Dee Dee Warwick sang with her sister Dionne Warwick and their aunt Cissy Houston in the New Hope Baptist Church Choir in Newark, NJ: eventually the three women formed the gospel trio the Gospelaires who often performed with the Drinkard Singers, Houston being a member of both groups.
At a performance by the Gospelaires with the Drinkard Singers at the Apollo Theater in 1959, the Warwick sisters were recruited by a record producer for session work and Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, along with Doris Troy, subsequently became a prolific New York City area session singing team.
Dee Dee Warwick began to dabble in a solo career in 1963 cutting what is reportedly the earliest version of You're No Good for Jubilee Records, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who later recorded Warwick on their own Tiger label with the 1964 single Don't Think My Baby's Coming Back. In 1964 Warwick recorded a version of I (Who Have Nothing) for Hurd - although the song's lyric was written by Leiber and Stoller the duo did not participate in Warwick's recording - and Warwick also recorded as a member of Allison Gary and the Burners (as did Cissy Houston) with a release on Royo entitled Darling.
Warwick performed on Shivaree which aired July 17, 1965, she sang We're Doing Fine and I Want to Be with You.
In 1965 Warwick signed with Mercury Records where she recorded with producer Ed Townsend for their subsidiary Blue Rock label, reaching the R&B Top 30 with We're Doing Fine. It was on the Mercury label in 1966 that she had her biggest hit with "I Want to Be with You" from the Broadway show Golden Boy, a #9 R&B hit which just missed the pop Top 40 at #41 (Nancy Wilson had reached #54 with her version entitled "I Wanna Be with You" in 1964). The follow-up single was the original version of I'm Gonna Make You Love Me which, peaking at #13 R&B and #88 Pop, was not Warwick's biggest hit but became her best known number by virtue of its later success as a duet between Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations.
Warwick continued to record for Mercury through the late 60s. Although her occasional success in the R&B field - notably the 1969 Ed Townsend production of Foolish Fool - was enough for the label wishing to re-sign her in 1970, she signed with Atco at the invitation of Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler himself, Wexler having admired Warwick's early session work.
Warwick made her first recordings for Atco in February 1970, cutting four tunes with Townsend. In an early indication of the disarray that Warwick's career would experience at Atlantic, these tracks were shelved and she was sent to Criteria Studios in Miami in April to work with producer Dave Crawford and fast-emerging studio band, The Dixie Flyers. The resultant Turning Around album yielded a Top Ten R&B hit with She Didn't Know, but Warwick would never have another album release or single in the R&B Top 20.
In October, she cut 10 tracks at Muscle Shoals, again with Crawford producing (along with Brad Shapiro). Only three singles were released with one, a remake of Suspicious Minds, becoming Warwick's final R&B hit in 1971. That summer, Crawford and Shapiro produced an eight-track session for Warwick at the Pac-Three studios in Detroit. One track, Everybody's Got to Believe in Something was issued as a single - Warwick's last release on Atco despite two final sessions for the label in early 1972. Reflecting on her unrewarding Atco tenure, Warwick opined: "The problem was simply that the company had a lot of other big female acts - like Aretha [Franklin] and Roberta [Flack] - and you get into a situation where you don't get the right kind of material or production or promotion..."
In 1973, Warwick re-signed with Mercury but in 1974, she moved to Private Stock where the 1975 single Get Out of My Life became her final charting (#73 R&B)song. That same year, Warwick recorded for RCA Victor as DeDe Schwartz. After several years away from the recording studio, Dee Dee Warwick made her final recordings in the mid-80s for Sutra Records and for Heritage. After living in Los Angeles for a number of years, Warwick became a resident of Georgia in 1994.
Dee Dee Warwick received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm And Blues Foundation in 1999. Recordings of both her Mercury years and Atco years are available on CD. In late 2006, Dee Dee returned to success singing background for Dionne in concert, and also was part of the "Family First" song in the Tyler Perry movie and soundtrack for Daddy's Little Girls.
In January 2008, Dee Dee was featured in the title song from Dionne's gospel album, Why We Sing. In February 2008, she continued her background vocals for Dionne's one woman show 'My Music and Me' in Europe.
Dee Dee Warwick struggled with narcotics addiction for many years and was in failing health for some time. Her sister was with her when she died on October 18, 2008 in a nursing home in Essex County, New Jersey, aged 63.
You're No Good
Dee Dee Warwick Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feeling better 'cause I'm over you
I learned my lesson, it left a scar
Now I see how you really are
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
I'm gonna say it again
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby, you're no good
I broke a heart that's gentle and true
Well, I broke a heart over someone like you
I'll beg his forgiveness on bended knee
I wouldn't blame him if he said to me
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby, you're no good
I'm gonna say it again
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby, you're no good
I'm telling you now, baby
And I'm going my way
Forget about you, baby
'Cause I'm leaving this day
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby, you're no good
I'm gonna say it again
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby, you're no good
Oh, oh no
You're no good
You're no good
You're no good
Baby you're no good
The lyrics of Dee Dee Warwick's song "You're No Good" convey a message of liberation and a newfound sense of self-worth. The singer is speaking directly to a former lover, claiming to feel better now that they are no longer together. Through her experience with this individual, the singer has learned a valuable lesson that has left her scarred. However, she has come to a genuine realization of the kind of person her former lover truly is and recognizes that they are "no good." The repetition of this phrase throughout the song emphasizes the singer's conviction and reinforces her assertion that she deserves better.
In the second verse, the singer acknowledges the harm that she has caused to another person by breaking their heart. She regrets her actions and expresses a desire for forgiveness, indicating a sense of personal growth and repentance. However, she juxtaposes her own misdeeds with her former lover's character flaws, further emphasizing the sense of moral superiority that she now feels. The final verse serves as a declaration of independence from the toxic relationship and a commitment to personal growth. The singer asserts her decision to leave, leaving her former lover behind and moving on to a more fulfilling life.
Line by Line Meaning
Feeling better, now that we're through
I'm feeling better now that our relationship is over
Feeling better 'cause I'm over you
I'm feeling better because I've moved on from you
I learned my lesson, it left a scar
I learned from the experience and it hurt me emotionally
Now I see how you really are
I understand your true nature now
You're no good
You are a bad person
Baby, you're no good
Dear, you are a terrible person
I'm gonna say it again
I am going to repeat myself
I broke a heart that's gentle and true
I broke the heart of someone who is kind and honest
Well, I broke a heart over someone like you
I shattered someone's heart because of my relationship with you
I'll beg his forgiveness on bended knee
I will plead for forgiveness from him
I wouldn't blame him if he said to me
I would understand if he were to tell me
I'm telling you now, baby
I'm telling you right now, my love
And I'm going my way
And I am moving on with my life
Forget about you, baby
I am forgetting about you, my dear
'Cause I'm leaving this day
Because I am leaving today
Oh, oh no
Oh, no
Contributed by Hudson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Donny Thompson
IMO, Dee Dee Warwick’s version of this great song (written by Clint Ballard, Jr.), is the best version.
It was the first version ever released (in early ‘63 on Jubilee Records) and is, to me, much edgier, and far more soulful in its musical arrangement, and in Warwick’s vocal performance.
Betty Everett’s version, (also released in ‘63, but several months later than Warwick’s version) is still very good, but she is “softer” in her delivery. Warwick’s performance gives off a sense of empowerment, that “I’m gonna kick your ass for wronging me!” attitude, as opposed to Everett’s gentler, “I won’t make the same mistake again” sense of regret.
Though, it should be noted that Everett was very likely taking direction from the producer, and producers at that time had a lot of control (even final say) over how a record was recorded, particularly with newer, lesser known artists.
Warwick’s version, released in early ‘63, didn’t chart nearly as high, or get the same amount of heavy airplay and higher sales that Everett’s version did.
Perhaps, it was because Warwick’s version was released on Jubilee Records; a much smaller, independent record label, which had less “influence” over radio (money to grease the palms of program directors and DJ’s) than Betty Everett’s label, (VeeJay) did.
VeeJay was a small label as well, but, they released a LOT of R&B songs, and, they also had distribution deals with the bigger, major record labels, such as Columbia and Roulette; as well as with EMI in Britain, and that gave them more weight with radio and record stores.
At that time in the record business, a record label had to have enough disposable money available to influence radio stations into playing their records -particularly stations in the bigger markets of NYC, Philly, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, LA, Miami, etc.
A label could have an artist/song that was fantastic, but if it couldn’t pay the PD’s and DJ’s in these bigger markets for heavy rotation, (“payola”) both the artist and the song could easily slip through the cracks after just a few plays, or, possibly never get played at all...
And, while DeeDee Warwick is fairly well-known NOW as being from a family of R&B royalty, she wasn’t yet in 1963.
I think that perhaps, this original record fell through the cracks, because Jubilee just never had the same amount of influence in radio that VeeJay did.
IMHO, of course.
🙏
Liz Brown
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IVE HEARD THIS ORIGINAL!! IM BLOWN AWAY BY HER VOCAL STYLE❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
It's All About-Coffee
This is the only secular dong my grandmother listened to. I loved it and still do.
lavo 3108
Warwick's edgy, Everett's moody and Rondstadt's deep... they are all good !
Marilyn Harrington
Listen to the Swinging Blue Jeans
Phillip Canfield
What about VAN HALEN???!!!!
davielove11
The best arrangement of this song....and best vocals...it really hits home.
MarcoGamer640 Productions
I love this and Van Halen’s version.
MickeyDs14
This version has the best instrumentation in my opinion. Especially the horns and guitar. And even though Betty Everett had the better voice, the delivery in this one is so emotionally-charged.
Dee Dee Warwick Music
Save you Lord. Dee Dee Warwick was one of the best voices in music
DD Brown
I love Betty but she ain’t better than Dee