Soulful, the twelfth album by Dionne Warwick, was released in 1969 on Scepter Records. It was the first of Warwick's Scepter albums that did not directly involve her longtime production and songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David being produced by Warwick and Chips Moman and comprising covers of Soul or what were considered Soul-influenced Pop songsdesigned to showcase Warwick as more of an R&B singer than had her collaborations with Bacharach and David.
History
Warwick was encouraged to make an R&B album by the surprise appearance of B-side of her smash hit "Do You Know the Way to San Jose": "Let Me Be Lonely" on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where the gospel-tinged track with little or no promotion reached #71. Soulful was recorded at Moman's American Studios in Memphis, Tennessee; Warwick was backed by the studio houseband comprising Gene Chrisman, Tommy Cogbill, Bobby Emmons and Reggie Young. Thirteen tracks were recorded: Warwick's renditions of "The Weight", "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" and "The Love of My Man" were not included on the album. The track "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" was the only single released from the album in the U.S. and a success at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. In the UK, Dionne had a minor hit with "People Got To Be Free" written by Rascals Felix Cavaliere & Eddie Brigati. With a #11 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 album chart, Soulful was one of Warwick's most successful albums in the 1960s, due in part to its promotion via full-page newspaper ads placed by Warwick herself. In 1972, Scepter released From Within which included all thirteen tracks from the Soulful sessions as well as thirteen obscure R&B influenced tracks by Warwick. Issued as Warwick was ending her tenure with Scepter, From Within reached #169; the tracks "The Love of My Man" and "I'm Your Puppet" were issued as singles respectively bubbling under the Hot 100 at #107 and #113. In January 2004, Rhino Handmade issued the limited editionSoulful Plus an internet-only purchase disc comprising the thirteen tracks from the Soulful sessions plus nine obscure R&B influenced tracks by Warwick and a previously unreleased version of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart".
