Atlantic City Walk of Fame to induct Dionne Warwick, the Chi-Lites

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (April 1, 2024) – Six-time, Grammy Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick and members of the Chicago-based R&B/soul quartet the Chi-Lites will join the Atlantic City Walk of Fame on April 26 and will appear in person to acknowledge the honor during a ceremony in Brighton Park.

The Walk of Fame started last April with four artists — the late James Brown, the late soul-jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr., the New York City soul vocal group Little Anthony & The Imperials and the Philadelphia soul vocal group the Delfonics.

Walk of Fame artists have performed in Atlantic City, have at least 25 years in the industry and at least one top-100 song on the Billboard, Cashbox or Record World charts.

To be inducted, artists or their representatives must off sign off on the honor and the artist, a family member, management or legal representative must attend the ceremony in Atlantic City.

Warwick, 83, would be the fourth Grammy Award-winner to be inducted to the Walk of Fame after Brown, Washington and the Delfonics, but she would be the biggest act to show up in person for the ceremony.

Brown and Washington had died by the time of the first Walk of Fame induction. The Delfonics had top-10 pop hits in 1968 and 1970, but Warwick has had more than 60 charted hit songs and sold more than 100 million records.

“I knew she (Warwick) would be at the Hard Rock on April 26,” said Vannessa Jordan, president and CEO of the National R&B Music Society, who added Warwick is from and still lives in New Jersey. “We wanted to make it as convenient as possible. We are really thrilled and honored that she accepted this induction.”

With a career that started in 1955, Warwick has received many accolades recently. She was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. She was a Kennedy Center honoree in December. She was a lifetime achievement honoree at the 2024 Urban One Honors in January. She was honored last month by amfAR for being a trailblazer in HIV/AIDS activism.

Warwick made recording history with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder with “That’s What Friends Are For,” a No. 1 hit from 1985 and the first recording dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS.

For the Chi-Lites, Marshall Thompson, who has been performing with the group since 1959, will be flying in from Las Vegas, Jordan said. The wife of former lead singer-songwriter Eugene Record, who died in 2005, will accept the honor on his behalf.

The Chi-Lites featuring Marshall Thompson performed in 2017 in the Concert Venue at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony. Separate 9-inch-by-12-inch plaques will be on the ground in Brighton Park with Warwick’s and the Chi-Lites’ names on them, Jordan said. Atlantic City historian Vicki Gold Levi sponsored Warwick’s plaque, and the Owen family sponsored the Chi-Lites’ plaque.

Atlantic City, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Verdine White Performing Arts Center will sponsor the induction ceremony.

The Walk of Fame ceremony doesn’t have to be in April or held only once a year, Jordan said, adding there may be two more inductees in September.

By: Vincent Jackson

View Article on PressOfAtlanticCity.com

Photo caption: Dionne Warwick performs during last year’s presidential Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C. – Andrew Harnik, Associated Press