'That's What Friends Are For': Dionne Warwick to be honored for AIDS activism at Palm Beach gala

Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick will be honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV and AIDS Saturday at a star-studded fundraising gala in Palm Beach.

The Foundation for AIDS Research, also known as amfAR, will present Warwick with its "Award of Courage" at the event, which will be hosted at the home of co-chairs James and Lisa Cohen.

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees will present the award to Warwick, who was one of the first artists to lead the music industry in the fight against AIDS.

“Few in the entertainment community have done as much to support the fight against AIDS as Dionne Warwick," amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost said in a statement. "We are so grateful to her for her unwavering commitment to the health and wellbeing of all people living with HIV, and we are thrilled to be able to recognize Dionne’s decades of generosity and activism by presenting her with amfAR's Award of Courage."

Philanthropist and activist Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger also will be honored at Saturday's event, which will include musical performances by Sting and Amber Riley.

Warwick, 83, a six-time Grammy Award winner who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, embraced HIV/AIDS activism in the 1980s after seeing how it affected so many of her peers in the music industry.

In 1985, she invited Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder to join her in a collaborative rendition of the song “That’s What Friends Are For” as a fundraiser for amfAR, one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy.

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All four artists, as well as songwriters Carole Bayer Sager and the late Burt Bacharach, donated every cent generated by the recording to the foundation, which raised millions of dollars for AIDS research.

As she prepared to travel to Palm Beach for Saturday's amfAR gala, Warwick, a 2023 Kennedy Center Honors inductee, spoke to the Daily News about her activism with the AIDS epidemic, her current projects and the music she's listening to now.

What inspired you to join the fight against HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s?

It was the case of my loss, first of all, of two people that were very much in life. My first loss was my valet. They thought it was cancer, but nobody really knew what AIDS was at that time. And then I lost my hairdresser. And then all of a sudden, things were happening so rapidly within our industry. We were losing dancers, and we were losing hair people, we were losing cameramen and sound people. We were losing people that I knew very well, that were a part of what I was doing at the time. And I just felt that we had to find out what this thing is. It didn't even have a name at the time.

Being a very inquisitive person, I started asking doctors what they knew about what was going on, and they really didn't know anything. So I took it upon myself to reach out to the CDC, and I started speaking with Dr. (Anthony) Fauci. It was a case of not knowing what this thing was, but it was affecting so many people in so many ugly ways. It was taking lives. I became very actively involved with trying to find out things about it, especially within the African-American community.

How did the making of "That's What Friends Are For" come about?

I was in the throes of doing a new project with Arista Records, and Clive Davis had requested Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager to come up with a couple of songs for the project for me. I was going up to their home listening to songs that they felt I could do.

One of the evenings I came back from their home, and I was watching TV. It was very late at night, and I was in the twilight zone where you're almost not quite asleep. I came across a film called "Night Shift," and it was basically at the end of the film. I watched the crawl, and there was a song called "That's What Friends Are For" being sung by Rod Stewart. And I noticed on the crawl that Bacharach and Bayer Sager had written the song. I'd been spending time with them listening to music, and I fell in love with what the song was saying.

The next morning I went up to their home, and I brought that song up. And Carole — I think she's a comedian — she makes me smile. She said, 'Well, four people now know that song.' And I said, 'What are you talking about four people?' And she said, 'Well, now Burt, me, Rod Stewart, and you.' I said, 'Let's make the world hear this song. It's too valuable not to be heard.' They agreed that if I wanted to record it, I should be able to do so. I told them what I'd love to do is find three or four of my friends to be a part of this. And they fell in love with the idea.

What was your reaction when you heard that you were being honored by amfAR with its "Award of Courage"?

It's weird ... being awarded for things — and I can only speak for myself — that I personally and passionately believe in. What I'm doing is the right thing to do. To be awarded for something I believe in, it's not necessary. I'm honored to be recognized for the work that I've done. If that's what the case is, I'm very happy to receive it.

Are you working on any new projects?

I'm working on finishing a gospel CD, which we've recorded with some wonderful people. I'm very excited about it. This is my third one. It's time people are hearing inspirational words again. They need that. We need it.

What music are listening to right now?

I listen basically to my peers. I listen to mostly a lot of Brazilian music, because I love Brazil and I love their songs.

Do you have any advice for younger recording artists who are just starting their careers?

It's very difficult to tell any artist what to do. They have their own way of doing things, which is the way it's supposed to be done. I don't give advice, because nobody takes it anyway. I will encourage them, of course, if this is what they are seeking, to hone their craft and be ready to walk through the door once it's open.

For more information on The Foundation for AIDS Research, visit amfar.org.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Dionne Warwick to be honored by AIDS nonprofit at Palm Beach gala