Song:You're No Good
Album:Down in the Basement: Soul From New York: 2
Dee Dee Warwick was the younger sister of Dionne Warwick. She was mainly a background singer who was never able to achieve the same success as her sister. You're No Good was her first single in 1963. She was the first to record that song which later was a big hit for Betty Everett. She was born Sept. 25, 1942 in Newark, NJ. After graduating from high school, she formed The Gospelaires with her sister Dionne and aunt Cissy Houston. They were also in The Drinkard Singers. They became New York session singers. After Dionne had solo success in 1962, Dee Dee recorded the 1963 single You're No Good for Jubilee Records. It was produced by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Dee Dee was the first to record that song. But the song wasn't a hit until Betty Everett recorded it a few years later. After a second Lieber and Stoller single, Dee Dee returned to session singing until she signed with Mercury Records in 1965. Working with producer Ed Townsend, Dee Dee had some success with the 1966 top ten R&B hit I Want To Be With You. She was the first to record I'm Gonna Make You Love Me which later was a big hit for The Supremes and The Temptations. She left Mercury in 1970 after Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler invited her to sign. He liked her session work. She worked with producer Dave Crawford. She Didn't Know was a top ten R&B hit in 1970. But most of Dee Dee's Atco recordings were shelved. She played second fiddle to Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack. She didn't get the same attention from the label. There are comp CDs for Dee Dee's Mercury and Atco recordings. But You're No Good only appears on a few various artists comps like this one from the British label History of Soul. After struggling for many years with drug addiction, Dee Dee Warwick died on Oct. 18, 2008 at age 66. Her name came up in Kevin Macdonald's 2018 doc Whitney. Dee Dee was accused of molesting Whitney Houston and her brother Gary when they were children. Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston and Whitney's friend Robyn Crawford refuted the allegations. That doc is on Netflix. Here's a video of You're No Good by Dee Dee Warwick.
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