Feature: 'WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW,' A CELEBRATION OF DIONNE WARWICK at Bell Theater

R&B legend Dionne Warwick is the first recipient of the New Jersey Arts Icon Award.

On Sept. 22, the woman behind the scintillating vocals to one of music’s most timeless and moving classics, “What the World Needs Now,” took the stage at Bell Theater in New Jersey with a stellar lineup of musical guests to perform the song live as a culmination of a namesake tribute concert that paid homage to her life and musical legacy.

Warwick – an East Orange native and first cousin to Whitney Houston whose humble roots began singing gospel at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church – shook the 1960s as a vanguard to the R&B and gospel genres, voicing a vast catalogue of hits well into the subsequent decades spanning themes of romance and camaraderie in songs like “Walk on By,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “Alfie” – all of which were performed at the Holmdel venue. 

Musical guests that put on a bedazzled spectacle to remember celebrating one of music’s most foremost and unique voices included Warwick’s granddaughter, Cheyenne Elliott, American Idol’s season-one runner-up, Justin Guarini, Deborah Cox, Remember Jones and Nova Y. Payton. The guests and personal fans of Warwick performed a jaw-dropping, heartstring-tugging show with the American Pops Orchestra under the baton of conductor Luke Frazier while backlit graphics depicting the 83-year-star at the pinnacle of her career shown above.

The performance was timed with Warwick’s induction this year into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19 with A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Kool and the Gang, MC5, Jimmy Buffett, Norman Whitfield, John Mayall, Alexis Korner and Big Mama Thornton and Suzanne de Passe.

What’s more, Whitney Houston’s historical musical event, “The Concert For a New South Africa,” will be remastered with enhanced audio and in cinemas worldwide on Oct. 23 and 27. 

“Without the trail that Dionne Warwick blazed, or the challenges she overcame, there would be no Whitney Houston, there would be no Beyoncé, there would be no Deborah Cox,” said Guarini, while turning and bowing to Warwick and smiling sweetly before jumping into ‘Walk on By.’ “It is an honor and a pleasure to be here and sing with you.”

Warwick’s granddaughter, Cheyenne Elliott, who Warwick praised for her passed-down singing abilities, sang an impassioned, “Don’t Make Me Over,” a song that Frazier said coincided with the rise of the feminist movement and self-advocacy and Warwick's "Alfie" after the 1966 motion picture. 

Deborah Cox, who dazzled in a bejeweled royal blue gown, sang, “I Say A Little Prayer For You" and "Heartbreaker." 

Nova Y. Payton, who graced the stage in a gold gown, thanked Warwick for paving the way for artists like herself and her gift for storytelling before belting out "The Windows of the World" and one of the evening’s stirring highlights, which earned a standing ovation, “I'll Never Love This Way Again."

Remember Jones sang a spunky performance of “Then Came You" and "[There's] Always Something There to Remind Me."

In between rousing performances that aimed to do the concert repertoire justice, a snippet of a Larry King interview played in which the late broadcast legend asked Warwick to describe her musical legacy, for which she responded: "Joy, hope, love, peace and beautiful melodies."

“Thank you so very, very much for allowing me to be who I am because of you,” said Warwick, who was dressed in a violet sparkling pantsuit before diving into ‘What the World Needs Now.’ “This could never have happened without you. I realized that it takes more than one person… from a very, very gospel singing family, I learned from the Bible that where one or two are gathered there will I also be.” 

The celebration concluded with a finale of “That’s What Friends Are For” with all the musical guests onstage joined by the students of the Axelrod Performing Arts Academy. 

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