment of the song wasn't just similar to mine, it was identical. If I'd sneezed, she would have done, too. In other words, they copied it."

    Ouch.

    "It was a No. 1," Cilla later said. "Dionne was dead choked and she's never forgiven me to this day."

17. Heartbreaker

    

    Dionne Warwick - Heartbreaker (Official Video)

    The title track and lead single of the Barry Gibb-powered Heartbreaker, this song was written by all three Bee Gees, produced by Gibb-Galuten-Richardson and had HIT written all over it.

    "I cried my eyes out after we wrote it," said Maurice. I drove home and thought 'We should be doing this one', and when she did it, it was brilliant.

    "Barry sang on it, and it became a duet between Barry and Dionne Warwick".

    Dionne herself wasn't so keen on the song and sobbed for other reasons, but couldn't argue with its commercial potential.

    "I cried all the way to the bank," she quipped.

18. I Say a Little Prayer

    

    Dionne Warwick "I Say A Little Prayer" on The Ed Sullivan Show

    It's long outlived its original meaning, but Hal David wrote 'I Say A Little Prayer' in the mind of a woman whose sweetheart had gone to fight in Vietnam, and Dionne's impassioned vocals wrested every single bit of emotion out of its simple but powerful lyrics.

    But Bacharach wasn't so keen on the recording. After ten takes (a lot for "one take Dionne"), he still felt that the song felt rushed and unfinished, and it lay on the studio shelf for a year and a half until it was included on The Windows of the World album at the insistence of Scepter Records boss Florence Greenberg.

    And the record buying public agreed with Florence. It went to number four in the charts and sold a million copies.

    Aretha Franklin would later cover the song, and her version lives up to Dionne's, but we'll opt for the original here.

19. Do You Know the Way to San Jose

    

    Dionne Warwick -- Do You Know the Way to San Jose (1968)

    Not that Grammys mean anything, but we'll mention in passing that Dionne Warwick won her first for this massive 1968 hit, maybe Warwick's catchiest, poppiest song full stop.

    The lyrics tell the story of a wannabe starlet's failed attempts to make in LA, looking for a way back home to California.

    Amazingly, it's another of Warwick's hits that she just doesn't really like.

    "It's a dumb song and I didn't want to sing it," she complained. "But it was a hit, just like 'Heartbreaker' is. I'm happy these songs were successful, but that still doesn't change my opinion about them."

    It resonated with everyone else, selling 3.5 million across the world.

20. Walk On By

    

    DIONNE WARWICK • WALK ON BY • PARIS, 1964

    During the same sessions that spawned 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' in late 1963 was 'Walk on By', which beats off absurd competition to top our ranking of the greatest Dionne Warwick songs.

    A Burt Bacharach/Hal David (who else), number, it's a supremely slinky and deceptively assured slice of soft and soulful R&B that took Dionne to number six on the pop charts.

    Despite the laidback, simmering perfection of Warwick's version, the song has been covered umpteen times. Isaac Hayes, Gloria Gaynor, Cyndi Lauper and Seal all brought their own style to the song, but we'll have to mention The Stanglers swirling Hammond-driven epic.