I'M NOT READY TO SAY Bye-Bye

Music royalty for decades, the unfailingly honest Dionne Warwick is now more relevant than ever. And she's not going anywhere

- BRODY BROWN

Last year, Dionne Warwick only found out one of her songs was a hit again when a grandchild informed her “Walk on By” had been sampled on “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat. “I said, ‘Doja who?’” Warwick tells Us, laughing as she continues, “I don’t listen to radio — there’s nothing on that I want to hear.”

It’s been 55 years since Warwick won her first of six Grammys. What does she make of today’s pop and R&B performers? “I find it quite interesting that talent is not the precedence. It’s how little you can wear, how much you can shake your body, how different you have chosen to look. It’s another industry altogether.”

That might scare a less assured artist into early retirement, but the elegant Warwick — who calls Us “darling” as befits an icon — remains undeterred. She’s preparing to finally record with her “all-time favorite group,” Earth Wind & Fire. But first, the 83-year-old music titan spent some quality time with Us Weekly.

You’ve had 56 charted hits and been covered countless times. Was there ever a song you wished you had recorded first?