Don't Make Me Over (song)

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"Don't Make Me Over" is a 1962 soul single recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick and her first collaborative effort with the famed songwriting-producing team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Warwick, whose real name is Marie Dionne Warrick, first met the famed team while singing background for The Shirelles and began being produced under the duo for songs like "Make It Easy Over Yourself". As legend has it, she originally thought that song would be her first debut as a lead singer though was angry when she learned Bacharach and David were giving that song to Jerry Butler. An upset Warwick balked, "don't make me over, man", which was a street slang for "don't lie to me". The duo decided to make the slang into a song for Warwick and she recorded it in New York. Released in November 1962, the song was issued under a misspelling of her name putting a 'w' on Warwick, rather than an 'r'. The singer decided to keep the misspelling as a sign of some sorts and would be forever known by that. The song eventually became Warwick's first hit single reaching #21 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and #5 on the hot R&B singles chart in January 1963 becoming the first of over 50 singles Warwick scored between 1962 and 1998. In 1989, it entered the charts again under a New jack swing remake by singer Sybil, reaching #20 pop and #3 R&B. Sybil would go on to do another Warwick remake: "Walk On By". Warwick's original was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. That year, she recorded and released a revamped and updated version of the song on her album Dionne Sings Dionne II, roughly thirty-eight years after recording the original version.