In the words of singer Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick was “always the picture of elegance.” She was also “one of the first genuine AIDS activists in the United States,” according to President Bill Clinton. They are only a few of the luminaries offering testimonials that sing the crossover artist’s praises high to the sky. They include Elton John, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, and Gladys Knight, among many.  

Although Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over could have gone lighter with the repetitive pouring on of praise, it is nevertheless a well-deserved loving tribute. Within the opening 20 minutes, viewers are bound to be hooked, even if they’re not familiar with the singer of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David songbook or her work in the 1970s and ’80s. Directors Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner successfully make the case for Warwick’s exalted place in the pop music canon. This reviewer, for one, did not need convincing.

The documentary’s takes its format from the This Is Your Life TV series. Warwick sits in the orchestra section of Harlem’s Apollo Theater, where she won Amateur Night in 1957, watching highlights of her career flash on the big screen. The archival footage makes a strong narrative of how one Black entertainer rose up the ranks in the 1960s, which for Warwick included touring on the Chitlin’ Circuit. One trip alongside singer Sam Cook involved an encounter with a rude White waitress, which resulted in the local South Carolina police barging onto Cook’s tour bus.

Among the revelatory footage are clips of Warwick singing straight-on gospel. Her grandfather was a Baptist minister—she received her first standing ovation at six years old singing “Jesus Loves Me” at church, encouraged by granddad.

Her career serves as a paradigm for anyone seeking a show business career: she studied music, earning two degrees in New Jersey while schlepping into Manhattan to record demos and sing backup. In the 1960s, she was one of the few African American entertainers allowed on TV variety shows, and she acknowledges that she had opportunities that many of her peers were denied. 

She went on to become the first Black female singer to win a Grammy in the pop category with “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” in 1969, and again with “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” in 1971. More Grammys were to come. However, it seems as though she had to be coaxed into singing some of her biggest hits, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I Know I’ll Never Love this Way Again,” “Heartbreaker,” and even “Alfie.” She nailed that classic hit in one take.

In one of the her many sit-downs before the directors’ camera, Warwick shares a delicious account of Marlene Dietrich taking her under her wing when she arrived in Paris on a conquest of ’60s Europe. Dietrich’s former music director, Bacharach, had called Dietrich to ask her to take care of “Baby.” In the dressing room, the German-born actress proceeded to tossed out all of Warwick’s wardrobe: “You must wear couture.” Who could argue?

Speaking of a strong-willed voice: Warwick, states, and I believe her, that it was she who convinced President Ronald Reagan to utter publicly for the time the word, “AIDS,” during that epidemic in the late ’80s. And one would have loved to have eavesdropped on her schooling of rappers in the early ’90s regarding misogynistic lyrics. This talking-to took place by invitation at her estate—at 7 am.

Warwick was a first cousin of singer Whitney Houston, whose mother, Cissy Houston, is Warwick’s aunt. This film offers perhaps the most moving tribute yet on film to Whitney; it celebrates her talent and role as a member of an extended family without getting into the details of her private life that have been covered in other documentaries.

Dionne Warwick is first and foremost a tribute to the singer’s career and ideals. Look elsewhere for the end of her relationship with the Bacharach/Davis team or her time spent on the late-night infomercial for the Psychic Friends Network, although that part of her resume is mentioned and moved on.

What comes out crystal clear: her music still stands up.

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It won first runner-up for the People’s Choice Documentary Award.