Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha L. Way
Dionne Warwick, Chi-Lites inducted to Atlantic City Walk of Fame
ATLANTIC CITY (April 26, 2024) — Hundreds of jazz, soul and R&B artists and groups have taken the stages at Club Harlem, Wonder Garden and other spots, leaving their mark on a city with a rich music history.
On Friday, two of those acts, The Chi-Lites and Dionne Warwick, were inducted to the Atlantic City Walk of Fame, an honor bestowed by the National Rhythm & Blues Music Society that includes a 9-by-12-inch plaque embedded into Brighton Park on the Boardwalk.
“I am thrilled to have known that you made the decision you made today, to plant me in the ground — alive,” said Warwick, 83, before the unveiling. “I have not been to Atlantic City in a while, and I’m doing a show tonight at Hard Rock. So I want you to know that I do thank you — very, very much —for continuing to embrace me. God bless you.”
Warwick is known for songs like “Alfie,” “Don’t Make Me Over” and “Walk on By,” which was recently sampled on artist Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red.”
She’s also been inducted into numerous halls/walls of fame, like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theater Walk of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and most recently, this year’s class of inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“It warms my heart today to be able to see Dionne receive this Atlantic City Walk of Fame honor, because this doesn’t always happen in your lifetime. So let’s honor our living legends while they are living,” said Dave Wooley, Warwick’s producer for the past 25 years. “You need to understand that once and for all, that there will never be another Dionne Warwick.”
Marshall Thompson, 81, is the last surviving original member of The Chi-Lites, a soul music quartet known for songs like “Have You Seen Her,” “Oh Girl” and “Are You My Woman,” which was sampled for Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”
“I remember singing right here, back in the ‘60s singing right on this Boardwalk. “We didn’t have any money, but we were here,” Thompson said. “Two years later we had a hit record.”
The group has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and been inducted to the R&B Music Hall of Fame, Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
As a requirement to be inducted into the city’s Walk of Fame, the inductees, their family members, management or legal representatives must come to accept the honor in person.
The well-dressed crowd included artists like Wilbert Hart, one of the original members of the Delfonics, and fans. Mayor Marty Small Sr., City Council President Aaron “Sporty” Randolph and Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz also attended. Small said he was a little starstruck meeting Warwick and Thompson.
Walk of Fame committee members who chose the inductees included Vanessa Jordan-Gaston, co-founder and president of the National Rhythm & Blues Society Inc.; former Mayor Lorenzo Langford; journalist Marc Berman, digital media director at Shore Local News Magazine; Stuart Bascombe, a founding member of the R&B group Black Ivory; and Henrietta Shelton, founder and president of the Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation.
By: Selena Vazquez