"Presenting Dionne Warwick" by Dionne Warwick (1963)

Dionne Warwick often gets overlooked when discussing how 1960s musicians broke race barriers - everybody knows about Motown and their unstoppable hit factory but Warwick by herself pushed the envelope while not being affiliated with Motown, Atlantic, Stax or any big company - in fact, she started as a jewel in the crown of Scepter Records, a tiny brainchild of a certain housewife who had no previous experience in pop music at all. This little company catapulted the Shirelles amongst others, therefore "It's Love That Really Counts" was recorded by both them and Warwick. 

I doubt that Bacharach & David went consciously into it as civil rights movement - they were musicians with a vision, who happened to discover incredibly gifted unknown singer and wrote first class material for her. After all, Burt Bacharach was celebrated on the international stages as arranger and conductor for Marlene Dietrich and Dietrich herself apparently took young Warwick under her wings, giving her tips about stage presence and performance. Still, Warwick was here to stay and with this - her very first LP album - she became 1960s pop princess, with quite impressive hit list that went on forever. It is a very alluring collection of early 1960s pop with unmistakable sound, those deceptively light melodies that need a disciplined vocalist to keep it all together - Warwick sailed trough them without blinking an eye, while everybody else would probably end up breathless. What I find very impressive is how she makes everything so effortless - she is 100% focused, spot on every note and just slightly detached, which makes the music even more seductive. Excellent debut.