There’s no one better than Dionne Warwick, celebrating her 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dionne!

Dionne’s sultry voice and delicious presentation came to us in the 1960s with hit after hit by Hal David and Burt Bacharach including “Walk on By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and dozens more. Through the 1970s she stayed on the charts, starting with her Spinners hit, “Then Came You,” that showed her voice just aged like fine wine.

In the late 70s and early 80s, Dionne was one of Clive Davis’s original hits on Arista Records with songs like “Deja Vu,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” and my favorite, the Bee Gees-written, “Heartbreaker.” It was Dionne who put together “That’s What Friends Are For” with Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John, a humongous hit and an them for the war on AIDS.

She comes from a musical dynasty, too. Dionne’s mother and Cissy Houston were sisters, and Whitney Houston was her cousin. Dionne’s sister, Dee Dee Warwick, was a knockout singer who had plenty of R&B hits and was beloved.

Now Dionne is a Twitter sensation. She’s jumped in with the help of her niece and she’s a welcome presence on social media. She doesn’t hold back, either. Dionne tells it like it is!

So happy birthday, Dionne! We’re so glad no one “made you over.” You’re an original, an independent force!

I’ve been lucky to be listening to “McCartney III” for a few days now. To catch you up: “McCartney” in 1970 turned out to be a masterpiece of its time. “McCartney II” in 1980 was dreadful and I try never to think about it. “McCartney III” is a great success, and shouldn’t be compared to either of its predecessors, especially the second one.

But here’s a new rub in the long running saga of the Beatle: the new songs are credited to “James  Paul McCartney.” That’s a change, a first, a twist for Paul at age 78. Of course, that was his birth name. But is “James Paul McCartney” a different person than the one who’s written around a thousand songs?

“McCartney III” was supposed to be released today. December 11th. But there are many iterations of colored vinyl and extra tracks and whatnot that it was postponed til next Friday, December 18th. So consider it a Christmas present from Sir Paul, as I do. There are 11 tracks, he plays most of the instruments, wrote it all himself. You know Paul is a savant, in a way. He can’t stop himself. The music pours out of him. Thank goodness.

If the 11 tracks, I’d say 6 are among his very best, the other 5 are very good. Considering “Egypt Station” is just two years ago, that’s quite a compliment. But Paul is a professional. He’s not dithering around with us even though he says he is. He demurs. Just once, in the last couple of years, I heard him break down in an answer to a Stephen Colbert question about how he’s written all these songs and made all these incredible records. “Maybe I’m a genius,” he said, half-joking. Well, he is. That’s it.

“McCartney III” is surprisingly extra-economic, even when it’s self indulgent (a long 8 minute piece called “Deep Down Feeling” that’s really an improv, a jam that grows on you). McCartney loves a hit, and he’s got a half dozen of them: “Find My Way,” “Kiss of Venus,” “Women and Wives,” “Slidin’,” “Seize the Day,” and “When Winter Comes” all qualify. One track is just odd, that’s “Pretty Boys.” And another one, “Lavatory Lil,” addresses a golddigger who Paul must have dated before he happily married Nancy Shevell. It’s a rare bit of McCartney-esque spite and gossip.

But I’m concentrating those half-dozen gems that support the album foundationally. The melodies are just as beautifully shaped as anything Paul has done before.  I’ve found myself humming them after a couple of plays. You will, too. They are also quite clever, especially “Women and Wives.” Paul’s had three wives, and marriage has been a constant in his life. And there’s a keen observation about outsiders looking at couples: “What we do with our lives/Seems to matter to others.”

“The Kiss of Venus” is one of those McCartney gems that just seems perfectly formed around a lilting vocal and a disarming hook. “Find My Way” would be a single, if there were still such things. “Seize the Day” is also a pop earwig, again, deceptively simple but a lovely Beatles throwback. And the album ends on a very “Ram” like lilting melody that could have been included on the White Album. “When Winter Comes” is no throwaway. It’s a gentle thing that sounds simple and isn’t. It’s actually a very melancholy recall to those early solo days when it was Paul and Linda living on the farm.

Next Friday can’t come soon enough– and I look forward to finding out what the extra tracks are on all those coloured vinyls!

It’s hard to review an album on the spot. But my first impression of Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is that she wrote a ton of songs last spring, and now here’s the other 15 after “Folklore.”

I kind of like this group better than “Folklore,” despite my love for “Betty” from that album. So far on “Evermore” the songs that seem stronger and standout are the ones with guest vocals. With the Haim sisters she has a really catchy and clever murder mystery called “No Body, No Crime.” I look forward to playing that one again. With Bon Iver she sings the title track, “Evermore.”

There’s also an excellent duet called “Coney Island” with the National’s Aaron Dressner, who co-wrote most of the songs here. All Taylor’s story songs are intriguing and hearken back to the great singer songwriters who were more interested in the lyrics than the hooks. Taylor reminds a lot of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell, which ain’t bad. I remember being so impressed with her lyrics on the “Red” album, and “Evermore” reminds me of that record.

On her new surprise album. Taylor Swift’s second track is called “Champagne Problems.”

Hmmmm… on her new album this summer, Katy Perry also sang a tune she called “Champagne Problems.”

Are these just Champagne problems? What is Taylor up to? Her boyfriend/fiancee Joe Alwyn wrote the lyrics to her song under the name William Bowery.

Katy wrote her own song. But numbers address their respective relationships.

What’s going on? I have no idea. If you do, let me know at showbiz411@gmail.com. These girls used to be in feud. Now they’re each uncorked!

It’s Taylor Swift’s world and we just live in it. At midnight she launches a 2nd album of 2020, “Evermore,” and a single called “Willow.” In the time since Adele’s last album, Taylor has released four albums. Just sayin’…