"Whisper in the Dark" by Dionne Warwick

Song#:  2655
Date:  03/15/1986
Debut:  89
Peak:  72
Weeks:  9
Genre:  R&B, Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Warwick experienced the biggest hit of her career when she headed up the charity song "That's What Friends Are For." The song would spend four weeks at #1, go gold, and win a Grammy. The song also appeared on Warwick's appropriately titled Friends album that would be a #12 gold seller. Warwick would follow up her Dionne & Friends hit with this solo track from the LP. While the track would do well at AC getting to #7, Pop and R&B audiences just didn't take to the song and it stopped early on each chart (#72 Pop/#49 R&B). There would be no further singles released from the album, which would be her final one to reach gold level sales.

ReduxReview:  I've always loved this song. I thought it was well-written, sexy, and sophisticated. It was just perfect for Warwick and the production was top-notch. I knew AC would jump on board with the song but I was really hoping that Pop would make a hit out if it. Alas, it just wouldn't catch on. Maybe it was just too mature for pop radio. It's still one of my favorite tracks from Warwick.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This song was co-written by Bruce Roberts and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Roberts was a prominent songwriter with many hits under his belt including ones by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand. Bronfman isn't necessarily known for his songwriting. Most folks know Bronfman as a business man who had successes and tumultuous times heading up companies like Seagrams, Vivendi, and Warner Music Group. He was also famously found guilty of insider trading in a French court in 2011. He paid a hefty fine, but received a suspended sentence and did no jail time. Bronfman spent time in and out of the film and music industry throughout his career. In the 70s he began writing songs, some in collaboration with Roberts. Nothing much came from them until this composition was given to Warwick. Apparently, Bronfman had a connection with Warwick as he met his first wife Sherry via the star in the late 70s. Nearly a decade later, Bronfman would score another hit with a song he co-wrote with David Foster. Celine Dion recorded "To Love You More" in 1995 and it became a big #1 hit in Japan. Although the single would not be officially released in the US, radio stations picked it up for airplay and it would get to #1 at AC. (Due to it not being issued formally as a product, it was then not eligible for the Pop chart.) For that song, Bronfman used the alias of Junior Miles. He also used that name for "If I Didn't Love You," a song Bronfman wrote with Roberts that was recorded by Barbra Streisand for her 1999 album A Love Like Ours.

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